Log Bed Making

Building a log bed requires craftsmanship, an artistic ability and careful planning. Log beds must be functional in that they require a sturdy frame to hold the mattress and that it performs the function of a regular bed. The added beauty of these uniquely created beds will give you an appreciation of the process involved, and the end result will give you years of satisfaction, and hopefully, a good night sleep.
Building a bed out of regular milled material allows the builder to make exact measurements. This makes it possible to create a blueprint and mass produce the product. Log beds, on the other hand, are built with irregular material. This makes it next to impossible to create the same bed twice. Rough outlines are used to create a log bed as a single blueprint will not work.
All rustic log beds are unique one of a kind pieces of furniture since they cannot be built from a single blueprint. This type of construction means that there is a greater level of craftsmenship required. Having an artistic ability gives you the vision of the final product.
The design of your bed is the first thing to decide on before you start the construction of your log bed. I invite you to look through my website for examples of log bed designs.
The post design is a very popular design of log beds. The plank design is also quite popular. Both designs can be merged to develope a very unique bed design.
The size of the bed is also very important to the bed design. Your bed can range from a single to a king and it is important for the frame of the bed to match the measurement of the mattress you are planning to use.
You should create a sketch of the bed you intend to build with exact measurements of the height, width and length of the bed in relation to the size of the mattress. Since the material size will vary, exact size measurement is impossible to predict although the size of the functional area (space that holds the mattress) can be controlled and drawn with straight lines.
When building rustic log beds, or any rustic furniture, I make straight lines on the material so that measurements can be made. The material outside these lines are left to take whatever shape nature gave them.
The type of material to be used in your bed can be decided on after the design and sketch has been created. I usually use softwood in my beds, such as spruce or pine, since they are easier to work with and provide plenty of strength.
The material in your bed must be collected and prepared before it can be used. For directions and information on preparing materials, you can refer to my articles 'How to Prepare Wood' and 'How to Dry Wood.'
Once you have prepared the material for your log bed, it can bcut to the proper lengths and a finished texture can be applied. The finished texture can be achieved by sanding or it can be done by using a chisel or drawknife, which requires a little more skill with hand tools.
Once the material is prepared and textured, straight lines can be drawn for making exact measurements to start construction. The morsions and tensons or other joinery styles can now be cut or drilled into the wood to allow for its assembly.
The materials for the log bed can now be glued together and the final assembly complete. It is important to use a high quality glue to ensure that your creation doesn't come apart in the future.
The bed should be clamped together until the glue is set. (Be sure to clean up any drippings of glue before it sets.) I generally use ratchet straps, at least two inches wide, to hold the bed together during drying time. The wider straps prevent any indentations or damage to the wood.
Once the glue is dried properly, remove the straps and clean up any pencil marks, nicks or other imperfections that may have been caused during the construction. At this stage of the game I usually go over the bed with a piece of light sand paper to ensure I haven't missed anything.
Your creation can now be stained. The stain will allow you to alter the look of your material. Always do a spot test on a piece of scrap wood from the same material in your project. This will ensure your satisfaction of the final shade of stain on your furniture. The finishing stain also acts as a protector and seals the wood.
Please browse through my site to view examples of log beds and other rustic furniture. I hope that my articles have been informative and helpful in your journey to building rustic beds and other furniture.

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