Full Size Bed Frame, From Scratch

[Ulma Doctor]

My son has said that he has outgrown his (twin sized) race car bed, and wished for a big boy bed.
after looking on Amazon for mattresses , i decided to construct the bed frame.
i saw a bunch of bed frames in the search, but they all looked cheesy and cheap.
so i did the next best thing, i spent $200 on lumber and $30 on fasteners and $15 on stain.
the bed frame is solid and sturdy and could easily support 450 lbs.

Being a complete hack,
i disregarded all proper carpentry techniques and went rogue,
but somehow the bed frame still looks decent

here is how i went about it...
i planed all the boards to thickness, to reduce the sanding time- they turned out great!
i cut the 4x4's to 18" and beveled one end 20° to 3/4" deep to prevent chipout of the support leg
i cut the 75" pieces of 1x6 for the sides (and 1 1x4x75 for the central support)
i cut the 55" pieces of 1x6 for the ends
i cut the 55" pieces of 1x4 for the slats
i laid out the bolt positions on the 1x6's and the 4x4's and drilled to 5/16"
i added the sides and ends to the 4x4's and rattled them up after getting all the bolts installed
i added the center support and got it to the right height, and supported
i started laying out the slat location and used spacers to keep distances-
maybe you can see the slight change in gap, i used more gap at the foot end, less gap at the top - {maybe i overthought this part }
i started stapling the slats in, one by one until the top was complete.
i ended by screwing top boards into legs where possible
i sanded the works (shabbily, i may add) and sanded it again to 150 grit
i went over it again with scotch brite pads and then again with microfiber cloths
i didn't think to take pictures until i had the wretch assembled and started the staining process.
i made a stain application bonnet from purchased cotton painting rags, rolled up and tied off - kinda like a pitchers rosin bag.
i shook the crud out of the stain and got the bonnet wet and started rubbing for a couple hours, flipping the unit around when necessary.


so without further delay, here is the pictures...







it looked like it was finger painted, so i went over it one more time...

i think it turned out solid, but a bit blotchy in places.
all in all not to bad







Material List-
FULL SIZE BED ONLY!!!!! 54" x 75"

10 1x4x10"- (cut 20 @55")- these are the slats
1 4x4x8' (cut 4 @ 20" {Nominal} lengths- [i cut mine @ 18"]
3 1x6x8' (cut 3 @ 75") - these are the 2 sides, and one center support (you could substitute a 1x4x75" piece here- I did )
1 1x6x10' (cut 2 @ 55") - these are the end boards
1 1x2x10' (cut 2 @ 55") these are for the cleats on the top of the slats-(to prevent Y axis movement of the bed beyond the slats )
16 5/16 carriage bolts - (i had to use hex headed bolts ,as box depot was out of 5/16 carriage bolts)
16 5/16 hex nut
16 5/16 lock washer
16 5/16 flatwasher
150(est) 18Ga 1-1/2 crown staples
(approx 12 # 8 wood screw)
I used a Cherry stain that is surprisingly similar in color to my sons bedroom furniture

other hardware used on my build-i used a 1x4x75 for the central support.
i made a simple support from scrap and screwed through the end cap , on both ends-
then added screws into the center support vertically, to limit twist.


thanks for reading!

 

[middle.road]

Slab of steel plate so that you could've scrape it...
Moving it around might be a hassle though.

 

[MontanaLon]

You are going to want some diagonal bracing in that design to meet California children's bedframe earthquake proposition specifications. Plus it will squeak with rapid horizontal movement. Boys will be boys after all.

 

[LEEQ]

That's going to look good under a mattress and covers Just kidding. Looking good Mike. Don't forget to seal it up so the stain doesn't get your sheets. Sorry to hear your boy is growing up. They do that.

 

[ThinWoodsman]

Sorry to hear your boy is growing up. They do that.

He specced his boy out at 450 pounds! Sure this isn't for cattle?

 

[RobertB]

You may want to round the corners of your end pieces. You will find that a bedframe that is longer than the mattress/boxspring is a magnet for knees and shins

His young skin and bones may not be bothered, but the older you get, the more it hurts!

Don't ask me how I know....

 

[ELHEAD]

Round over every corner and sand really well. Splinters and sharp edges are a bane to bed sheets. I have built 10 or so beds over the years, from waterbeds to pencil post. My wife instructed me on the importance of relieving corners.

Here is one from about 40 yrs ago.

 

[chips&more]

At high tide, your son will float away!

 

[machPete99]

I have a similar frame, and am always catching my toes on the corner uprights.
If I do my own I would set the uprights back from the front to avoid this.
Otherwise looks good!

 

[Ulma Doctor]

Thanks gents for the suggestions!

it looks like i’ll be doing some round over work and touching up the stain after.

I’ll apply some polyurethane too!

Pictures to come soon...