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#1 ·
Design and Planning

My wife and I will be bringing home our daughter in a few weeks. It's time to get serious about her bedroom, so this blog is a chance for me to keep track of my thoughts during the design and building of the bed, and to ask you all for your valuable input.
Wife wants a fancy bed, conceptually similar to this:
Furniture Comfort Window Bed Decoration

But she wants it to be a daybed. I came up with this:
Textile Rectangle Handwriting Wood Font

Which is a terrible picture of an awful sketch I made.

It's going to be a twin, which gives mattress dimensions about 75"x39"x6".

I'll get in AutoCAD and make a better sketch, and be able to plan how to build this a bit better.
Some very helpful LJs advised me about making moldings, which already has my brain running about how to make the curved rails… Oh and of course LOML chose the curvy option for the side, instead of the easy straight option at the bottom…

The plan so far:
Posts are roughly 3Ă—3, I'm thinking. I'll probably resaw or plane down from 4Ă—4. Don't have a lathe, so there will be some hand shaping; nothing too fancy without a lathe. Probably buy ball finials for the tops.

Headboard (or do you call it a sideboard for a daybed?) panel is 1/2" plywood, I think, and sits in grooves in the posts at the ends, and sits in a groovy groove in the curvy top rail. Moldings curve across it, and "support" a circle with a fancy "M" (for Meredith) in the center.

The headboard top rail should be 3" thick, I think, or equal to the posts; cut to a fancy curve, probably or other routed profile along its length. A groove routed on its underside retains the panel. Routing this groove will be a challenge, methinks. Oh, and I think it should M&T into the posts.
Possibly could get away with 1.5" thick for the rail…

Headboard bottom rail is straight, maybe from a 2Ă—4 cut down a bit? M&T into the posts, groove along length to support the panel.

The ends:
Cut top rail to a curve, cut tenons to fit in posts, then mortise to receive slats. Mortising for all those slats will be a real challenge… maybe I could use dowels for the slats, and drill the mortises, or cut round tenons onto rectangular slats. Anything beats chopping that many mortises - especially on a curve!

So this is a big project (for me), maybe the biggest I've done, and it's for a good cause. So if anyone has advice or suggestion, please chime in - I could use it!
Stop me now before I do something dumb!
 

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#2 ·
Design and Planning

My wife and I will be bringing home our daughter in a few weeks. It's time to get serious about her bedroom, so this blog is a chance for me to keep track of my thoughts during the design and building of the bed, and to ask you all for your valuable input.
Wife wants a fancy bed, conceptually similar to this:
Furniture Comfort Window Bed Decoration

But she wants it to be a daybed. I came up with this:
Textile Rectangle Handwriting Wood Font

Which is a terrible picture of an awful sketch I made.

It's going to be a twin, which gives mattress dimensions about 75"x39"x6".

I'll get in AutoCAD and make a better sketch, and be able to plan how to build this a bit better.
Some very helpful LJs advised me about making moldings, which already has my brain running about how to make the curved rails… Oh and of course LOML chose the curvy option for the side, instead of the easy straight option at the bottom…

The plan so far:
Posts are roughly 3Ă—3, I'm thinking. I'll probably resaw or plane down from 4Ă—4. Don't have a lathe, so there will be some hand shaping; nothing too fancy without a lathe. Probably buy ball finials for the tops.

Headboard (or do you call it a sideboard for a daybed?) panel is 1/2" plywood, I think, and sits in grooves in the posts at the ends, and sits in a groovy groove in the curvy top rail. Moldings curve across it, and "support" a circle with a fancy "M" (for Meredith) in the center.

The headboard top rail should be 3" thick, I think, or equal to the posts; cut to a fancy curve, probably or other routed profile along its length. A groove routed on its underside retains the panel. Routing this groove will be a challenge, methinks. Oh, and I think it should M&T into the posts.
Possibly could get away with 1.5" thick for the rail…

Headboard bottom rail is straight, maybe from a 2Ă—4 cut down a bit? M&T into the posts, groove along length to support the panel.

The ends:
Cut top rail to a curve, cut tenons to fit in posts, then mortise to receive slats. Mortising for all those slats will be a real challenge… maybe I could use dowels for the slats, and drill the mortises, or cut round tenons onto rectangular slats. Anything beats chopping that many mortises - especially on a curve!

So this is a big project (for me), maybe the biggest I've done, and it's for a good cause. So if anyone has advice or suggestion, please chime in - I could use it!
Stop me now before I do something dumb!
The boss has submitted the first design change:
The sides (ends?) will be panels, with trim, rather than slats. That's actually a good thing, since it avoids all those pesky mortises.

There will be trim on the end panels, offset about 4" from the perimeter of the panels, following the same curvy outline on the top.
 

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#3 ·
Design and Planning

My wife and I will be bringing home our daughter in a few weeks. It's time to get serious about her bedroom, so this blog is a chance for me to keep track of my thoughts during the design and building of the bed, and to ask you all for your valuable input.
Wife wants a fancy bed, conceptually similar to this:
Furniture Comfort Window Bed Decoration

But she wants it to be a daybed. I came up with this:
Textile Rectangle Handwriting Wood Font

Which is a terrible picture of an awful sketch I made.

It's going to be a twin, which gives mattress dimensions about 75"x39"x6".

I'll get in AutoCAD and make a better sketch, and be able to plan how to build this a bit better.
Some very helpful LJs advised me about making moldings, which already has my brain running about how to make the curved rails… Oh and of course LOML chose the curvy option for the side, instead of the easy straight option at the bottom…

The plan so far:
Posts are roughly 3Ă—3, I'm thinking. I'll probably resaw or plane down from 4Ă—4. Don't have a lathe, so there will be some hand shaping; nothing too fancy without a lathe. Probably buy ball finials for the tops.

Headboard (or do you call it a sideboard for a daybed?) panel is 1/2" plywood, I think, and sits in grooves in the posts at the ends, and sits in a groovy groove in the curvy top rail. Moldings curve across it, and "support" a circle with a fancy "M" (for Meredith) in the center.

The headboard top rail should be 3" thick, I think, or equal to the posts; cut to a fancy curve, probably or other routed profile along its length. A groove routed on its underside retains the panel. Routing this groove will be a challenge, methinks. Oh, and I think it should M&T into the posts.
Possibly could get away with 1.5" thick for the rail…

Headboard bottom rail is straight, maybe from a 2Ă—4 cut down a bit? M&T into the posts, groove along length to support the panel.

The ends:
Cut top rail to a curve, cut tenons to fit in posts, then mortise to receive slats. Mortising for all those slats will be a real challenge… maybe I could use dowels for the slats, and drill the mortises, or cut round tenons onto rectangular slats. Anything beats chopping that many mortises - especially on a curve!

So this is a big project (for me), maybe the biggest I've done, and it's for a good cause. So if anyone has advice or suggestion, please chime in - I could use it!
Stop me now before I do something dumb!
One thought: Cut your tenons before you cut curves. Easier to keep things square and aligned with straight sides.
 

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#4 ·
Design and Planning

My wife and I will be bringing home our daughter in a few weeks. It's time to get serious about her bedroom, so this blog is a chance for me to keep track of my thoughts during the design and building of the bed, and to ask you all for your valuable input.
Wife wants a fancy bed, conceptually similar to this:
Furniture Comfort Window Bed Decoration

But she wants it to be a daybed. I came up with this:
Textile Rectangle Handwriting Wood Font

Which is a terrible picture of an awful sketch I made.

It's going to be a twin, which gives mattress dimensions about 75"x39"x6".

I'll get in AutoCAD and make a better sketch, and be able to plan how to build this a bit better.
Some very helpful LJs advised me about making moldings, which already has my brain running about how to make the curved rails… Oh and of course LOML chose the curvy option for the side, instead of the easy straight option at the bottom…

The plan so far:
Posts are roughly 3Ă—3, I'm thinking. I'll probably resaw or plane down from 4Ă—4. Don't have a lathe, so there will be some hand shaping; nothing too fancy without a lathe. Probably buy ball finials for the tops.

Headboard (or do you call it a sideboard for a daybed?) panel is 1/2" plywood, I think, and sits in grooves in the posts at the ends, and sits in a groovy groove in the curvy top rail. Moldings curve across it, and "support" a circle with a fancy "M" (for Meredith) in the center.

The headboard top rail should be 3" thick, I think, or equal to the posts; cut to a fancy curve, probably or other routed profile along its length. A groove routed on its underside retains the panel. Routing this groove will be a challenge, methinks. Oh, and I think it should M&T into the posts.
Possibly could get away with 1.5" thick for the rail…

Headboard bottom rail is straight, maybe from a 2Ă—4 cut down a bit? M&T into the posts, groove along length to support the panel.

The ends:
Cut top rail to a curve, cut tenons to fit in posts, then mortise to receive slats. Mortising for all those slats will be a real challenge… maybe I could use dowels for the slats, and drill the mortises, or cut round tenons onto rectangular slats. Anything beats chopping that many mortises - especially on a curve!

So this is a big project (for me), maybe the biggest I've done, and it's for a good cause. So if anyone has advice or suggestion, please chime in - I could use it!
Stop me now before I do something dumb!
One thought: Cut your tenons before you cut curves. Easier to keep things square and aligned with straight sides.

- sras
Thanks Steve. Good idea. Have any thoughts on how deep these tenons should run, where two rails go into a post at a 90 degree corner? Thinking 0.5" wide tenons into a 3" post…
 

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#5 ·
Drafting my plans - taking shape!

Moving right along:
Rectangle Font Parallel Slope Circle


Rectangle Slope Parallel Font Pattern


I've drawn my vision in AutoCAD. I made a lot of snap judgments about dimensions and proportions, which may need to be revised.

I chose an overall height of 48", which may be too high. Mattress height of 20", with 12.25" clearance underneath - I think that's about right.

3Ă—3 (actual) post size.

4" wide and 1.5" thick for the bottom rails, except the front rail which will be only 0.75" thick (less likely to smash a shin on it climbing into bed).
The upper (curved) rails may be 1.5" thick, but 3" to match the posts may look better… not sure. Would love to hear suggestions. Right now I have them 3" wide; 4" may look better but might look too heavy.

This will be painted, so SYP/Doug Fir is the lumber of choice (1/2" plywood panels, of course).
That means the top curved rail can be cut from a single 2×8 (that's going to be fun…) and the side rails from 2×8 as well. If I make those curved rails 4" wide, I'll need to use 2×10 or laminate something, which would be tough…

Another arbitrary design choice is the height of the front posts, and thus the shape of the curved rails on the sides/ends. I have them about 13" lower than the back posts… is there a proportional design rule that applies here?

Cutting the trim pieces will also be interesting. I can make the M on the scroll saw and round over the edges; and probably cut the circle and curved and straight trim pieces from clear pine on the bandsaw, then roundover to make it half-round. I'm thinking 0.5" wide for all that trim.
Maybe I'll look at the bendable polysomething trim John Smith suggested - that could save some trouble. Might be more fun and cheaper just to cut my own though.

Comments and suggestions welcome! Before I do something dumb!
Thanks!
 

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#6 ·
Drafting my plans - taking shape!

Moving right along:
Rectangle Font Parallel Slope Circle


Rectangle Slope Parallel Font Pattern


I've drawn my vision in AutoCAD. I made a lot of snap judgments about dimensions and proportions, which may need to be revised.

I chose an overall height of 48", which may be too high. Mattress height of 20", with 12.25" clearance underneath - I think that's about right.

3Ă—3 (actual) post size.

4" wide and 1.5" thick for the bottom rails, except the front rail which will be only 0.75" thick (less likely to smash a shin on it climbing into bed).
The upper (curved) rails may be 1.5" thick, but 3" to match the posts may look better… not sure. Would love to hear suggestions. Right now I have them 3" wide; 4" may look better but might look too heavy.

This will be painted, so SYP/Doug Fir is the lumber of choice (1/2" plywood panels, of course).
That means the top curved rail can be cut from a single 2×8 (that's going to be fun…) and the side rails from 2×8 as well. If I make those curved rails 4" wide, I'll need to use 2×10 or laminate something, which would be tough…

Another arbitrary design choice is the height of the front posts, and thus the shape of the curved rails on the sides/ends. I have them about 13" lower than the back posts… is there a proportional design rule that applies here?

Cutting the trim pieces will also be interesting. I can make the M on the scroll saw and round over the edges; and probably cut the circle and curved and straight trim pieces from clear pine on the bandsaw, then roundover to make it half-round. I'm thinking 0.5" wide for all that trim.
Maybe I'll look at the bendable polysomething trim John Smith suggested - that could save some trouble. Might be more fun and cheaper just to cut my own though.

Comments and suggestions welcome! Before I do something dumb!
Thanks!
Thinking about mortising the rails into the posts, I am not too happy with the short tenon I'd have if the rails are centered on the posts.
I think goldilocks for me is the botom left; what do y'all think?
Rectangle Slope Font Parallel Diagram


Maybe I'm overthinking this?
A big concern is that the end panels need to be removable from the sideboard, to fit through a door. So I need enough mortise to be stable without being glued, using a pin or dowel or fastener to secure it. The 1.75" long tenon may be enough… or maybe there's a better way.
 

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#14 ·
Stock prep and mortising

I picked up two douglas fir 4Ă—4s and two SYP 2Ă—10s.
Table Wood Siding Plank Wood stain

One of those 2Ă—10s contained three bottom rails (long back rail, two short side rails). The front rail is going to be thinner, 3/4", to minimize shin-smashing risk; so it should be hardwood.
How about this, from the pile under the tarp?
Tire Automotive tire Wood Automotive lighting Road surface

You'll see.
Once that's planed down and the rotten section trimmed out, it looks like this:
Wood Wood stain Hardwood Plank Natural material

Now I have a stack of boards cut to rough length, a bit overlong. It's not the whole bed yet, but enough to get started working:
Wood Rectangle Flooring Wood stain Floor

Next step is to resaw, joint, and plane the 4Ă—4s down to 3Ă—3:
Wood Publication Hardwood Wood stain Lumber

These posts need grooves to hold the back and side panels, and mortises 1.75" deep to retain the rails.
I'll groove on the router table, then deepen the ends to start the mortises as deep as the RT will allow:
Wood Table Wood stain Plank Hardwood

One groove had awful tearout. The correct fix is to mill out the torn section, inlay identical wood, and re-mill the groove. But I'm in a hurry, and the project will be painted, so I quickly glued in some splinters and held the groove open with a piece of scrap. I'll use filler before painting if required.
Wood Rectangle Floor Flooring Hardwood


The RT could only mortise to about 3/4" deep, so I need an extra inch. Forstner bit on the drill press does most of the work, then a chisel cleans it up and squares the corners:
Wood Publication Hardwood Metal Font

Table Wood Burin Tool Scratch awl


The mortises for the front rail are 3/4" wide (full width of stock). It turned out that forstner bit mortising is WAY easier in a 3/4" than 1/2", as the ones pictured were, because of easier chip clearing. Or maybe it's just my bits.
Pictures of those mortises (prettier) in the next entry, maybe.

A humorous parting note: my patented "Universal stock support for the drill press:"
Wood Workbench Hardwood Gas Flooring

Pneumatic tool Drill Wood Saw Hammer drill


Next step is to crosscut bottom all straight rails to length, lay out and cut the tenons, and groove said rails for the panels.
Step after that is to layout and cut the curved upper rails, then tenons and grooves.
After that, cut panels to fit within rails and posts.
Then add the decorative "M" and trim. Also need to put pegs in the joints for knockdown.
 

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#15 ·
Tenons!

First, those 3/4" mortises I'd saved for last:
Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plank Plywood

Came out much cleaner and easier than the 1/2". The mortise is wide enough to vacuum chips out easily.

Now time for tenons on the straight rails. The easiest ones will be on the front rail, since it is full-width and has no cheeks, just small shoulders. Perfect fit:
Wood Table Hardwood Wood stain Plank


The 1/2" holes are empty right now, but I'll use oak dowels to pin this joint together and be able to disassemble it for moving. I like the look of it so much, I may pin the permanent joints too, we'll see.

The rest of the tenons have cheeks and shoulders first. Started by sawing a kerf, then set the router fence to prevent me from moving past the saw line:
Tire Wheel Table Automotive tire Wood

First pass, taking all tenons down near final thickness.
Wood Rectangle Hardwood Tool Plank


Turns out my mortises are not all exactly the same, so each tenon will have to be custom fit into its mortise. Split off the shoulders, then fine-tuned the cheeks until each tenon was fit:

Food Wood Cuisine Hardwood Dish


Each of these needs a bit of cleaning with a chisel, but for now, a very satisfying test fit:
Automotive parking light Wheel Tire Vehicle Car


Up next: Clean the cheeks on these rails; groove the rails for panels;
cut the curved rails, do their tenons, groove them;
cut the panels out;
shape the posts;
add trim;
paint.
Wow, that's a lot of work! I'm running out of time!
 

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#16 ·
Tenons!

First, those 3/4" mortises I'd saved for last:
Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plank Plywood

Came out much cleaner and easier than the 1/2". The mortise is wide enough to vacuum chips out easily.

Now time for tenons on the straight rails. The easiest ones will be on the front rail, since it is full-width and has no cheeks, just small shoulders. Perfect fit:
Wood Table Hardwood Wood stain Plank


The 1/2" holes are empty right now, but I'll use oak dowels to pin this joint together and be able to disassemble it for moving. I like the look of it so much, I may pin the permanent joints too, we'll see.

The rest of the tenons have cheeks and shoulders first. Started by sawing a kerf, then set the router fence to prevent me from moving past the saw line:
Tire Wheel Table Automotive tire Wood

First pass, taking all tenons down near final thickness.
Wood Rectangle Hardwood Tool Plank


Turns out my mortises are not all exactly the same, so each tenon will have to be custom fit into its mortise. Split off the shoulders, then fine-tuned the cheeks until each tenon was fit:

Food Wood Cuisine Hardwood Dish


Each of these needs a bit of cleaning with a chisel, but for now, a very satisfying test fit:


Up next: Clean the cheeks on these rails; groove the rails for panels;
cut the curved rails, do their tenons, groove them;
cut the panels out;
shape the posts;
add trim;
paint.
Wow, that's a lot of work! I'm running out of time!
This is a very nice project and it looks like it's coming along beautifully. You are doing a wonderful job on it.
 

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#17 ·
Cutting Curves and Dresser Delays

Progress has been slow lately, because of other demands on my time.
All I've done for the bed the last few days is cut out the curved rails on the bandsaw, and rough-cut the tenons.
The short rails have a pretty aggressive curve, so I needed wider than 1Ă—6 stock. I ended up jointing and gluing two 1Ă—6s to make a wide enough board, then making a lot of funny-shaped scraps.
Plant Wood Hardwood Tree Natural material

Today I hope to fit the tenons to their mortises, then cut grooves for the panels in the rails, then cut out the MDF panels and dry-fit.
That will still leave shaping the posts, rounding over the rails, and trim; but it'll be a good accomplishment if I can get there.

One of the things that got in the way (literally) of bed-building was the dresser project. We picked up a second-hand dresser, which needed painting, and set it in the garage.



This filled up most of the workspace and prevented me from doing much more on the bed until it was painted and brought inside:


The photo doesn't show it, but we also painted the pulls lavender to match the room. They really stand out on the white dresser - but not in photos, apparently.
 

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#18 ·
Getting groovy; cutting out panels; some shaping; and a catastrophe

First thing: cleaned up and fitted the tenons on the curved rails. Test-fit the frame:
Wood Hardwood Table Gas Engineering


Now it's time to put panels in those frames. Cutting grooves into the curved rails was a problem I've been thinking about since early in the design. I had thought about using a trim router on a purpose-made baseplate to ride the curves, but fortunately I had a rabetting bit that I could use as a slot cutter. Bearing guided - made this very easy on both the straight and curved rails.

I discovered the grooves I had put in the posts were a bit undersized, so it was easy to set up the same router bit to enlarge them a bit.


Next, I used the curved rails as a guide to trace the cut line onto 1/2" MDF panels:


Cut the small ones on the bandsaw, but the big one was too cumbersome to accurately cut that way, so I used a jigsaw. The feeling when those panels slipped perfectly into place was… euphoric?


Put the whole thing together:


That would have been a good stopping place. What happened next made me wish I'd taken a break.

Naturally I needed to disassemble this to roundover all edges and shape the posts (I plan to take off a lot of material along their length; plus they are overly long). But it's a two-person job. I realized this too late, and my profanity may have alarmed the neighbors as multiple boards fell away from me in all different directions, cutting my thumb, and fracturing the most complicated piece of the assembly:


Glued it back together:


Finished off the shop time by rounding over all sharp edges. I did the posts too, but there's still a long way to go on them.




Then I helped my wife hang the letters she painted on the wall:


Which looks pretty good above the dresser we painted yesterday:


Shaping the posts, cutting and installing trim, then gluing, then painting are coming up.
 

Attachments

#19 ·
Getting groovy; cutting out panels; some shaping; and a catastrophe

First thing: cleaned up and fitted the tenons on the curved rails. Test-fit the frame:
Wood Hardwood Table Gas Engineering


Now it's time to put panels in those frames. Cutting grooves into the curved rails was a problem I've been thinking about since early in the design. I had thought about using a trim router on a purpose-made baseplate to ride the curves, but fortunately I had a rabetting bit that I could use as a slot cutter. Bearing guided - made this very easy on both the straight and curved rails.
Wood Hardwood Wood stain Varnish Lumber

I discovered the grooves I had put in the posts were a bit undersized, so it was easy to set up the same router bit to enlarge them a bit.
Wood Wall Automotive exterior Beam Wood stain


Next, I used the curved rails as a guide to trace the cut line onto 1/2" MDF panels:
Tire Wood Wheel Composite material Automotive exterior


Cut the small ones on the bandsaw, but the big one was too cumbersome to accurately cut that way, so I used a jigsaw. The feeling when those panels slipped perfectly into place was… euphoric?
Wood Flooring Comfort Floor Hardwood


Put the whole thing together:
Wood Table Floor Flooring Wood stain


That would have been a good stopping place. What happened next made me wish I'd taken a break.

Naturally I needed to disassemble this to roundover all edges and shape the posts (I plan to take off a lot of material along their length; plus they are overly long). But it's a two-person job. I realized this too late, and my profanity may have alarmed the neighbors as multiple boards fell away from me in all different directions, cutting my thumb, and fracturing the most complicated piece of the assembly:
Dress Sleeve Wood Beige Cuisine


Glued it back together:
Hand tool Pruning shears Tool Wood Metalworking hand tool


Finished off the shop time by rounding over all sharp edges. I did the posts too, but there's still a long way to go on them.
Wood Wood stain Hardwood Plank Flooring


Wood Publication Hardwood Flooring Wood stain


Then I helped my wife hang the letters she painted on the wall:
Brown Grey Font Wood Art


Which looks pretty good above the dresser we painted yesterday:
Furniture Drawer Dresser Cabinetry Rectangle


Shaping the posts, cutting and installing trim, then gluing, then painting are coming up.
Wow, that's awesome progress, John. Looking really good.
 

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#20 ·
Shaping and Glueup

When we left off, everything fit together but the legs were still blocky and square, and overly long:
Table Wood Flooring Floor Wood stain


I decided to taper the legs toward the outside corner, bringing the foot down from 3" to 2" square, and chamfer the inside corner of each post.
Rough out the taper on the bandsaw:
Wood Natural material Hardwood Wood stain Plywood


Then plane down to the line:
Musical instrument Wheel Wood Table Hardwood


Finished taper:
Wood Natural material Wood stain Hardwood Lumber


All that planing makes a pile of shavings:
Wood Bird Poultry Soil Event


Crosscut the posts to length too. Cut them 3/4" above the top of the mortise.
Time now to glue up each end like this:
Comfort Wood Outdoor furniture Flooring Hardwood


I glued the back panel into its rails, but those rails are not glued into the posts.
Wood Rectangle Shade Flooring Automotive exterior


All long rails will be pegged into the posts for knockdown.
Wood Tints and shades Gas Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies Road surface


To support the slats, I ripped a 2Ă—4 and jointed it. The slats are 1Ă—3s, I planned to place them on 6" centers.

The peg holes are 1/2" diameter for 2", then 1/4" diameter past that point. The 1/4" portion will allow me to tap out the pegs from the inside using a 3/4" rod or bolt, for knockdown; without having an unsightly hole or worrying about flush-cutting my peg in an inconvenient spot.

All that's left is to make the fancy M, put it on with the trim, add ball finials, and paint!
 

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#21 ·
99% done, now scrap it and start over... help?

I built this bed. It still needs the ball finials on the posts, but I think it's beautiful:
Furniture Window Comfort Building Wood


Furniture Comfort Textile Wood Bed frame


The trouble is, I foolishly assumed extra space around the mattress would be a good idea. Too tight would have been a much better idea:
Wood Musical instrument Tool Sports equipment Publication


Two inches too long, and just over an inch too wide. Now that's the first problem; the second problem is, the whole bed - due to both the oversize mistake, AND the design choice to have thick posts that stick out proud of the rails - it's just too big for the room. There's a window on one wall, and if the bed is anywhere nearby it partially blocks the window; there's a dresser opposite the window, and… well… you'd just have to be there. It's a tiny room.

If I hadn't made it oversized, the design would still be pretty big for the room - but we would just deal with it.
Since it's oversized anyway, rebuilding it would also give me the opportunity to change the design and lose the thick posts. So I lose a couple inches by right-sizing, and a couple more inches by re-designing, and the net result is an equally beautiful bed that also fits the room - maybe.
Or, maybe a daybed is going to overpower the room no matter what - so I should instead switch to a standard bed design with a headboard and small footboard.

As I see it, I have three choices:
A) Keep what I've made, and use foam to fill in the gaps around the mattress. Too big, but we can deal with it grudgingly.
B) Redesign a new daybed that fits tight and has slender posts.
C) Design a standard bed with headboard and footboard.

For B and C, I'm also concerned about the joinery. I have oak I can use for the posts, but I'm concerned about using very short tenons on a rail with a long lever arm.

Feel free to weigh in with suggestions on this. We're really frustrated - and it's painful to let such a beautiful piece of furniture go for what feels like nitpicking. And we expect our daughter within 4 weeks, so time is of the essence!

Some notes on the joinery: All the panel rails are 3.5"x1.5" SYP with tenons that are 1.75" long, 1/2" thick and 3" wide. The front rail is 3/4" thick red oak, with full-thickness tenon. The end panels are glued into the posts. The long rails are secured into the posts with dowels for knockdown. That's why I could try to salvage the main headboard but would lose everything else.
 

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#22 ·
99% done, now scrap it and start over... help?

I built this bed. It still needs the ball finials on the posts, but I think it's beautiful:


Furniture Comfort Textile Wood Bed frame


The trouble is, I foolishly assumed extra space around the mattress would be a good idea. Too tight would have been a much better idea:
Wood Musical instrument Tool Sports equipment Publication


Two inches too long, and just over an inch too wide. Now that's the first problem; the second problem is, the whole bed - due to both the oversize mistake, AND the design choice to have thick posts that stick out proud of the rails - it's just too big for the room. There's a window on one wall, and if the bed is anywhere nearby it partially blocks the window; there's a dresser opposite the window, and… well… you'd just have to be there. It's a tiny room.

If I hadn't made it oversized, the design would still be pretty big for the room - but we would just deal with it.
Since it's oversized anyway, rebuilding it would also give me the opportunity to change the design and lose the thick posts. So I lose a couple inches by right-sizing, and a couple more inches by re-designing, and the net result is an equally beautiful bed that also fits the room - maybe.
Or, maybe a daybed is going to overpower the room no matter what - so I should instead switch to a standard bed design with a headboard and small footboard.

As I see it, I have three choices:
A) Keep what I've made, and use foam to fill in the gaps around the mattress. Too big, but we can deal with it grudgingly.
B) Redesign a new daybed that fits tight and has slender posts.
C) Design a standard bed with headboard and footboard.

For B and C, I'm also concerned about the joinery. I have oak I can use for the posts, but I'm concerned about using very short tenons on a rail with a long lever arm.

Feel free to weigh in with suggestions on this. We're really frustrated - and it's painful to let such a beautiful piece of furniture go for what feels like nitpicking. And we expect our daughter within 4 weeks, so time is of the essence!

Some notes on the joinery: All the panel rails are 3.5"x1.5" SYP with tenons that are 1.75" long, 1/2" thick and 3" wide. The front rail is 3/4" thick red oak, with full-thickness tenon. The end panels are glued into the posts. The long rails are secured into the posts with dowels for knockdown. That's why I could try to salvage the main headboard but would lose everything else.
Sell it and build another. If you get enough to pay for materials you'll be flush.
 

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#26 ·
Project Complete!



After the last entry, we took some time to weigh our options. We decided to keep the bed for now; if I make a smaller, regular-style bed in the future, we'll sell this one if possible. My mom is making some bumper cushions to fill in the gap around the mattress.

All we needed were the ball finials, and touchup paint. But the ball finials needed a transition piece - wouldn't look right screwed into end grain. So I made these:


And realized they looked so good, the ball finial was unnecessary!


I doweled them on to the posts, we finished painting, and the project is complete.


Comfort Bed frame Wood Building Floor




There is not a single piece of metal in the entire thing. Mortise and tenon only, with the permanent ones glued and the knockdown ones pegged.
Construction lumber, MDF, oak dowels, and an oak plank are the only materials used.

Thanks for following!
 

Attachments

#27 ·
Project Complete!



After the last entry, we took some time to weigh our options. We decided to keep the bed for now; if I make a smaller, regular-style bed in the future, we'll sell this one if possible. My mom is making some bumper cushions to fill in the gap around the mattress.

All we needed were the ball finials, and touchup paint. But the ball finials needed a transition piece - wouldn't look right screwed into end grain. So I made these:
Food Tableware Ingredient Wood Dishware


And realized they looked so good, the ball finial was unnecessary!
Wood Hardwood Plastic Rectangle Plaster


I doweled them on to the posts, we finished painting, and the project is complete.
Rectangle Wood Gas Hardwood Bed


Comfort Bed frame Wood Building Floor


Wood Font Automotive design Art Pattern


There is not a single piece of metal in the entire thing. Mortise and tenon only, with the permanent ones glued and the knockdown ones pegged.
Construction lumber, MDF, oak dowels, and an oak plank are the only materials used.

Thanks for following!
Looks awesome
 

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