This is actually a follow-up to my recent post, Shaping And Turning A Tapered Table Leg. I am currently working on a queen-size bed in mesquite and figured walnut where I am employing the same techniques in making the bedposts as I used in creating the tapered table legs. Just hoping to show that these methods have broader applications. Here is a view of the footboard.

After completing the headboard posts I will cap all of them with an ebony finial.

The walnut panels come from lumber I was able to acquire at a local mill. Apparently the walnut tree was blown over during Hurricane Ike. I think these woods are going to be pretty gorgeous once the finish is applied.

Here is a recap of how I made the mesquite octagonal bedposts.

I did the turned elements first before creating the tapered octagon. This way I had more meat on the bedposts during the turning process which made for a little less flexing and vibration on the lathe.

Next I use a pattern to lay out curved tapers on one face of each bedpost.

I carefully bandsaw to the two lines I have drawn. Then I masking tape the waste pieces back to the post, turn it 90 degrees to the face I just cut, lay out my pattern again and bandsaw to these new lines.

I now have bedposts tapered on four faces. Here is how a post looks after I clean up the bandsaw marks with a spokeshave and scrapers.

Placing a post in V blocks, I clamp it to my work bench and create four more tapered facets using hand planes, spoke shave, and a scraper. I go back and forth between two adjacent edges until I get facets that look equal in size to the eye.

Here is a completed octagonal tapered post awaiting an ebony finial that will be attached to its top.

Here is the bed, finished and ready to deliver!

For more about this bed see A Four Poster Bed In Mesquite & Texas Walnut.

To see more of my hand made furniture, please visit My Furniture Gallery. You can also go to my Website to see even more.