Bedroom Suite 2.0

In a previous post I mentioned the bedroom suite build, detailed the design and even showcased some photos of the timber I’d purchased. Well…things have changed a bit since then.

As I broke the lengths down, the extent of the problem became more evident. You can see how the pores have opened up between the growth rings…every time you put it through the thicknesser another cavity splinters out.

When I picked up the timber (from a local sawyer), it had some noticeable checking along its length especially on the top boards. I briefly looked through the boards and mentioned to the sawyer it looked to have been dried too quickly. He assured me that yes some boards had some checking but with a bit of epoxy filling it would be fine. He mentioned it had been kiln dried so was done in a controlled way and he’d purchased it as a dry lot. I should have trusted me instincts (and my eyes).

As I started to mill the boards I began to uncover what I’d suspected all along. The boards had split between the growth rings and the cavities run the lengths of the boards. As you can see in picture below this became evident as I started breaking down the boards.

Despite this I persisted with the build thinking it could be overcome with careful board selection and some use of epoxy to fill voids. I managed to select enough boards to get the headboard and footboard together after a hell of a lot of effort. This involved hours of thicknessing, gallons of epoxy and many hours of sanding, then everytime you worked the timber it would expose another splintery void. After many hours of hard work (50+) I still wasn’t happy with the results. This build was becoming a nightmare and I was at a loss.

The face of the same board, with the pockets splintering out.

Another unforseen issue with the boards was their reaction to humidity change. All timber moves, we know that, but this moved like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I’m not sure if this is something to do with the fast drying or not, but an arrow straight board off the thicknesser would look like a boomerang the next day.

I’d reached a point where I had to select a clean length for the bed rails. Out of the 70m+ of timber I had I couldn’t find a single board that I was happy with and so I admitted this was a lost cause and contacted the seller. To his credit he was accepting that the boards weren’t up to spec when I showed him the photos and explained the issues. He never tried to argue the point and on my terms offered a full refund. I returned the timber and semi constructed pieces.

Glued up foot board for the bed with the framing. So much effort had gone in to this point but it was never going to be something I was proud of or happy with.

But what about a bed? We’re currently sleeping on the floor having sold our old bed!

The gorgeous colour and grain of the new blackwood

I’m pleased to say project bedroom suite 2.0 has now kicked off. In all of the effort and heartache of this false start it has been a blessing in disguise. I’ve recently managed to secure a large quantity of gorgeous blackwoood to build the new version out of. This locally milled, air dried timber is already much nicer to work with. And the colours are outstanding. This rethink and false start with version one has also afforded me the opportunity to refine and design the project to what I think will be a much more elegant outcome.

Stay tuned to social media as we take on the second chance at making the bedroom suite. I’ll be sure to post progress photos on my Instagram account.