Making a King Bed out of Queen designs
I was wondering if I could get some advise. I am fairly new to woodworking and am looking at making a bed for my wife and I. I have found some plans for a queen size bed that I would like to make, but I would like to make it fit a king size bed. My question has to do with the box springs. In a queen size bed, there is only box spring. But in a king size there are two (two twin size box springs I believe). My question is, what is the best way to support these? In the plans there is a small 1X1 or so piece of wood all the way around the bed that supports the springs. My concern is that in a king size bed, there won’t be any support in the center of the bed where the two box springs meet. Is this a valid concern?
If I try to span the length of the bed, I am afraid that the wood won’t be strong enough (1×1 over 6 feet doesn’t sound to strong), and same issue if I try to span the width of the bed. Any suggestions? Or am I worried about nothing? I haven’t found any king sized plans out there to see how they are designed.
Thanks for your time.
Ben
Replies
Yes, a king size bed needs a center support, whether the box springs are in one piece or two. Mattress manufacturers won't guarantee the performance of a king bed unless the center support is there.
The most common approach is a centered longitudinal support that attaches to the head and foot frame members, with a "fifth leg" mounted in the center. With a box-beam type of construction for the frame and center support, you could probably make the frame strong enough that the fifth leg isn't necessary, but doing so would increase the overall bulk and weight of the frame.
-Steve
I agree with Steve. Whenever upsizing a design into a king I always add a middle support, usually 5/4, with a short leg in the middle of the support.
I made a queen size sleigh beds several years ago. A queen will typically use a center leg as well. Instead, I made the slats out of a decent hardwood (in this case, soft maple) and applied a stiffening rib oriented vertically to the underside of each of 5 slats. The rib was approximately 4" tall at the center of the bed and tapered off to 1" at the ends. Thus the cross sectional view of each slat looked like a "T". I weigh 200 pounds and can stand on the center of one slat with no significant deflection. The taper to the rib ensures that you will not see it when viewed from the side of the bed. And of course, the beam strength is needed most in the center; not at the outer edge of the bed.
A king size is wider but I think the same idea would work. Perhaps increase the beam depth from 4" to 5 or 6. Just mock up a slat and experiment a bit. If one slat can hold your weight, then 5 should be more than adequate for two people.
My slats rest on a 1" oak cleat glued and screwed to the inner edge of the oak rails. The cleat is wider in the vicinity of each slat to form a pocket that captivates the slats to keep them from sliding along the cleat.
"A king size is wider but I think the same idea would work."
It will, but bear in mind that the deflection in a beam goes as the cube of the beam length, whereas the resistance to deflection goes only as the square of the beam depth. So, if you increase the beam length by 27% (the queen-to-king difference), you'll have to increase the beam depth by 43% to achieve the same deflection. Alternatively, you could increase both the beam depth and the beam thickness by 27%.
The modulus of elasticity varies quite a bit from one species of wood to another, so it would also help to use a high-stiffness wood like southern yellow pine.
-Steve
Thank you very much to all for the feedback. I will hit the drawing board, and hopefully the saw not to long afterwards.
Rockler &/or Woodcraft sells a set of brackets that attach the center board to the head/foot boards. If your interested, e-mail me & I'll try to look up where I bought 'em.
James
Jep..... I tried to e-mail you. My e-mail is sc****p. Go to ROCKLER.COM, P/N 10025 @ $8.99 per set. Set includes (2) female & (2) male pcs. If you look at the site, they show they are installed. How are you attaching the rails to head & foot boards? They also have hardware for that.
Good Luck, James
Thank you James. Yes, I was planning on using the hardware kit from Rockler to attach the Rails to the Head/Footboards. I think that looks easiest in case we ever need to dis-assemble the bed. Thank you again for letting me know about this other kit, it looks to be just what I need.
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