"BIRD'S-EYE OVER CATTAIL"

 All in-laws should be so lucky!

SHOP OWNER: Alan Young

LOCATION: Ypsilanti, MI

My mother-in-law showed me a picture of a headboard in one of those outdoor gear catalogues. This is my interpretation of the picture she gave me. I named it "Bird's-eye over Cattail."

The bed frame was made from bird's-eye maple and cherry. The wood came from a friend in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan. He had stored it in his barn for 15 years. The wood will will return to the "UP" in the form of this headboard, and reside in my wife's parents' newly built cabin on a beautiful quiet North Michigan lake.

The curved top rail is made of laminated maple strips, face veneered with more bird's-eye maple separated by small strips of cherry. The spindles are maple dowels wrapped in hand-planed cherry to form the "cattails." This cattail feature showed up in the design when the dowels I ordered from a supply company arrived. I had chosen 1/2" but felt I should have ordered at least 5/8" for better strength. I didn't want to send the dowels back, so the solution seemed to be to "wrap" some cherry around them to provide the extra strength.

Sometimes initial decisions that seem to be mistakes can lead to better results that anticipated. I think I like this much better than if I had ordered thicker dowels.