This was a fun project for me, and got me back to building custom furniture; something i’ve long enjoyed doing, but haven’t had any need for it lately.
My client came to me and presented a picture of a headboard she’d seen online, asking if I could build it (of course I can build it, I can build anything!), and I modestly said I believe I can, i’ll have to reverse-engineer it to make some plans.
She did some more looking around and found another headboard she liked more, and it came with plans (so I like it more, too!)!
Once we hashed out all the details, I got to work making some space in the shop for such a large piece. I made myself a nice work table, printed out and hung up the plans for easy viewing, and got my stuff set up just the way I like it.
Next step: materials. We went to the local supply house together as there were a couple of pieces I wanted her to pick out herself, gathered up all the goodies we’d need, and got it all back into the shop with little effort.
I got to work on the project by following the plans (I LOVE well-written plans!) and getting most of my cuts done. There were a couple left for later, but the bulk of the cuts are made in step 1 for this piece.
Once I had all my cut pieces, I got them laid out and assembled, then started putting them all together. Soon enough, I had the body of the headboard, then attached the legs on each side.
I spent some time working the piece with wood filler and sandpaper, getting it all smooth and ready for the test fit. It’s a beast to move, but we got it into the bedroom and in place enough to see that it would work great in the space, and mark where I needed to add the additional brace.
Once we got it back into the shop, I added the cross brace where I wanted to attach it to the existing bed frame, put some temporary feet on it, stood it up, and got to work smoothing it out so I could prime it.
Once I was happy with the sanding, filling, and priming, I finished it up with two coats of paint, and beheld my masterpiece:
Ok, so I was actually holding a beer, but I was looking at the headboard, sooo…. yeah.
Anyway, we took the feet off, wrestled it back inside, got it in place, bolted up, and slid up against the wall. I came back about an hour later to see what had become of the piece, and found this:
I’ve got some more custom pieces to build to go with this, and i’m looking forward to getting them started in the shop. I’ll be sure to add a post for those, too, so be sure to subscribe to the blog (or to my Facebook page) and keep your fingers away from the blade!
Leave a Reply