Tornado Bed: Getting Underway

Forming the posts. Each post will be made from four boards glued together. Here I have started the glue-up process.

I wonder what its like to operate a shop where lumber is at the ready. If a project suddenly appears that calls for cherry, it is on hand, ready to go. Curly maple? Got that too. Sheets of nicely veneered plywood? They're right over there. Maybe I’ll have a shop like that some day.

For me, a new project means going to the home center to sort through the available lumber for acceptable boards. On one occasion I ordered some nice mahogany from Bell Forrest Products. Several times I have purchased quarter sawn oak and curly maple at my local Woodcraft – they have a wide variety of lumber in stock, some of which are exotics, but they don’t have enough of any one species to make anything of significant size.

For the Tornado Bed, I went to Lowes - they have some options that Home Depot doesn’t have. I considered oak and the really poor “Top Choice” pine, but I decided to go with their select grade pine; it is mostly clear of defects, straight and is priced mid-way between oak and the cheap pine.

My point in bringing all this up is that choosing lumber for a project can be time consuming, especially if you don’t have a stash of lumber already at your shop. After designing the Tornado Bed, I completed the second step in the project: selecting and buying the lumber.

On to the construction...
The design of the Tornado Bed has simplicity in mind. The posts at each end of the headboard and footboard are comprised of four boards glued together.

A close-up. Already a design change: I have added a cap to each post. Otherwise end grain would be noticeable which is to be avoided. Note that the two middle boards are notched to form mortises.

Exploded. You can get a better view of the post construction from this exploded view (click to enlarge). Again, note the cut outs in the middle two boards.

The simple part of this design is that I can cut the mortises as the post is formed, vs. drilling and chopping out the mortises afterwards.

Notched. Here the notches have been cut to receive tenons from the headboard components.

Precise alignment. With the notched boards already glued together it is time to glue the outer boards in place. Proper alignment is critical since I will be adding a board to cover the outer edge. You can see a short test piece already cut to help me position everything.

I spent a long time deciding how best to glue up the outer boards. Once glue is added, and as the clamps are applied, these boards will likely slide around a bit. I can't let that happen - even slight movement will mess things up. I was able to cut the boards slightly long prior to glue-up. This gave me just enough space to add a screw to each end; enabling me to keep everything in position while the clamps are applied.

All my clamps. Using all of my small clamps, I glue the outer boards in place. Note the positioning screw added in the lower right of the photo. You can also see my Dad's old Craftsman drill press and in the background is my new Delta thickness planer. I need to move these from my workbench.

I usually have a hard time with miter joints. In the case of the “end caps” as I call them, I ripped a 45 degree miter with my table saw and then ripped the opposite side a little wide. I then took some off little by little until it fit. It went pretty good, but one edge had a very slight gap or two. Fortunately this corner faces the back of the headboard and will be out of sight. It will give me the opportunity to come up with some home made filler I read about in Fine Woodworking’s 201 Tips For Woodworkers special publication - the kind of filler that accepts stain well (click the link, FWW has this mag on sale - I give it five stars).

Adding the end cap. Here I glue the end cap in place. Note the door in the background. I keep hoping I can use it on a future project, but it is starting to get on my nerves.

Currently. The two headboard posts about 90% complete excluding the decoration: finials and such.

I have worked hard on this project especially the past weekend. The headboard posts still need to be trimmed to final length and I need to plane the inside edge flat, but they are almost complete.

I'll finish them up this week and I'll move on to the posts for the footboards which I have already started working on.

This project is being built in response to the historic tornado outbreak that occurred in Alabama on April 27th. On that day, 63 tornados struck our state which claimed the lives of 247 people and caused between $2.45 billion and $4.2 billion in property damage (click the image at the right). The Tornado Bed will be given free of charge to a needy victim of the April 27th tornado event.

To view all posts on this project click here. This is post two in this series.

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Have a question or comment? Leave yours by clicking on the "Comments - post yours here" link below. My email is jobranch@yahoo.com or you can contact me through Twitter or Facebook. Subscribe via email or RSS by clicking here.

My top three projects:

1. My coffered ceiling project. 2. The Scott Bookcase. 3. My foyer project.

The Tornado Bed: design ideas

A worthy bed. A good looking bed to be given to a family who's been through a lot.

I announced in my last post that I will make a bed to be given to a needy family – victims of the April 27th tornado outbreak. I am calling the project "the Tornado Bed." I still need to finish work on my dining room crown molding project, but I also want to begin work on the bed, so I will try to spend time on both, which will be interesting.

Since I made the decision to build the bed, I have been thinking about what it should be – should the bed be basic and utilitarian and therefore fast and easy to build? I could simply make a headboard and attach it to one of those metal bed frames eliminating the footboard. But, isn’t that sort of short changing the victim of a horrific situation? Wouldn’t a nice, all wood bed be much more appropriate for someone who has suffered through the devastation of a monster tornado strike? I think so.

I am opting for the full bed: headboard, footboard and rails, all made of wood. Which brings me to the next consideration: what kind of wood should I use? I could go the budget route and use the acceptable, but super soft, dent prone pine found at the local home center. That would be the economical route. But I am leaning towards a hard wood - one that is easy to obtain in a variety of sizes and lengths, already surfaced. That means red oak (even though I have read how some outspoken woodworkers greatly frown on this wood). I'll have to run the numbers to see what works from a money perspective.

The design
I have never made a bed before. I can’t imagine such a project would be difficult, especially as I have designed this one. It is made from straight boards and it gets a dose of style from the panels and finials. This is a queen size bed and was easy to design. I used an existing bed we own as a guide for the basic deminsions.

The headboard. I decided on panels vs. a solid board because panels mean increased visual interest.

Borrowed. I got the idea for the finials from a bed I saw years and years ago. These could be a challenge to make.

I need one like this. Our guest bedroom could use a bed like this. I may have to make a copy for myself.

I hope to begin buying lumber for the bed as early as this weekend. This will be a rewarding project to build. Also, the cost of the bed means that I may need to ask for donations. I'll have to think this through, but if you are interested in donating funds towards this project, let me know in the comments.

The Tornado Bed is being built in response to the historic tornado outbreak that occurred in Alabama on April 27th. On that day, 63 tornados struck our state which claimed the lives of 247 people and caused between $2.45 billion and $4.2 billion in property damage (click the image at the right). The Tornado Bed will be given free of charge to a needy victim of the April 27th tornado event.

Crown molding: half way point

Beams. Before I can apply the crown molding, I have had to install these simulated beams.

This post marks the end of first part of my dining room project. Progress is slow and I have to force myself to do the work, but the next phase will be all about making the actual molding which I hope will be more inspiring – motivating me to work on it more often.

To recap the progress so far: after designing the project (click here for a view of the finished crown), I removed the popcorn texture from the ceiling and primed it. I then located the ceiling rafters and marked them with a chalk line. Next, I fabricated and installed the four simulated beams that run left-to-right across the room. The two front-to-back beams were then cut and installed. Then with this post, I installed the quarter round molding and applied some final primer...

The second 12'er. Here the second 12' beam has been installed and I have applied wood putty over the counter sunk screw heads.

The second 12' board went in great. I did not have to do any fine tuning and after pulling the lap joints tight with some wedges, I screwed them in place. I love it when parts fit on the first try.

A gap. The ceiling isn't flat and neither are the long pine boards. Small gaps are present in various places along the length of the beams.

Big Yellow. That is what I call my power miter saw. You have to respect the large spinning blade. I use it to cut some quarter round molding which will be applied to the beams.

The fix. Here a piece of quarter round is installed. It looks good and covers the unsightly gap.

I had always planned to use quarter round molding to finish the interior edges of the beams. This is a design consideration which gives a more polished look to the project. But it is also nice that this molding covers all the undulations in both my ceiling as well as the boards I used for the beams.

Currently. Here I have removed the chalk lines and used some primer to touch up where the screw heads are.

Already this is a big improvement from the textured, popcorn ceiling we originally had. Coming up next: I’ll purchase the MDF to be used for the crown molding and begin fabrication.

Tornado recovery
It was reported in our local paper that the historic tornado outbreak of April 27th destroyed some 5,000 homes just in the Birmingham, Alabama area. This does not include homes destroyed in the various other areas of North Alabama impacted by the 71 tornadoes that formed that day. Our local electric utility, Alabama Power reports the price tag of repairing damage to power lines to be in the $300 million range. And it is expected that storm damage insurance claims could reach as high as $5 billion. Destruction is wide spread and the needs are great.

The recovery effort has gone well so far thanks to the generosity of people from all across the USA. Many areas of my sales territory have sobering damage and as I made my rounds this past week I was impressed by the uncommon license plates I saw: Minnesota, Florida, Illinois and Texas are a few I recall – the home states of relief workers who seemed to arrive instantly after the storms struck.

We have taken a load of bottled water and can goods up to the church to help with the recover effort and we'll donate more, but I feel this is not enough. So, I am changing directions for my next project. Instead of building a storage cabinet for my shop, I plan to build a bed to be given to a needy family. In my humble opinion, God has given me the ability to design and build furniture and I need to utilize His gift to help others.

So, my next post will show some design ideas for the bed – I hope to have this post up by mid-week.

This is post seven in this series. To see the next post, click here. To view all posts, click here.

________________________

Have a question or comment? Leave yours by clicking on the "Comments - post yours here" link below. My email is jobranch@yahoo.com or you can contact me through Twitter or Facebook. Subscribe via email or RSS by clicking here.

My top three projects:

1. My coffered ceiling project. 2. The Scott Bookcase. 3. My foyer project.

Our big scare

You can help with the recovery effort by donating to the American Red Cross Mid Alabama Chapter - click here.

The headlines say it all: "Day of Devastation" and "Epic Destruction."

We had some very serious storms travel through Alabama this past Wednesday. For the first time I became familiar with a “wedge tornado” (click the link to get up close and personal with this storm). That was the term used to describe the F4 tornado that raced towards the University of Alabama Wednesday afternoon. This was of particular interest to me because my daughter is a student there. My wife and I were able to see this storm bear down on Tuscaloosa, Alabama live in high definition.

The storm travelled south of campus missing my daughter’s dorm, but the destruction to Tuscaloosa, one of my most favorite places on Earth, was stunning.

Storm damage near 15th Street in Tuscaloosa. Photos: Tuscaloosa News.

This same tornado continued on to the Birmingham area where damage was wide spread in Pratt City, Hueytown, Concord, Pleasant Grove and Fultondale.

This same tornado stays on the ground, travels about 50 miles striking Concord, Alabama. Photos: The Birmingham News.

Photos of Pleasant Grove, Alabama. My brother lives in this community. He told me about half the town is gone, but he is blessed that his family and home are OK. Photos: The Birmingham News

All of my family is fine, but at present more than 250 Alabamians lost their lives in this tornado outbreak, including five students from the University of Alabama (while the UA campus was not struck, various off-campus housing sustained major damage). You can find similar destruction in communities all across North Alabama – this was a massive tornado event. So sad.

Right now, my daughter is seated across from me at our kitchen table eating some pancakes. It is nice to have her home safe and sound. But, my heart goes out to those whose lives have been forever changed by these storms.

The University of Alabama has called off the rest of the semester (there was only about a week and a half left) and we have spent a couple of days getting my daughter moved home. All we had was some very minor tree damage, so I'll spend the afternoon cleaning up my yard and then I'll be back to woodworking.

We are planing to go to the Pleasant Grove area to help with the recovery effort. If you would like to help, visit the Red Cross Mid Alabama Region's web page by clicking here.