Jane's Headboard

In 1999 made this queen size headboard when I was living in an apartment because the walls were thin and I could hear the neighbors on the other side of the wall. I therefore created an air pocket between two sheets of plywood to act as soundproofing. The wall panels are made up of three sections which make the piece easier to transport. The two side panels slot into the center piece and do not require mechanical fasteners. The whole piece lies flush against the wall.

	This shows the side of the center panel. The rails and shelves are all made of 1/2" pine. I cut all edges at a 40 degree angle to make the piece less boxy. The field is made of 3/8" Parawood ply (aka Guatambu ply). Where the frame and the plywood come together I made a rabbet under which the ply slips in. The rest of the framework is made of wall studs.

This is a top view of the right wall panel where it connects to the center panel. You can see the air pockets I created for soundproofing. I used 1/2" MDF as it is in itself a great soundproofing material. This panel still needs the plywood front, which would form the second air pocket, and the cap which forms the shelf.

The cabinet section is made entirely of 5/8" Parawood ply. I cut 1/16" strips of pine to use as edge banding to finish the edges off. This cabinet was constructed as a separate piece to facilitate moving. It is joined to the center panel with inner corner brackets. The cabinet doors are attached with piano hinges.

As you can see here I made the cabinet doors so that they can be flipped down to form a serving tray if needed. They are made of 1/2" solid pine. As they are at about a 30 degree angle they are also wonderful for lying against while reading, and of course they serve as storage spaces.

For the finish I first of all ragged on four coats of Natural Cherry Polyshades (a polyurethane and stain in one). I then taped the plywood off and sprayed the frame, shelves and doors with maroon Krylon (acrylic). To make the frame blend better with the plywood I ragged on another coat of the Natural Cherry Polyshades over the maroon sections. To finish the project off I sprayed on two coats of high gloss clear polyurethane.