Doing It Ourselves: Peter Builds a Bed
Our friend and SJTL member Peter learned new skills, practiced in our DIY Workshop, and patiently produced a gorgeous solid wood bed that really pops in his room!
Peter Milne has been coming to the tool library since 2019. He retired from working in management positions a number of years ago and had always wanted to take up fine woodworking and to give back to the community in his retirement.
When he walked through the doors in 2019 he knew that he had found a place where both were possible. For many people, getting into a hobby like fine woodworking is an expensive hobby.
This was always our vision for the DIY Workshop; to find people of different ages and backgrounds and bring them together around learning, the trades, and craft.
Building Confidence
This is how most projects start; just a stack of semi-finished lumber waiting for the dreamer to morph it into something beautiful.
Peter’s project in storage.
We have capacity woodworking tools like an 8” helical Jointer, thickness planer, lathes, a capacity table saw, vaccuum sanders, track saws, and miter saws. We also have lots of space to spread out and work.
Peter started on small projects like cutting boards with various designs and began experinmenting with various types of joinery before he tackled this project.
Peter is the type that wants to fully hone the skills needed to realize the vision of the project before he starts it. For months he was just utilizing scrap wood to practice on and develop confidence.
He had a specific design in mind for this bed and was utilizing maple and ash hardwoods to build the legs and frame.
Because our new workshop at 100 Princess street expanded our capacity significantly compared to what we had 160 Union Street, he was able to chip away at each section of the bed on Tuesday evenings when he was at SJTL to volunteer.
Finer Points
Building a bed has many fine points and details to consider. The legs are tapered, which means they decrease in size as they increase in length. Getting these uniform takes talent to be sure.
There’s also the overall consistency of the frame itself and tying it into a headboard if there is one.
The last thing, and most important thing for longevity, is how you join or connect the legs to that frame. This last piece is going to determine how stable and durable the bed is overall and it is where a lot of woodworkers make mistakes that they need to go back and fix later.
Peter’s hard work and practice paid off and he produced a gorgeous bed that really pops in his room!
This type of minimalist full hardwood bed frame with headboard is an expensive purchase from retailers for good reason. They take a lot of time, maple and ash are not nearly as cheap compared to the pressed board and melamine forms (but way more durable), and it takes a decent amount of time to assemble them.
Seeing Peter come in and evolve his skills over time has been a privilege for us all and he has passed on a lot of that to our other members in the shop.
The joy of building your own furniture and having it in your home is immense and we are here to help you get the tools and training you need to bring your project dreams to life; just like Peter did. You can buy your membership today right and get started next week! We can help you, that’s why we are here.
