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Beds are for sleeping, right? Well, not if you're a
kid. If you're a kid, bed is the place to read, dream,
plot and scheme—or just while away a rainy afternoon.
It's gossip central after school is out and the
intensive care unit during a bout with the flu. It's the
place to return to when the day is done—and sometimes,
it's just the best place to be alone.
Now that you know it's special, the job is to build a
bed that's up to snuff. Our design takes care of all the
basics, with a little extra just for fun. It's made of
plywood and poplar and we've designed it to go together
without a cabinet shop full of clamps. Underneath,
there's ample storage, with enough space for a pile of
games, books and the family cat. As for good looks,
we've incorporated a strong but simple visual theme that
matches the rest of our bedroom suite.
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Building The Headboard
First, cut 1 1/2 x 3 1/2-in. poplar to length for the
headboard stiles, mullions and top rail. To make
accurate cuts with a circular saw, use a Speed Square to
guide the cut (Photo 1). Position the square the
appropriate distance from the cutline based on your
saw's base plate. Then, clamp the square in
place. |
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| 1--Crosscut the
1 1/2-in.- thick poplar headboard pieces to length. A
square clamped to the work helps guide the
cut. | |
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Prepare the stock for the wide bottom rail by
crosscutting the available widths a few inches longer
than finished dimension. Apply glue to the mating edges
of each piece and use clamps to pull the joints tight.
Add clamps across the thickness of the assembly at each
seam–at the ends especially–to help keep the boards
aligned (Photo 2).
After about 20 minutes, scrape off any excess glue,
and let the glue set for at least 1 hour before removing
the clamps. Cut the glued-up panel to finished length
using a straightedge guide clamped across the work to
guide your circular saw. |
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| 2--Apply glue to
the wide headboard rail pieces and clamp. Use clamps at
the ends to help keep the faces
aligned. | |
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Mark the locations of joining plate slots for the
headboard joints. Note that these joints are formed by a
double row of plates. Using a flat table as the
registration surface, hold both the joiner and workpiece
against the table and cut the slots nearest one face
(Photo 3). Then, flip each piece over to cut the
remaining slots. |
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| 3--To cut the
double plate slots, use a flat surface to register the
slots on one side. Then, flip over work for remaining
slots. | |
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To cut the headboard panel grooves, first dry
assemble the headboard with joining plates and use
clamps to hold the joints tight. Install a 1/4-in.
piloted slotting cutter in your router (Bosch cutter No.
85520, arbor No. 82811) with the pilot bearing mounted
on the top of the bit arbor. Rout a 1/4-in.-wide x
1/2-in.-deep groove around each panel opening and 1/2
in. from the stock face (Photo
4). |
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| 4--Dry assemble
the headboard with plates and install clamps. Rout the
panel grooves with a piloted slotting
bit. | |
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Flip the headboard over, and again run the router
around each opening to finish the grooves. Before
routing the actual headboard stock, make a test groove
in a 1 1/2-in.-thick block to make sure your router is
set up correctly.
Disassemble the headboard parts and use a sharp
chisel to square the rounded slot ends left by the
router (Photo 5). Cut the 1/2-in.-thick plywood
panels to size, lightly sand them and thoroughly dust
them off. |
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| 5--After the
grooves have been routed, disassemble the headboard and
use a sharp chisel to square the rounded
ends. | |
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Spread glue in the headboard joint slots and on all
joining plates. Insert the plates and join the mullions
to the wide rail. Slide the panels in place (Photo
6) and install the top rail. Position the stiles and
clamp the assembly. Compare opposite diagonal
measurements to check that it's square. If the
measurements are different, adjust the clamps until
they're the same. |
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| 6--Slide the
panels into place, and join the top rail to the
mullions. Finish the assembly by joining the stiles to
the rail ends. | |
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Cut a piece of 3/4-in.-thick poplar to size for the
headboard cap. Secure the cap to the top of the
headboard using glue and nails (Photo 7). Set the
nailheads below the surface and fill the holes with wood
filler. Sand the entire headboard with 120-, 150- and
180-grit sandpaper, dusting off the assembly thoroughly
between grits. Carefully ease all sharp edges when you
sand. |
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| 7--Use glue and
finish nails to attach the 3/4-in.-thick poplar cap to
the headboard. Set the nails and fill the nail
holes. | |
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Storage Boxes
The main support for the bed is provided by two
back-to-back storage box units. Use your circular saw
guided by a straightedge to cut the plywood parts for
these boxes–a fine-tooth blade will minimize tearout
(Photo 8). |
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| 8--To cut the
plywood storage box pieces, guide your circular saw with
a straightedge clamped to the
workpiece. | |
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Mark the locations of joining plate slots in the box
parts and use your plate joiner to cut the slots. Clamp
guides and fences to the panels and worktable to help
register the plate joiner when making these cuts
(Photo 9). When you cut the slots in the end of a
panel, you can use your worktable as the registration
surface (Photo 10). |
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| 9--Clamp a guide
across the top and bottom panels of the storage boxes to
help locate the plate joiner when cutting the
slots. | |
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| 10--Use your
worktable as a registration surface when cutting the
slots in the storage box partition
panels. | |
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To minimize the need for clamps, some of the plate
joints in the bed are used only to align the joint, and
screws are used in place of glue. Use dry plates to
assemble the partitions, back panels and top and bottom
panels (Photo 11). Then install screws to hold
the parts together (Photo
12). |
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| 11--Install the
plates and position the partitions followed by the
backs. Finally, place the top panel in
position. | |
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| 12--With all
parts aligned, bore screwholes through the top and
secure the panel. Turn the assembly over and fasten the
bottom. | |
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Spread glue in the plate slots and on the joining
plates for the end pieces. Position the ends and use 6d
finish nails to hold the joints tight (Photo
13).
Rip strips of 3/4-in. poplar to a width of 7/8 in.
for the facing. Cut the pieces to length using a
miterbox and backsaw. |
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| 13--Use 6d
finish nails in place of clamps to hold the ends tightly
in place while the glue on the joining plates
sets. | |
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Apply the facing to the outside edges of the boxes
(Photo 14) as shown in the drawing below. Pay
careful attention to the overhang of each facing strip.
Set and fill the nailheads. |
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| 14--Use glue and
nails to fasten the facing strips to the storage boxes.
Use a clamp to hold the strips while you drive the
nails. | |
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Toe Kick And Platform
Cut the parts to size for the toe kick base. Apply
glue to the joints and then use clamps to hold the
pieces while you nail them together (Photo 15).
Use glue and finishing nails to secure the
cleats. |
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| 15--Assemble the
toe kick base with glue and finish nails. Use clamps to
keep the pieces from shifting as you
nail. | |
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Cut the mattress platform and poplar edges and end to
size. Then, cut the joining plate slots for fastening
the 3 1/2-in.-high edges and end to the plywood, apply
glue to the joints and assemble the pieces (Photo
16). Use 6d finish nails to hold the joints
tight. |
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| 16--Join the
platform and edges with plates and glue. Drive nails to
hold the joints tight while the glue
sets. | |
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Assembly
Start assembling the bed by joining the two storage
box units back to back. Use clamps to hold the units
together while you bore pilot holes and drive screws
through the back of one unit into the back of the other.
Turn the box assembly upside down and position the toe
kick base so there is a uniform setback on both sides
and at the foot of the bed. Fasten the toe kick by
screwing through the cleats into the bottom of the box
(Photo 17). |
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| 17--Turn the
storage box assembly upside down and place the toe kick
base over it. Secure the base with
screws. | |
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Place the panel assembly right side up, position the
headboard and temporarily clamp it in place. Bore and
countersink pilot holes and screw the headboard to the
end of the base assembly (Photo
18). |
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| 18--Position the
headboard and clamp it in place. Bore and countersink
pilot holes and screw the headboard to the storage
box. | |
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Position the platform over the storage boxes, with
its open end against the headboard. Bore and countersink
pilot holes, then fasten the platform with screws
(Photo 19).
Inspect the bed and fill any remaining nail holes
with wood filler. Sand all bed parts, finishing with
180-grit sandpaper, and dusting off between grits. After
the final sanding of the barewood surfaces, completely
dust the bed with a tack cloth. Apply a good quality
latex primer to all exposed surfaces. When the primer is
dry, lightly smooth the bed by hand, sanding with
180-grit paper to remove any surface imperfections.
Clean the bed again and follow with two coats of a good
latex enamel, following the manufacturer's
instructions. |
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| 19--Place the
platform assembly on the storage unit and tight against
the headboard. Secure the platform with
screws. | |
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MATERIALS LIST–BED
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| Key |
No. |
Size and description (use) |
| A |
2 |
1 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 38 3/4" poplar
(stile) |
| B |
2 |
1 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 9" poplar
(mullion) |
| C |
1 |
1 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 34" poplar
(rail) |
| D* |
1 |
1 1/2 x 16 3/4 x 34" poplar
(rail) |
| E |
3 |
3 1/2 x 10 x 10" plywood
(panel) |
| F |
1 |
3/4 x 2 x 41 1/2" poplar (cap) |
| G |
4 |
3/4 x 9 x 18 1/4" plywood
(divider) |
| H |
2 |
3/4 x 9 x 74 1/4" plywood
(back) |
| I |
4 |
3/4 x 19 x 74 1/4" plywood
(top/bottom) |
| J |
4 |
3/4 x 10 1/2 x 19" plywood
(end) |
| K |
4 |
3/4 x 7/8 x 74 1/16" poplar
(facing) |
| L |
4 |
3/4 x 7/8 x 10 9/16" poplar
(facing) |
| M |
4 |
3/4 x 7/8 x 81 3/16" poplar
(facing) |
| N |
2 |
3/4 x 2 3/4 x 73 1/4" plywood (toe
kick face) |
| O |
2 |
3/4 x 2 3/4 x 33" plywood (toe kick
end) |
| P |
3 |
3/4 x 3 1/2 x 33" plywood
(cleat) |
| Q |
1 |
3/4 x 39 1/2 x 75 3/4" plywood
(platform) |
| R |
2 |
3/4 x 3 1/2 x 76 1/2" poplar
(platform edge) |
| S |
1 |
3/4 x 3 1/2 x 39 1/2" poplar
(platform end) |
Misc: Misc.: No. 20
joining plates; 2 1/4" No. 10 fh woodscrews; 2" No. 8 fh
woodscrews; 11/4" No. 8 fh woodscrews; 6d finish nails;
glue; sandpaper; latex primer and enamel.
Note: All
plywood birch veneer
*Laminate from narrower
stock
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