Footboard Top rail

Just getting a head start on this issue.
I am going to build a bed for my daughter and this is what the top rail for the foot board needs to look like. It's a full sized bed, so 5 feet long or so.

How would you make this piece? It's 3/4" thick at the bottom, maybe 1.5" thick at the thickest, but doesn't really matter, how would you get this shape down the entire length of this piece?

Just trying to determine if I am going to have to save up to buy something (bits or otherwise) to make this piece.
I can post a picture of what it will look like on the bed later, just don't have it with me right now.

Thanks

Aaron, I made a queen size sleigh bed several years ago and the headboard and footboard both have top rail similar to what you show. I glued up my boards to the needed thickness and also a couple of pieces for practice runs.
I cut the under side of the pieces using a cove cut on the table saw, I did this first. Then I used the table saw to remove the corners of the top portion just getting close to the profile that I wanted, then I used hand planes and scrapers to finish getting to my desired profile on the top sides and in the coved area. It worked pretty well for me and I was very satisfied with the finished product. It went a lot faster than I thought it would. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

It shouldn't be all that hard to do. Start with a piece of 8/4, and either use a ¾" radius round-over router bit (two passes) to make the rounded top part, and some shallow cuts on the table saw along the hollowed lower edge for waste removal, then finish with a plane, scraper, or spokeshave.

If you don't have a router table or a tablesaw, you could do the whole thing in a couple hours using only planes, scrapers, and spokeshaves.

like charles and jim said, i did one that had more curve than you show and worked well. take your time and practice on a scrap piece first i used 8/4 for mine.

hmm, sounds like I am going to have to save up for some hand planes, scrapers, spokeshaves. I have lots of power tools but haven't got many hand tools, just haven't needed them for what I have ever made thus far.
Might be more expensive getting what I need than I thought.

better pic of the top rail, even though you knew what I was talking about.


Thanks for the advice, I will start looking at hand tools, but if you have any particular ones in mind (brand/style) that I would need for this part let me know since I don't know anything about handtools.

If you don't have the planes and spoke shaves, maybe do the round overs on the router, then do the bottom cove on the table saw using a jig to run it across at an angle, also chip away some of the top curve with the table saw again, finally lots of sanding, just try to use the power tools to get you to the basic shape. May need to add a taller auxiliary fence to your table saw fence to support for the top side cuts.

Darren Wright said:

If you don't have the planes and spoke shaves, maybe do the round overs on the router, then do the bottom cove on the table saw using a jig to run it across at an angle, also chip away some of the top curve with the table saw again, finally lots of sanding, just try to use the power tools to get you to the basic shape. May need to add a taller auxiliary fence to your table saw fence to support for the top side cuts.

Click to expand...

I did some measuring of the part and the fat end is only 1 1/2" thick so it looks like I could run a 3/4" radius round over bit through the router table and get really close that way. Then do the cove thing, might not be as bad as I thought. There will be some cleanup between the transition of the rounder over and where the cove almost meet, right now they don't meet so I will have a corner to knock down.

Should do the round overs first, right?

Aaron Beaver said:

I did some measuring of the part and the fat end is only 1 1/2" thick so it looks like I could run a 3/4" radius round over bit through the router table and get really close that way. Then do the cove thing, might not be as bad as I thought. There will be some cleanup between the transition of the rounder over and where the cove almost meet, right now they don't meet so I will have a corner to knock down.

Should do the round overs first, right?

View attachment 98266

Click to expand...

I probably would.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

arron keep as much of it square as you can before doing the table saw part you need it for reference points draw it out on a chunk of 2x4 and make a sample then you have the sequence down.. the round overs will work like you thought on a router table the inner curve is a table saw cut, the top curve is a plane for best use and the final cut is the angle cut flat to the panel.

The cove could be nibbled away on table saw, by adjusting blade height and moving fence width of saw blade till most of the waste area is gone. Rest by hand/ power sanding.