Doug,
Disagree with your comment on plywood over solid wood. In wood of same
dimensions, plywood is much stronger than typical wood (especially something
like poplar). You don't have the wood defects, splits, checks, etc than can
weaken solid wood.
Since plywood is laminated veneers of solid wood with the laminations
running at 90 degree angles to each others, it's resistance to breakage for
something like a bed slat is much greater than a typical piece of poplar.
Gary



"Doug Miller" wrote in message
.com...
In article , "Gary"
wrote:
Why finish them? Wood movement isn't necessarily a bad thing. You only
need
to control it where it wood is joined and movement of the wood can cause
problems with some sort of joinery or attachement. Attach the bed slats
with a screw through the middle of the slat to your ledger strip and any
movement will be an expansion of the wood away from the screw.
Another thought - use plywood slats instead of hardwood. No wood movement
and much stronger across it's length than hardwood.

Ummm... actually, solid wood is stronger.

"Bob N" wrote in message
. com...
Thanks for the helpful advice on scraping vs. sanding my son's ash bed.
I
sanded to 220
and the first coat of finish (Tried & True Varnish Oil) is already
silky.

I don't want to put oil finish on the poplar slats since they contact
the
mattress. Would
it be better to shellac them to reduce movement due to humidity changes
or
leave them
unfinished?

Thanks.
--
Bob





--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)