Lumber for a bed

[jseklund]

Ok, I'll leave out the long story, but the idea has recently come to me to build a sleigh bed for a christmas gift. I am not sure that I am capable yet, still deciding. However, I figure that such a venture will probably take quite some time.

My question is, if I were to buy Hard Maple and Cherry surfaced, how long should I let it stay in my basement before I try to make the bed? I've read 2 weeks, but if that is the case there is no way I'll get the bed done for Christmas. I may not even have time as it is. Is there some way to get the wood and just start using it? Or am I asking for too much?

[onedash]

I buy all my wood from woodcraft and take it home. I usually start using it right away....now sometimes I will have pieces cut for weeks or even months before I get around to finish puting stuff together.
The only real problem I have had so far was the bread board edge on a table. In the summer and winter its either two long or to short....not a lot but enough to annoy me.....Not sure what I could have done to avoid that or if it can be fixed....other that that I have yet to have a problem with any of my other projects.....

[LCHIEN]

in my process of anayling this question, the thought comes to me why anyone recommended to you to wait two weeks to acclimatize your wood before using it.

The main reason is to allow the moisture to stabilize (hence relieving any warps, bends or shrinkage). And this would occur is the wood were still somewhat green or it has been moved from one climate to another.

The former would only happen if the wood were fresh from the sawmill, if its lumber from a repuatble lumber yard, it would be kiln or air dried before being sold, to a point where the moisture was stable.

The latter would happen if the wood were kiln dried in arizona (eg. dry climate) and then flown to Florida (e.g. damp climate) which would result in a change in moisture levels maybe as severe as 10% to 20%.

You are not likely to encounter the first situation (green wood) from Lowes or HD (although reputable may not be a suitable term for them) and its not likely that the second has happened, the wood has probably been at your store more than a week.

I don't think there's a reason for you to wait 2 weeks under normal circumstances. Your wood is going to move a little as the seasons and weather changes so your design had better allow for these changes

[jackellis]

Your wood is going to move a little as the seasons and weather changes so your design had better allow for these changes

...and that little bit is going to frustrate the **** out of you, too.

[vaking]

I don't care for the time it takes lumber to settle but if you are thinking of a sleigh bed for Christmass I hope you mean the Christmass of 2007. Sleigh beds can be very labor intensive and complex. I have seen an article recently about a sleigh bed that took 10 years to built professionally.

[LCHIEN]

yeah, I meant to comment on that.
Even with no acclimatizing time, you only have 24 days to build this...
a regular bed, let alone a Sleigh bed took me several months, working carefully, of course.

[jseklund]

Guys,
thanks for all of the input. I still have so much to learn- good to have your help. I don't know where I saw the two week thing, but maybe I just misinterpreted something someone said. I started thinking about it and thought that it should be dry, etc. from the lumber yard. Onedash and lchien- thanks for the great job confirming this.

As for building the bed. I have a plan from "Woodplans" and it doesn't look too, too bad, but I figured it would take a long time. Time is the major concern here, as I am very green, don't even know how to use all of my tools properly yet, and take 4 times as long to build anything. I am about done with a cutting board and that took me about 4 weeks to build, but it was only working a few hours a night here and there, and doing one step at a time. I was thinking the sleigh bed wouldn't work ....maybe I should put it on the back burner.

Just for additional info- what makes the sleigh bed so labor intensive? I know curves take time....but maybe I am missing something.

Thanks again guys!

[ChrisD]

I don't care for the time it takes lumber to settle but if you are thinking of a sleigh bed for Christmass I hope you mean the Christmass of 2007. Sleigh beds can be very labor intensive and complex. I have seen an article recently about a sleigh bed that took 10 years to built professionally.

Didn't really have the heart to shoot down the spirits of a brave man, but you do have to be realistic.

I was in this situation once: I wanted to build a desk as a present for my daughter's 7th birthday, but time was not on my side. Having only x days to design, build, and finish, I broke down the project to the smallest tasks and mapped them out on a calendar. I had to be realistic as to how much work I could really do on week nights and how much time I was willing to take away from the family on weekends.

The desk is still rough lumber.

I will build that desk and you will build your sleigh bed, but the best scenario is when we have all the time that we need to plan, design, and execute to get the outcome that we're aiming for.

[LCHIEN]

Guys,
thanks for all of the input. I still have so much to learn- good to have your help. I don't know where I saw the two week thing, but maybe I just misinterpreted something someone said. I started thinking about it and thought that it should be dry, etc. from the lumber yard. Onedash and lchien- thanks for the great job confirming this.

As for building the bed. I have a plan from "Woodplans" and it doesn't look too, too bad, but I figured it would take a long time. Time is the major concern here, as I am very green, don't even know how to use all of my tools properly yet, and take 4 times as long to build anything. I am about done with a cutting board and that took me about 4 weeks to build, but it was only working a few hours a night here and there, and doing one step at a time. I was thinking the sleigh bed wouldn't work ....maybe I should put it on the back burner.

Just for additional info- what makes the sleigh bed so labor intensive? I know curves take time....but maybe I am missing something.

Thanks again guys!

If you are not 100% comfortable building this and are using techniques you've not used before, building this with good lumber then you should test every joint with a practice joint in cheap wood before making the good one for test fit/technique etc.

If you are building a sleigh bed it will have curves and that means templates and additional finishing as opposed to straight line cuts.

And as I can well attest, the more hurried you are to build something the more likely you are to make a careless mistake which in the best scenario can be hidden with more work (and more time) to the mid-case scenario (get more wood) to the worst case scenario (go to the hospital christmas eve).

I don't know your skill level but something less ambitious may be a good starting project. If you say you are green and a cutting board took 4 weeks...

[JoeyGee]

I now consider myself an experienced woodworker, which only means I am smart enough now to know that if I *TRUELY* believe something will take me 4 weeks, it will really take me 8. I have also learned with painful experience, this is not a hobby that can be rushed--at least not without a great deal of experience.

I really hope you do build that bed, but I think having it done by Christmas would be tough.

[jseklund]

Chris, Loring, and Joey,
I agree - wise input. I think that this project may be a little ambitious for me at this juncture, and given the time limitations it just doesn't make sense. It will get done eventually I'm sure, but it won't be Christmas '06! haha.

Thanks for the advice!