Bill Carlough

Sheraton Four Post Bed

     This project began with the ⅝” mortises on the lower posts.  The rails were then tenoned and holes were bored to accommodate ⅜” bed bolts.  The head board and foot boards were then fit using ⅝” tenons pegged and glued to the lower posts.  The upper posts are attached with a 1” dowel end turned. After the upper posts were turned I used a home made index head to layout and score the reeding lines.  These were carved using a v-tool and back bent gouge.  A similar method was used to carve the spiral reeds in the headboard finial.  The headboard pediment, cap and cove were rough cut on the bandsaw, they were shaped with a router, template and flush trim bit. The upper portion of the cove had to be fit by hand using a spokeshave. 

     Since this bed frame was built for a freestanding bed there were no internal support ledgers or slats used.  This project was finished with one coat of tung oil varnish followed by two coats of wipe-on polyurethane. The final coat was buffed out with 3/0 steel wool and a carnauba-beeswax blend."