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Materials:
- ½" plywood
- Carpenter's glue
- 2" x 4" lumber
- Tin panels and trim pieces
- Escutcheon pins
- 2" screws
- Finish nails (shelf)
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Tools
- Circular saw or jigsaw
- Hammer
- Nail set
- Needlenose pliers
- Tin snips
- Drill and bits
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Tin Credible!
The secret to this headboard is the tin panels which are painted
and then affixed to a plywood backing. Decorative tin can be purchased
online from Canadian tinsmith Brian
Grier - (519) 743-9710. A 2' x 2' panel is about $16.00.
Crown moulding and edging trim are also available from Brian.
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Your Measurements
First, measure the width of your mattress. Design your headboard to
be at least as wide as your mattress, and it's actually more aesthetically
pleasing if it's a bit wider. Height is up to you, but if you make
it too tall, it looks kind of gothic and weird.
Lay out the tin panels to fit the approximate dimensions of your
headboard. Add some trim and crown moulding, then take a final measurement
of the tin layout. Cut your plywood to correspond with those measurements.
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Steps:
Attach 2 x 4s along the sides |
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| If you're making a headboard for a double, queen or king bed,
you may need to join two pieces of plywood to get the required
width. You can "scab" the two pieces of plywood together
with a 2" x 4" board placed over the seam, then glued
and screwed to the plywood.
Stiffen the back of the plywood with vertical 2" x 4"
boards glued and screwed along the two side edges on the back
of the plywood. The 2" x 4" boards should line up
with the mounting holes in your metal bedframe.
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Attach a 2 x 4 or 2 x 2 along the top to support the 1 x 8 shelf
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Attach a 1 x 8 shelf along the top |
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Crowning Example
To install crown moulding along the top of the headboard, you'll
need a horizontal shelf to catch the top edge of the crown.
It's difficult to screw the shelf to the edge of plywood, so
give the shelf something to attach to; Screw a 2" x 2"
pine strip along the top edge of the plywood between the vertical
2" x 4"'s, and then attach a horizontal 1" x
8" pine board on top to act as a shelf.
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Cut out a triangular piece to cap the end of the crown molding
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Mark the shape of the crown on a piece of pine |
Attach it in place with glue, screws and nails |
| Make triangular pieces to cap the ends of the crown by tracing
the shape on a scrap piece of pine. If your crown requires a
seam in the centre, make a support piece for the joint by tracing
the exact shape of the crown on a scrap of wood, cut it out
and attach it under the joint. |
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Raw tin and primed tin |
Tin with milk paint |
Highlight with a lighter coloured milk paint |
Paint of Heart
After cleaning it well with rubbing alcohol or Windex, prime
all the tin with a water-based metal primer. Once it's dry,
paint the tin whatever colour you like, then apply a light brushing
of a contrasting colour to pick up the detail and depth of the
tin design. While you've got the paint out, coat the exposed
surfaces of the top shelf as well.
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Place the trim and tack the pieces in place with escutcheon
pins |
Escutcheon pins |
Hold the pins with needlenose pliers to start them |
Use a nail set to drive the escutcheon pin flush |
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Attaching the Tin
Starting at the top of the headboard, install the crown moulding
first. Nail it in place using brass-coated escutcheon pins.
These are tiny, so to avoid smashing your fingers, hold the
escutcheon pins in place with a pair of needlenose pliers while
you whack 'em with a hammer. Cap the ends of the crown moulding
with triangular blocks of wood painted the same colour as the
tin. |
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Place the centre panels leaving room for the trim
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Cut down the square panels if necessary |
Attach a piece of trim along the edge |
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Lay out a line of trim under the crown moulding, and place
the square panels underneath it, tweaking all the pieces so
they line up properly. Lay trim over all of the exposed edges
so there are no sharp edges to cut soft body parts. Tack all
the tin in place with escutcheon pins. Then cover the outside
edges with 2" trim. Paint out any exposed wood and touch
up the nail heads.
TIP:
Be careful to keep the tin very square as you install it,
because it wants to migrate and you could be so mad you might
utter coarse epithets.
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Attach the headboard to the frame |
Use a carriage bolt through the headboard and frame |
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Frame and Fortune
Finally, set the headboard in place against the bedframe. Mark
the headboard where it contacts the mounting holes in the metal
frame. Then pull the headboard away and pre-drill holes in the
headboard to fit the size of carriage bolts that your bed frame
will hold - usually one-quarter inch bolts do the trick.
Slide the headboard back into position against the bedframe,
install carriage bolts with fender washers and wing nuts.
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Round over any sharp edges with pliers... |
...and then tap the fold down with a hammer |
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TIP:
Turn any sharp edges under using needlenose pliers and tap the
fold down with a hammer. |
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Detail of a 2 foot square panel |
Detail of crown molding and trim |
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| You've done it! You're headboard-enabled! |
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Artisans'
work featured on this episode:
(click pics for Artist info and larger
images)
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