DIY Network

Mahogany Headboard -- Assembly and Finish From "Wood Works" episode WWK-403

advertisement

The completed headboard. Figure A Figure B Figure C Figure D Figure E Figure F

The finishing steps in the headboard project are final assembly and application of a wood finish. The glue-up is straightforward, but takes some time since it must be done in stages.

Materials:

#20 Wood biscuits
Blue carpenter's tape
Slow-setting plastic-resin glue
Clamps
320-grit sandpaper
Hand scraper
Potassium dichromate
Tung-oil wood finish
Paint brushes
Rags
Rubber gloves; Eye protection

Note: Cut sizes may vary. For exact measurements, please contact David Marks through his Web site -- information below under Resources.

Safety Alert: Always wear safety goggles or safety glasses when working with wood, power-tools, saws, drills, routers, etc.

Safety Alert: Always wear protective gloves when working with wood stains, solvents and other toxic solutions.

Steps:

• With the fit checked for all of the elements, glue-up can begin. Apply blue carpenter's tape to the edges of the veneers and the joints to catch any glue that squeezes out during the process (figure A).

• Begin the glue-up by gluing all of the biscuits into their slots (figure B), and the tenons into their mortises.

• Glue the bottom rail in place, then attach the stiles and crest-rail. Temporarily add a clamp to the center to pull the joints tight (figure C).Attach the legs without glue to confirm the alignment, and to act as cawls during the first stage of the glue-up.

• Clamp the assembly securely in both directions (figure D), and let that part bond for 12 hours.

• After the first phase is dry, remove the clamps and side-legs.

• Now, glue the legs and bottom rail in place, and clamp the assembly securely so that the joints are snug (figure E). Allow the glue to harden overnight.

• When the assembly is finished, and the glue has dried, clean away any excess glue with a scraper, and sand the entire piece with 320-grit sandpaper.

• We brushed on a potassium-dichromate finish to color the wood (figure F). After the dichromate dried, we added several coats of tung oil to bring out the three-dimensional quality of the quilted mahogany.

  Safety Alert: Potassium dichromate is toxic, so wear gloves and eye protection, and work in a well-ventilated area.

Click here to order your tools and materials for this project from Woodcraft!

RESOURCES :

Fine Woodworking
A magazine devoted to high-quality craftsmanship in woodworking.
The Taunton Press Inc.
Website: www.taunton.com

Woodworking Techniques: Best Methods for Building Furniture from Fine Woodworking
Author: Editors of Fine Woodworking magazine
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 1561583456

David Marks Website
David Marks, DIY's Wood Works host, is a master woodworker. For more information on cut sizes and project details, please contact him via his Website at www.djmarks.com