# Barnwood Bed Project (TONS of pics)



## Long Knife (Feb 19, 2012)

Over a year ago I came here for some finish advice for a project I was working on. Tonight I finally finished up a long chronicle of the project and thought I'd share it here:

As I had promised to do a thread to document the construction of a bed I made recently (actually it is now a year ago and I started to write this post months after), I figured I'd share it here. I apologise in advance for any long-windedness and pic excess. I struggle with brevity sometimes...
Anyway, I've been wanting a new bed for some time and I could find nothing in the regular furniture stores that even remotely appealed to me. I refuse to buy furniture that contains particle board or MDF (sawdust and glue) and nothing from any major manufactures, even "solid wood" beds, appealed to me. I then began investigating hand-made furniture, although not the traditional type of milled and finished wood, but more rustic styles that used reclaimed and rough wood. I've always been a fan of this style and I love the idea of repurposing old wood with a bit of history behind it. The prices were very substantial however, and the more I looked at things, the more I thought to myself "I could build that".
I began searching the web for pictures to get idea for a starting point. At first I thought I would do something along these lines as it seemed simple with the head and footboard rails just a simply lapped/notched into the posts and after which I would simply fasten tongue and groove boards on top to create a panel. I was going to attach the bed rails with a metal bed bracket for easy take down and reassembly. However, as things went, I decided to go a more labour intensive route.










Eventually, I decided I wanted something more along these lines:










The project was really spurned on while I was taking Christmas holidays. The neighbours up the road had been tearing down an old barn for several months and it had pained me every time I drove by to see the old timbers and wood going to waste. Finally I had the time, and decided I would go and pick through it to try and salvage something despite most of the barn having already been trucked away. Of course I picked the ideal day for this and the weather was a balmy -20 with high winds blowing the snow around.











Not only that, but many of the beams were stuck in frozen piles of old hay, snow, and ice and required a lot of manhandling and use of a tow rope on the tractor.









After a solid day's work, I arrived back at my father in-laws (where I had been staying until we got our house recently) with a wagon load of beams... many of them of questionable worth. But they had a history. The family at the farm has been there since this area was first settled and the barn dates back to the 1880s and is a stone's throw away from my wife's family's homestead.


















The next evening I picked through them as best I could, trying to decipher what was good under the layers of ice and snow, and decided on a particular beam I would use for my bed posts. I didn't have a plan on how I was going to clean it up and simply began at it with a wire brush. It was covered in old whitewash (lime) and one side was black from weathering. 




























After some figuring, I decided I wanted to increase the scale of the bed to more grandiose dimensions, which required another beam to make posts out of. I scrounged through the pile and realised my original one was definitely the pick of the litter. I eventually came up with one but it was pretty rough and a soft wood.


----------



## Long Knife (Feb 19, 2012)

I then began the hunt for the other materials I would need to build a bed. I strictly wanted to use old lumber, preferably something local with a story behind it, and ideally off my family's or my wife's family's farm. I ended up sourcing the rest of the lumber from my father in-law which he had salvaged from a renovation job I had done to his house several years ago. This job was what lead me to meeting my wife and was an extremely interesting job to boot. We completely renovated the old summer kitchen of the farm house, which was basically a barn/shed type structure attached to the house.
These are the original rafters in place which were to become part of my bed.










Here we are tearing out the old tongue and groove boards which were trapping large amounts of 100+ year old dust.




























Much of the lumber was buried deep in the bowels of the barn and my father in-law has been using choice bits of it over the years for various projects of his own.










The old pine tongue and groove boards I wanted to use for my panels had thick layers of old paint on them which I wasn't sure what to do with. I finally decided I would resaw it off, using an old blade with bent teeth so it still had a rough-sawn, old look.




























At this point I brought all my selected materials into the house down by the wood stove to dry out for a few weeks, especially the beams which had ice and snow frozen deep into them.


----------



## Long Knife (Feb 19, 2012)

After a few weeks of good drying and acclimatizing, I started at cleaning up the beams. The wire brush, and wire cup brush in the drill, proved to be wholly inadequate and left gouge marks in the wood. I struggled to figure out a method to clean them up, yet retain their rough, hand hewn character. I research pressure washing, soda blasting and various washes and abrasive methods. Finally a friend of the family mentioned he might have something that would work. It's called an Osbourne brush with is a large style cup brush with abrasive nylon strands, designed to run at low rpm which require a special grinder/buffer (which he had). He had used it extensively to refinish his log house which is what they were designed for. It turned out to be a great solution. Perhaps media blasting is a better method, but this worked well for me and the price was right.
Along with the brush, he lent me his wood grinding blade which will grind through knots and shape wood in no time. I began by taking down the knots and cutting away with the chisel at some of the rougher parts, particularly where the axe hand hewing had left deep cuts in the wood result in wedges which were loose and probably prone to breakage at a later time. I basically just smoothed everything out while trying to maintain the rough character and maintain some of the ageing and weathering.




































After a few hours and a lot of dust, I had the beams close to where I wanted them. Smooth enough so that they wouldn't catch dust and clothing, would be pleasant to the touch, yet still as rough and aged looking as possible.


















I began on the footboard beams, this time outside as the weather was decent enough and I had made a mess inside the garage outside. As I said, they were a lot rougher and of a much softer species which seemed to want to splinter a lot and the brush would turn them into dust or just polish them smooth if you weren't careful.
Before:









After:


----------



## Long Knife (Feb 19, 2012)

I then started on the old joists/rafters which would be part of the head and foot boards.
The footboard lumber was a really a really hard oak and the brush seemed to do little more than take off the dust and then almost polish the wood.



























As a lot of the lumber had been picked over through the years for other projects the only suitable piece I could find for the headboard was pine. The brush definitely had to handled with care on it as it would bore a hole through if you dwelled too long. (Not literally, no) Before:


















After:









I then took the brush to the t&G lumber. Although I had resawn the painted side with a rough blade to leave saw marks, the wood, although obviously reclaimed and distressed, looked way too fresh and wouldn't suit. So I flipped it over and used the original rough sawn side and cleaned it up with the brush. Before:


















After:


















Finally I had to find 2 more joists for the side rails. Again, the last of the suitable pieces I could find were pine.


----------



## Long Knife (Feb 19, 2012)

Now it was time to figure out how I was going to actually put everything together. I was originally just going to do a lap joint into the posts similar to one of the beds I posted earlier. I then decided I'd try my hand at mortise and tenon joints. I began with a practice joint on some cut-offs.
As the 2ishx10ish lumber was anything but square and straight, I wasn't sure how to go about cutting some tenons. I thought of a router at first but then said screw it and made an attempt by hand with a saw and some clamped on hardwood pieces as guides.


















It was way too labour intensive and it literally took hours using this method to arrive at this point:









I then started on the mortise with just a small chisel and a spade bit.









This too proved to be very labour intensive, especially with the small hardware store type chisel. I also found it challenging to stay straight and square to match the tenon.









In the end however, I was very pleased with the results and despite the long slog, I figured it was at least doable and probably worth the effort in the end and would do all the joints this way.



























So it was then on to the real thing. Sawing the old growth oak was nearly impossible but I was determined to keep going. The other real challenge was how to align everything as there's no base point to measure off to square, level and align things.






















































Here the footboard mortise and tenon joints are almost done and I've set up the t&g boards to get a feel for what it will look like.


----------



## Long Knife (Feb 19, 2012)

It was at this point I decided to move out of the cold, unheated shed and into my wife's uncle's shop. I had to share the space with her grandfather who was restoring an old boat.









It was here I devised a new technique to cut the tenons. Using an old radial arm saw I had picked up at a garage sale (and had figured would come in handy some day) and a dado blade I was able to follow the lines I scribed by shimming and clamping the piece. It was a little time consuming to ensure I remain consistent throughout the cut, adapting to the lumber's shifting shape, but it was MUCH better than the handsawing technique.


















Also, rather than attempting to shim and level the posts in an attempt to align all the pieces and make the cuts in the appropriate places, I found that picking the two faces of the post I wanted to be parallel and even to each other, and then placing them face down on the flat workbench, I then had a base line to work off and align everything else.



























I was still using a small chisel and spade bit to do the mortises. I tried a power mortise machine but it proved to be even slower and cumbersome and unable to go down the depth I required. The hardwood posts were a little slower going than the pine posts.


----------



## Long Knife (Feb 19, 2012)

After I had the head and footboard m&t joints done, I wasn't completely happy with the fit and decided to do a shallow countersink that could be scribed to the uneven profile of the rails and also compensate for the uneven surface of the posts. It made for a much nicer finished product and had the bonus of enhancing the stability.




























I then set to the t&g boards. After sorting through them I discovered I had to be very careful how I cut them up as I had just enough once I removed pieces that were unsuitable for varying reasons and cut out large flaws like missing and broken tongues and grooves and splits. I laid out the footboard roughly:









I had originally intended to simply affix the t&g boards to the back of the headers and footers but I am much happier that I went with a dado cut which is not only a much nicer finish, but allows the boards to float and expand and contract freely with seasonal changes.









I also mortised out a vertical channel in the posts the boards would be recessed slightly.


















Coming together


----------



## Long Knife (Feb 19, 2012)

Once I was happy with all the joints and had the T&G boards ready to assemble, I pegged the joints. Boring a straight, even hole through that much lumber proved to be difficult. I started the holes with a forstner bit and went as deep as I could. I had to go from either side and it was difficult to align them perfectly. I offset the hole on the tenon to attempt to draw it in tighter. Coupled with my not perfectly aligned holes on either side, this resulted in pegs that required some very significant force to hammer in. In the future I would look to use a high quality bit extension. The pegs are store bought poplar and was my only choice at the hardware store and I didn't want to spend time looking around for alternatives. They seemed to do the trick and probably had the right flexibility that I needed to get them in.


















I gave the boards and other areas I wouldn't be able to access a coat of tung oil sealer before assembling them.


----------



## Long Knife (Feb 19, 2012)

I then began work on the side rails. This required an offset tenon to achieve the height I wanted and for it to not interfere with the existing joints.








































































These pegs will be removable to allow the bed to be taken down to transport or move between rooms. Although they are almost as tight as the others, I have taken apart and put together the bed several times with no issues.


----------



## Long Knife (Feb 19, 2012)

Next came the box spring supports. Again I used salvaged lumber from a barn; however it is not much older than 50 years. The ledgers were attached with screws, the only fasteners used in the project. No glue or screws elsewhere. The cross arms are dovetailed in and can be removed easily.


----------



## Long Knife (Feb 19, 2012)

With construction basically complete it was time for the first coat of tung oiler sealer. This was followed by 6 coats of real tung oil. It was troublesome to apply for a few reasons. Firstly, although most of the surfaces are fairly smooth to the touch, they are comparatively "rough" and the necessity of wiping off the tung oil after some drying time was made difficult. I had a hard time with lint and dust as the surface can't be wiped "smooth" like you could with regular, sanded lumber. Also, the many cracks and crevices would soak up the oil and leech it out overnight when I wasn't there to wipe it off, resulting in some finish irregularities. Not only that, but as it would pool inside holes and cracks, it couldn't dry properly thus gumming up, being sticky, and most worrisome, smelly. In the end however I don't regret using tung oil as it is a rich natural finish that won't ever crack or peel and can be easily touched up. After about 8 months the smell was completely gone and the finish "irregularities" are not even really noticeable under normal lighting. It is fairly expensive at over $200 a gallon, but I wouldn't hesitate to use it again in the future. I envisioned a lighter more natural finish, without so much darkening of the wood, but it really suits it in the end I think.




































So, that's her. Feel free to post opinions, questions or advice. It was a massively time consuming, project and a total learning process and I fully intend to try some more projects of this nature once I get the time. The final pictures of the finished product are not great pictures and the lighting isn't ideal in that room. It's is extremely solid and does not rock, creak or shake in any manner.
To complete the bed I added an antique horseshoe from my father's barn and a quilt my wife made while I was deployed overseas.


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*What a great heirloom piece!*

Great story behind the wood and all your handwork involved. The finish is a wonderful warm tone and sets off the wood. Couldn't be better! :thumbsup:


----------



## mavawreck (Nov 26, 2011)

Absolutely awesome. Great work.


----------



## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Overwhelming but very good. Good for you. 
Your pretty lucky to have access to that barn wood. It's some expensive wood. Nice job on the bed and the finish does look sweet.


----------



## clpead (Oct 10, 2012)

Wow! That looks great. This whole part of Ohio has barns down all over the place. I've thought about going around and seeing if I can scavenge some wood.


----------



## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

I love the old antique woods, the natural color is beautiful but your finish looks nice also. Thanks for sharing with us, that was a lot of work.


----------



## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

That is awesome. If you ever decide to fill the cracks or do another similar piece, 'black' fill looks great.

Dave The Turning Cowboy


----------



## Dan_T (Dec 19, 2012)

I really enjoyed your post. Thanks.


----------



## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

What an awesome thread. That is a bed to last the ages. Enjoyed every bit of this build.


----------



## avewads (Jan 20, 2012)

Very very nice. I loved seeing it go from buried under cold snow and ice to a warm bed at the end. Hopefully that bed will be handed down to many generations to come.


----------



## Bait (Dec 20, 2012)

I love the bed and journey you took us on with the pics.

You guys keep posting your cool bed projects and I wont want to post mine.


----------



## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

You had me at, "Tons of Pics!". That is an excellent, thorough build thread that addresses so many of the concerns of anyone thinking about build a bed frame from large timber or anything from reclaimed barn wood. 

What do you suppose that thing weighs? It looks like you'd need a forklift to move it!

Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX using Woodworking Talk


----------



## bradnailer (Nov 11, 2008)

Wow, those are really nice! I love repurposing wood and other stuff.


----------



## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

Wow, great build and awesome bed. :thumbsup:

Thanks for taking the time to share with us. Excellent work!


----------



## mavawreck (Nov 26, 2011)

DaveTTC said:


> That is awesome. If you ever decide to fill the cracks or do another similar piece, 'black' fill looks great.
> 
> Dave The Turning Cowboy


Do you have a product to recommend or some pictures? I had never considered that before but sounds like a great idea with weathered material.


----------



## JMartel (Nov 30, 2011)

I'm in for a long build if I show this to my wife. She loves the reclaimed look. Great job.


----------



## chefdg (Jul 30, 2012)

This thread was great. I usually skip lots of explanations to look at the pictures. I found myself slowly scrolling through so as not to see the picture before reading about it first. Thanks for sharing, and what a beautiful bed!


----------



## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

What a great build. I think it looks perfect. Nice adaptation, planning, execution and use of your equipment and materials. I am very impressed.


----------



## TimT (Oct 19, 2012)

Awesome work! Great job.


----------



## Midwest Millworks (Nov 20, 2012)

That is a beautiful bed. You did a very nice job on it's design and construction. If you were to build bed like that, you could sell them for a pretty high price.

Mike Darr


----------



## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

mavawreck said:


> Do you have a product to recommend or some pictures? I had never considered that before but sounds like a great idea with weathered material.


I did a kitchen counter from recycled floor boards. I just used regular timber putty and tinted it with black wood stain. It looked light when it dried bit sanded and varnished it came up black. 
Could only imagine how awesome yours would look with black filler. It may take a while but I will see if I can find some pics. I may have an old sink cut out still ( don't live in that house anymore )

Dave The Turning Cowboy


----------



## Long Knife (Feb 19, 2012)

Thanks guys, I sincerely appreciate the comments. I'm humbled, but in truth I am not much of a craftsman. I was in contruction and renovations for a number of years but that was mostly just that, construction and renovations, with some finish carpentry. I have very little cabinetmaking/furniture making type experience, and in truth, this is my first woodworking project of any magnitude since Grade 10 shop class. It was mostly by the seat of my pants, figuring stuff out along the way and just trying to use some common sense to solve problems.



Phaedrus said:


> You had me at, "Tons of Pics!". That is an excellent, thorough build thread that addresses so many of the concerns of anyone thinking about build a bed frame from large timber or anything from reclaimed barn wood.
> 
> What do you suppose that thing weighs? It looks like you'd need a forklift to move it!


Please take everything you see here with a grain of salt! I'm sure some of the techniques I used were unorthadox and probably ineffecient. If there was only one thing I could change, it would have been to buy a good, large timber mortising chisel (or set).

I still don't really know how the "pros" go about cleaning up old timbers while retaining the character. I imagine they usually start with cleaner pieces as well. I'm fairly happy with the Osbourne brush but I'd be interested in investigating other options. At the time, all those options would have meant taking it somewhere to be blasted by whichever medium, and I wasn't really interested in doing that. Other than my time, the only thing I have into the bed was the tung oil and the cheap poplar doweling.

It weighs a lot but broken down it can easily be moved by a coulpe of guys. I'm a poor judge and would hate to throw a number out but I'm fairly certain if I ever move it the indents in the carpet of the bedroom won't be going away anytime soon.


----------



## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

NOW THAT'S RECLAIMING:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: Beautiful:yes::yes: Thanks for sharing the build.

Have a Blessed and Prosperous day in Jesus's Awesome Love,
Tim


----------



## HandyRandy (Nov 5, 2012)

Very nice job I showed it to my wife and now my wife wants me to build one like that for are new bedroom also did u build the nightstands also


----------



## calcnerd (Dec 7, 2012)

Awesome thread. Great work. I really enjoyed the story behind it as well as your documentation. Thanks for sharing!


----------



## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

HandyRandy said:


> Very nice job I showed it to my wife and now my wife wants me to build one like that for are new bedroom also did u build the nightstands also


That was your last mistake. I'm sure she'll design it and you build it, then she'll design it again and you'll build it again. Then it's an ongoing thing. 
Then they wonder why it's taking so long. 
Laughing!!!!!


----------



## HandyRandy (Nov 5, 2012)

That true lol


----------



## ctwiggs1 (Mar 30, 2011)

HandyRandy said:


> Very nice job I showed it to my wife and now my wife wants me to build one like that for are new bedroom also did u build the nightstands also


That's why most of us probably didn't show it to our wives. You'll learn ;-)


----------



## Paul W Gillespie (Jul 7, 2011)

Awesome job. Looks great.


----------



## bradnailer (Nov 11, 2008)

DaveTTC said:


> I did a kitchen counter from recycled floor boards. I just used regular timber putty and tinted it with black wood stain. It looked light when it dried bit sanded and varnished it came up black.
> Could only imagine how awesome yours would look with black filler. It may take a while but I will see if I can find some pics. I may have an old sink cut out still ( don't live in that house anymore )
> 
> Dave The Turning Cowboy


Out here in Hooterville, they build a lot of furniture from mesquite which has worm holes and such. They use a black epoxy that's poured into the holes then it is sanded smooth. Haven't tried it but I have to say it looks nice.


----------



## BZawat (Sep 21, 2012)

Wonderful thread and an absolutely beautiful job on the bed! Thank you for documenting. Your attention to detail is refreshing


----------



## Carvel Loafer (Dec 31, 2011)

Simply beautiful. Love to see reclaimed wood put to use but this project exceed just using old wood. Great project, loved the pics! :thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## jlperrigan (Dec 7, 2012)

If you get tired of that bed send it my way. Great job on the build!


----------



## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

jlperrigan said:


> If you get tired of that bed send it my way. Great job on the build!


TIRED of a BED--nice pun.

Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX using Woodworking Talk


----------

