Hello all. I’m planning to make a king size bed frame sometime soon (yeah right, I’m still trying to finish the exterior cedar shutters from last year). Anyway, I’d like some input on a few elements:
1. Finish – is shellac too easily damaged or is it ok? What about varnish?
2. Any general rules for dimesions to follow? For instance, how much longer should the bed rails be than the dimensions of the mattress/box spring? I’m thinking 1/2-3/4″ to make sure it isn’t too snug a fit when placing the mattress in the frame.
3. Dimensions for the rails? How thick and how wide?
4. Leg dimensions – I’m thinking I will do a headboard, but no foot board and the legs will be relatively minimalist. But to be adequate, how thick should they be? Is 8/4 adeuate?
I know about slats, the center brace with a leg for support on a king. Anything else that is key?
Thanks, Jake
Replies
Jake,
I recently finished a king-sized bed (http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=fw-knots&msg=32377.1&search=y) and can give you a little free advice, worth every cent.
I finished the bed with wipe-on poly. If I had it to do over, I would use shellac, simply because it is so much easier and I think it would give adequate protection. If it does get scratched, shellac is easy to repair.
I would highly recommend that you buy the mattress before starting to cut wood. Then measure the mattress while it is lying flat on the floor. The advertised dimensions, the dimension as measured with the mattress on it's edge, and the dimension lying flat may be several inches different.
I would dimension the bed so there is about 1/2" extra on each side, between the rails. You will need more extra room lengthwise depending on if you have a footboard or not, and if need room to tuck the covers between the mattress and the footboard. I built the rails a little long and was very glad I did. After I had the bed build and before finishing, I put it together and put the mattress on it. I ended up cutting another 1 1/2" off the rails. This meant re-cutting the tenons on the ends of the rails, but it was worth it to get the dimensions right. I actually had my wife look at it during the trial fit of the mattress so she could decide how much extra room between the mattress and the footboard she wanted. After all, I don't make the bed very often. (I figure why go thru all the work of straightening it up when it is going to get messed up again in a few hours, but that's another story).
I think dimensions for the rails and posts depend on the design of the bed. Do you have a plan or are you making it up as you go along?
I used 3/4" plywood as a base instead of slats, not for any reason better than I ran out of poplar.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you would like some more pictures and I can email them to you.
Paul
http://www.adamswoodproducts.com/
Check out this website, they sell bed posts. You can get dimensions from there.
“The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume
Edited 1/28/2007 9:03 pm by JMadson
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