I’m designing a pencil post bed. I have a nice piece of spalted maple. I am thinking of using a frame and panel (with the maple as the panel) design to best show off the spalted figure. In my research I’ve learned that all parts of a pencil post bed need to disassemble.
It seems to me that a frame and panel headboard is too confusing (too many pieces) to keep track of and reassemble (by a novice) later.
Is this bad design?
Replies
If you build your headboard as one piece and make it detachable from the posts, you will be able to move it in/out of the bedroom, i.e., use bolted M&T joints for the headboard as well as for the rails.
RVH
RVH has given you good advice. The head board (and foot board if you have one) just needs to be able to be separated from the posts, and the rails from the posts. By the way, all the mortises and tenons between posts and rails generally have numbers carved into the wood to keep them straight. Traditionally these are roman numberals--quickly carvable with a straight chisel.
I am planning on having the maple panel float. The panel cannot be fixed relative to its width.
I think I'm stuck with having a three piece "puzzle" for my clients to navigate each time they move the bed. But unique design isn't always the most straight forward.
I had the same idea last year. I used a piece of quilted maple and put it inside a cherry frame. It is just attached to the post with tenons, the panel does not come apart. I tried to take pictures but they may not be real clear.
The only reason the bed comes apart is to move it to another room. The panel is just another piece to move and does not need to be taken apart.
Good luck with the pencil post bed. My daughter loves hers.
John
Thanks John. The pictures are a big help.
The design that was sketched for me by my client had the panel framed by the rails and the posts, with a groove in the post for the panel.
It makes sense in this case to have the frame and panel be an assembled unit.
Back to the drawing board.
It makes sense in this case to have the frame and panel be an assembled unit.
And do not forget the foot board, if any, treated the same!
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