Viking-Bed-art - 11/1/11
"A few notes on the design and making of a 10th century Viking bed" by Lord Rhys, Capten, gen y Arian Lloer.
NOTE: See also the files: beds-msg, furniture-msg, N-furniture-lnks, books-Norse-msg, Vikg-n-Irelnd-art, wood-finishes-msg, woodworking-msg, wood-msg.
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Thank you,
Mark S. Harris...AKA:..Stefan li Rous
stefan at florilegium.org
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A few notes on the design and making ofa
10th century Viking bed
LordRhys,Capten,genyArianLloer
Midrealm
In1880AntiquaryNicolayNicolaysenofNorwaybeganexcavationofa Vikingburial shipdated at approximately890A.D. Itwasburiedapproximately900A.D. These dateswererecentlydeterminedbyanalysisoftheannualringsintheoakmaterial [1].NowknownastheGokstadShip,thisshipcontained manyartifacts includingfragments ofsixoakbedframes allofsimilarstyleasthisproject. AntiquaryNicolaysenwasable tofully restore twocompleteframesfrom the Gokstad ship. The onlydifferencesbeing size, somedrilledholesthatwecanonlyspeculate thereasonfor,andtwoslightlydiffering decorativecuts onthe tops ofthelegs. Thecutscanbeseenintheillustrationtotheleft drawn by Nicolaysen [2] Allofthese bedswereoffairlyrudeworkmanship. Ofthetwo fullyrestored,onewas271/2incheshigh423/4incheswideand891/2incheslong. Theotherwas291/2incheshigh,431/4incheswide and561/4 incheslong. Theend-boardsrangedfrom11to113/4incheswide,althoughthesiderailsweresomewhatnarrowerthanthe endrails. The bedposts were about 3inches square. The beds ofthistypeinthesetwoburialshadtwodistinctleg patterns.
Inallofthebedsfound,thesiderailswerecutwithtwo tennonsthatpassedcompletely throughmortisesinthelegs.
Theserails were securedwith wooden wedges through mortised holesontheoutsideofthelegs. Andtheendrails hadonetennoneach thatalsowentthroughthelegs,but between thetennonsforthesiderails. Theendrailswerealso securedonthe outside with wooden wedges.Theonly decorativedetails wereataperingofthelegsandtheabovenoted cuts ontheupperpartofthelegs. Thelegsweremortisedasmentioned aboveandhadabouta1/4”mortisetoallowtherailstosetintothelegsslightly. Theslatsalsohad tennonsandpassedthroughmortises onbothsiderailsatregularintervals withonlythe center slatbeingwedgedtokeepthesiderailsfromflexingoutwhenweightisonthe bed. Theslatswouldhavesupportedaclothmattress withstrawticking [4].Askeleton foundatthesitewasover6feettall,verystronglybuilt,wayabovenormal sizefor thetime [5]. The variations inbedsize andtheextremelylarge size oftheskeleton suggestthat bedsweremadespecifically forindividualsoratleastwiththeirneedsinmind,rather than toastandard size.
ProfessorGabrielGustafsonexcavatedasecond ship,knownnowasthe Oseberg ship,in1904. Builtapproximately815–820A.D.,it was buried in 834A.D. AnArab, Ibn Fadlan,travelinginRussiaduringthe9thcenturyhappeneduponagroupofVikingswho werein theprocessofburyingachieftain inhisship,andmadenoteofhisobservations.
HissurvivingjournalhasallowedustodatetheOsebergshipexactly [6[. TheOseberg ship containedtheremainsoffivebeds,allmade frombeech. Fourofthebedswerethesame typeofslatbeds as thosefoundwithintheGokstadship. Thefifthbedhadcarveddragon headsonthebedpostsofacompletelydifferent typeattheheadend.Howevertheslats, siderails,andpairoflegsatthefootofthebedareofmuch thesame designastheother tenbedsfoundintheGokstadandOsebergships. AntiquaryNicolaysen believed that thesebedsweremostlikelyreservedforthesuperiormembersofthecrew5.Bothofthese shipsarebelievedtohavebeenprivate vessels forrichownersornoblesrather than longshipsfortransportationofwarriors6. Only thecarved‘dragon’ bed fromtheOseberg shiphasbeenrestoredfromthefragmentsgivingusthreecomplete slatbeds.Twofrom theGokstadshipandonefromtheOsebergship,aswellasfragmentsofeightpartial frames, fourfromeach ship. Fromthese twoshipsitisapparent thatthisstyleofbed framewasusedforthree-quartersofacenturyorlonger,changinglittle instyleduring thattimeframe. Theseshipsandtheircontentsareavailableforviewing inOslo,
Norway
Let’sbuildthebed!
WhenIwenttobuildabedformyownuse,Icameupwithanumberofrequirements. Iwanted somethingperiod. Itneededtobreakdownfortransportationandbefairlycompact. Itneededto bedocumentable,(it’stheapprenticethinginme). Itneededtoofferaplacetostoreitemsoutof sightinmypavilion. Aftermuchresearch,Ifoundawebsitethatofferedmuchofmyneeds. MasterCharlesOakleyhasaverynicesitewiththebasicsforthisbed. Agreatdealofmydesignisbasedonhis. Ithensetforthontheresearchyouseeabove. Imadesomechangesto mybasicdesign,thetaperonthelegs,theinsetfortherails,thedifferentdecorativecutsbased onmyresearchonthebedsIfound. Theaddedheightwasforstorageundermybed. Ifyou wantashorterbed,justcutthelegsdownabit. Thisbedisdesignedtofitafullsizedfuton mattress,orafullsizedairmattress. Ifyouwantsomethingabitlarger,orsmaller,justadjustthe lengthofallfourrailstomeetyourneeds.
PurchaseList
TheoriginalbedsofthistypeusedOakorBeechthatwasavailableinthatpartoftheworld. UnlessyouliveinNorway,availabilityinyourareawillvary. IrecommendWhiteOakoverRed. Otherhardwoodscouldbesubstituted. Ipersonallywouldnotrecommendpineorother softwoodsforthisproject. But,ifyougottausepine,use2x4,2x6and2x8formorestrength. Thewedgeswillbecutfromthescrapsleftoverasyoumakethebed.Thehardesttofindistheposts. Inmyhomearea,Menardsisoneofthebighomeimprovementstores. Theysell4x4oakpost6feetlong. Theyaremadefromgluedupboards. Thesewillworkjustfine. Usingatable sawtheycanberesawnto3x3. Icutminealittlelargeandusedaplanertofine-tunethecuts. Tomakethisbed,youneedtopurchasethefollowingstandardlengthboards
1.(2)4”x4”x6ft
2.(2)1”x6”x8ft
3.(6)1”x6”x6ft
4.(1)1”x8”x6ft
CuttingList
1.(4)3"x3"x36”posts.
2.(2)1"x6"x80”siderails.
3.(2)1"x6"x61”endrails(orheadboardandfootboard).
4.(1)1"x8"x58”themiddleslat.
5.(4)1"x6"x58”remainingslats.
6.Holdontothescraps,youwillusesomeforwedges.
StepOne:
Letsstartwiththelegs. Thelegshave4separateoperations. Theyarethemostdifficultpartof thisproject. But,withalittlecare,Iamsureyoucandoagreatjob.
1.Thesquareholes(mortises)fortherails(tennons)toslidethrough.
2.Thedecorativecutsatthetopofthelegs.
3.Thetaperdownall4sides.
4.Sanding
1. Tocutthesquareholeslay themoutaccordingtofigure1. Useadrillpressanda3/4”bitto plowoutmostofthematerial, thenachiseltomakethem square. Don’tforgettocutthe littleinsertthatallowstherails tosetslightlyintothelegs.
Thiscanbedonewithjusta chisel,butdoitnow,beforeyou taperthelegs.Oneofthefirst thingsyouaregoingtonoticeis thatyouaregoingtohave three2”tennonsgoingintoa51/2”space. 1”x6”dimensional lumberisactually3/4”x51/2”. So inordertousestandard lumber,yourmortiseholeswill crossinthecenter. This actuallymakesthebedhold togetherstrongerthenbefore,astherailsalltietogether. The sidescannotberemovedwith outremovingtheends.
2.Thesecutsareeasiestdone withabandsaw. A handsaw willdothejob,butit’sapain.
Note:Thisisagoodtimetoask yourwifeifyoucanbuythat bandsawyouwanted. Choose thedesignyoulike,figure2. Bothofthesedesignsare period,oryoucancomeupwith yourown. Drawthedesignrightontheleganduseyoursawtocutthemout. Ifoundit easiesttocuteverythingonone side,thenturntheleg90deg. Anddrawthatsideandcutit there.
3.Tocutthetaper,noifs,ands,orbutts,youneedataperingjig.
Youcanmakeone,orbuyone. Woodworkingshopsshouldknow whatyou’retalkingabout. Aluminumjigsshouldcostabout$10. Usethejigtotaperthelegsfromthebottomofthedecorativecuts down. Seefigure4.Keepinmind;whenyoumakethefirstcut, you haveastraightedgeagainsttheripfence. Whenyoumakethesecondcut,youhaveataperededgeagainsttheripfence. Soyoumustadjustthejigtocuttwiceasdeeptogetthesametaper. Youshouldremoveatapersothatthebottomofthelegis21/4” andthetopofthehighestmortiseis3”. Thereforeyouhavetoremove 3/8”oneachofthefoursides.Seefigure3.
4.Apalmsanderwilldoadecentjobofcleaningupallofyourcuts andblademarks. Iused60gritpaperfirst,then150grit,then220 grittofinishthejob. Donotputafinishonanythinguntilallofthe piecesareready. Youwillneedtoadjustalittlebitfirst.
StepTwo:
Thesecondstepistomakethetwoendrails. Thereareeasy3operations tomakethem.
1.Themaincuts.
2.Sanding
3. Wedge holes
1.Takeone1”x6”x61”board andmakethe cutsinfigure4. Thismakesa tennontofitinto thesinglehole sideofthelegs. Dothesamefor bothends. The secondboardis donethesameway.
2.Sandeverythingbeforecuttingthemortiseholesforthewedges.
3.Putthetennonfromthe railthroughoneofthe legs,youmayneedto adjusttheholeinthelegwithachiseland/oraraspsotherailfitsin easily,butnotloosely. Note:therailsgoin throughthesidewith theinsert;thewedgeswillgoonthecleansideofthelegs. Withthe railthroughtheleg, drawalineonthe outsidewheretherail meetsthelegasin figure5. Putthesame railtennonthrough eachandeveryleg. Thenrepeatwitheach rail. Thisgivesyou4 linesoneachtennon thatshouldbeveryclosetogetherifnotontopofeachother. Yourmortiseholesneedtooverlaptheinnermostlinebyatleasta1/4inch,centeredonthetennon.Usea3/4”spadeorforstner bittodrillthehole. Thensquareitupwithachisel. Afteryoucutthewedges,youwillbe puttinganangleontheoutsideedgeofthehole,butit’seasiertodothatlaterinstep6.
StepThree:
Thirdistheconstructionoftheside-rails,whichtake5operationstocomplete.
1.Themortiseholesfortheslats.
2.Thetennonsforthelegs.
3.Sanding.
4.Themortiseholesforthewedges.
5.Thenotchesfortheend-rails.
Tomakethemortiseholesfortherails,layoutthe centerlinesforeach,thenlayouttheholesasinfigure6. Onceyourholesaredrawn,taketheboardtoyourdrillpressandusethat3/4”bitonceagaintocutaseriesofholesto removemostofthematerial,thensquarethemwithasharpchisel. Remember,the centerrailislargerandtheholeis41/2”longwhiletheothersareonly4”long.
2.Takeoneofthetwo1”x6”x80”boardsandlayitoutaccordingtofigure7.Besureto layoutthe2”tennonsfromeachsideratherthanmeasuringfromoneside. The2”is moreimportantthanthecenterinthiscase. Liketherailsinsteptwo,theendshave tennons,onlytwoateachendthistime. Repeatforallfourendsonthetwoboards.
3.Putthetennonsfromtherailthroughoneofthelegs,youmayneedtoadjusttheholein thelegwithachiseland/oraraspsotherailfitsineasily,butnotloosely. Note:therails gointhroughthesidewiththeinsert;thewedgeswillgoonthecleansideofthelegs. Withtherailthroughtheleg,drawalineontheoutsidewheretherailmeetsthelegasin figure5ontheendrails. Put thesame railtennon through eachand everyleg. Then repeatwith eachrail. Thisgives you4lines oneachtennonthat shouldbe veryclose togetherif notontop ofeachother. Yourmortiseholesneedtooverlaptheinnermostlinebyatleasta1/4inch, centeredonthetennon.Usea3/4”spadeorforstnerbittodrillthehole,thensquareitup withachisel. Afteryoucutthewedges,youwillbeputtinganangleontheoutsideedge, butit’seasiertodothatlater.
4.Putthetennonsfromtherailthroughthelegsagain.Thistimeyouneedtouseyourpenciltomarkwheretheheadandfootboardsgothroughthelegs,Figure8. Asmall amountofmaterialhastoberemoved. Onceagain,useeachoftherailsinallfourlegs. Useajigsawtoremovethetwonotchesoneachend.
StepFour:
Okay,youhavedoneallofthehardwork. Letsmakesomeslats.
1.Thecenterslatfirst becauseit’sdifferentfrom therest. Takeyour1”x8”x58”boardandlayitoutasinfigure8.Cutthe shoulderwithajigsawora bandsaw.
2.Sandeverythingbeforecuttingthemortiseholes
3.Puttheslatthroughthe centertennonineachside railanddrawyourline. You mightneedtoadjustthe mortiseontheside-railto
fit. Usea3/4”bittocutyour holeandsquareitupwitha sharpchisel. Again,the angleonthewedgeholewillbedonelater.
4.Cuttheremainingfourslats fromthe1”x6”x58”boards, figure9.
5.Sandeverything.
6.Therearenoholestocut forwedgesonthese boards,however,youstill wanttomakesuretheend oreachslatfitseasilyinto eachoftheeightmortise holesontheside-rails. Someadjustmentstothe side-railswitharaspand chiselareinevitable.
StepFive:
Okay,timetomakesomewedges. Thisiseasy,butyouhavetorememberacoupleofthings. Firstofall,woodisnot astablematerial. Itwarps,itswells,itshrinks,itbends. Also,yourmortiseholesarenotgoingtobeexactlythesame everywhere. Therefore,youneedanumberofwedges,somethicker,somethinnersothatonanygivendayyoucanfindawedgetofitanygivenmortise. Somakemorewedgesthanyouneed. Fourteenare neededtoputthebedtogether,soyoushouldhaveaminimumof20-30assortedwedges. They arenotbig,andasmallbagwillholdthemall. Irecommendasmallwoodorrawhidemalletto helpwithassemblinganddisassemblingthebed. Ikeeponeinthewedgebag. Hereisaquick andeasywaytomakewedges. Takesomeofyourscrapwoodfromcuttingtheboardstolength andcut21/2”stripsoutofit. Makesurethegrainrunstheshortwayacrossthe21/2”soitgoesthe correctdirectiononyourwedges,figure10. Usingatablesaw,setyourmitergaugetoabout20degreesandcutawedgesothatthesmalltipofthewedgeisanywherefrom1/8”to3/8”thick.
Resetthemiterto0degreesandmakeanotherwedge,theangleisalreadytherefromthelast cut. Turnbackto20degreesandrepeat. Makeabunchofwedges,somethicker,somethinner. Youcan’treallymaketoomany. Youmightevenneedacouplereallythickones. Itdependson yourindividualbedandhowaccurateyourcutswereearlier.
StepSix:
Fearnot,theendisinsight. Rememberallthoseholesforthe wedges? Welltheoutsideedge needstohaveatapertomatch thewedge. TheeasiestwayI havefoundtomakethetaperis withanicesharpchiselanda wedge. Takethechiselandstartremovingmaterialfromthesideofthewedgeholeclosesttotheend oftheboard. Onthecenterslat youwantthetaperonthesame sideoftheboardsobothwedges goinfromthetop. Ontheothers itdoesn’tmatter. Keepyourchiselatanangle. Youaregoing toneedtoremoveabout 1/8" from thetopofthemortiseholedown to0”atthebottom,figure11.
Usethelittlewedgeoccasionally tochecktheangle. Itshouldbe straightintheholewhenthetwoanglesareagainsteachother. Theholesthroughthelegsdonotgetataper.
StepSeven:
Okay,let’sseeifwecan’twrapthisup. Thebedshouldallgotogether. Ifsomethingistootight, adjustwitharaspand/orchisel. Makesurethateachboardwillfitineachspot. Trustme,itis easiertospendthetimenowmakingtheminterchangeablethenitistotryandfindtheright boardfortherightholeaftersettingupyourpavilionintherain,afterdark….
Onceyouarehappywiththefit,checkyoursanding. Itistimetotouchitup. Youcansand, scrape,orwhateveryouwantforafinish. Isandedmine.Why? Because;myLadydoesn’twant asplinterat2a.m.onthewaytotheprivy. Suresandingisnotperiod. But,practicalcountstoo, especiallyinsomethingthatisgoingtobeusedalot.
Therearealotofwaystoputafinishonthebedandyoucandecidewhatyouwishtouse. I used2coatsoftungoiland2coatsofbeeswaxonthebedsIhavemade. Although,beeswax canmaketheboardsextremelyslipperyandyoushouldnotleanthemonendagainstthewall. Ortheywillcrashtothefloor. Othermethodsyoumightuseareboiledlinseedoil,shellac,stain, polyurethane,andwax. Irecommendsomethingtosealthewoodandmakeitlast.
StepEight:
Waitaminute;thereisnostepeight. You’redone! Cleanuptheshop. Tossafutononyournew bedandtryitout. EnjoythebedandfeelfreetolookmeupatPennsic. Icanusuallybefound aroundtheBaronyofAndelcragareaN-07
Notes fromafewyears down theroad:
Well,hereitisthreeorfouryearslater. Thebedhasseenalotofuse,somelocalevents,three Pennsics. Onemaincomment,foraweekendevent,it’sfine,noproblem,butafteraweekat Pennsic,theslatsbegintohurt. TofixtheissueIaddedaledgeundertheslatsonthesiderails, andcutmoreslatstofillintheholes. Topreservethelook,thesefillinsgofromsidetoside betweentheregularslats,sotheyarealittleshorter. Withafutononit,youcan’ttellthe difference. Theotherchoice,wastoputapieceofhardboardorplywoodovertheslats,butthen youhavetotransportthelargerpieceofplywood. Individualslatsareeasiertotransport.
IhopeyouenjoymakingthisasmuchasIdid.
[1] Christensen, Arne Emil Professor. The Vikings. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway. 1996. Pg. 4
[2] Nicolaysen, Nicolay. Langskibet Fra Gokstad Ved Sandefjord. The Viking-Ship Discovered at Gokstad in Norway. 1882. Reprint by Books on Demand. 2001. Pg.42.
[3] Nicolaysen, Nicolay. Langskibet Fra Gokstad Ved Sandefjord. The Viking-Ship Discovered at Gokstad in Norway. 1882. Reprint by Books on Demand. 2001. Pg. 75.
[4] Christensen, Arne Emil, Profes sor. The Vikings. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway. 1996. Pg. 5.
[5] Nicolaysen, Nicolay. Langskibet Fra Gokstad Ved Sandefjord. The Viking-Ship Discovered at Gokstad in Norway. 1882. Reprint by Books on Demand. 2001. Pg. 42.
[6] Christensen, Arne Emil, Professor. The Vikings. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway. 1996. Pg. 5 & 6.
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Full permission is granted for publication in any SCA related newsletter or publication provided no alterations are made without notifying Lord Rhys in advance.
If this article is reprinted in a publication, I would appreciate a notice in the publication that you found this article in the Florilegium. I would also appreciate an email to myself, so that I can track which articles are being reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan.
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Edited by Mark S. HarrisViking-Bed-art`1 of 15