Plan Bed Heirloom Arts and Crafts

8/12/2019 Plan Bed Heirloom Arts and Crafts

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DOWNLOADABLEONLINE WOODWORKING PLANS

Page 1 of 13DP-00424 Copyright Meredith Corporation 2004

This elegant project is a dream come true. By simply changing thedimensions of a few parts and the quantity of spindles, as specified in theMaterials List, you can build the bed in double, queen, or king size.

You can rest easy about installing the spindles because theres no need forrepetitive drilling and chiseling of mortises. Instead, thanks to a simpleindexing jig, into the grooves in the footboard and headboard rails,ensuring consistent spindle fit and perfect alignment.

H E I R L O O M - Q U A L I T Y

ARTS & CRAFTS BED

Whether you need a

double, queen, orking, this bed fillsthe bill, and does soin grand style.


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A

2"

2"C

""

B

D FE

" grooves " deep

, ,

,

9"

5"

5"

2"

2fi"

" chamfer

x 5" mortises1" deep

x 2fi" mortise1" deep

" groove" deep

B

Beveled edges

D

HEADBOARDLEG

F

B

B

"

23fi"

49"

2fi"

5fi"

5"

31"

"

x 2fi" mortise1" deep

" chamfer

C

FOOTBOARDLEG

E

A

Page 2 of 13TM

1a LEG DETAIL

1 LEGS

For the board feet of

lumber and other items

needed to build this

project, see pages 10

and 11.


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Note:To display quartersawn white oakray fleck on all faces of the footboardand headboard legs, we made them byassembling four leg outer wraps (A, B)with splines (C, D) around cores (E, F)in the configuration shown onDrawings 1 and1a. As an option, youcan construct figured legs withoutbevel-cutting long parts. See the

ShopTip on page 13. Also, if you plan to useplain-sawn wood, consider making solidlegs from laminated 4/4 stock to thefinished sizes listed in the MaterialsList. Then continue with Step 7 to layout the mortises for the rail tenons.

Start by wrapping upsome fabulous legs

1From "-thick stock, cut eightfootboard leg outer wraps (A) to2fi" wide and 32" long and eightheadboard leg outer wraps (B) to the

same width and 50" long. Angle yourtablesaw blade to a precise 45, andbevel-rip both edges of the wraps for afinal width of 2". If your stock hasany warp, use a feather board clampedto your rip fence to hold the stockfirmly against the saw table.

2With your fence positioned on theopposite side of the saw blade, cutangled " grooves " deep in the legouter wrap beveled edges to receive thefootboard and headboard leg splines(C, D), where dimensioned onDrawings 1 and 1a and as shown in

Photo A.

3Cut the footboard and headboard legsplines (C, D) and leg cores (E, F) tothe sizes listed in the Materials Listbut2" longer in length. (We cut these partsextra long to make it easy to assemblethe legs without keeping the ends of theparts aligned with the wraps duringglue-up.) To ensure that the legsassemble correctly, test-fit the splines inthe grooves and dry-assemblethe wraps around the cores. Whilemaintaining tight corners, allow thesplines and cores to move freely

without looseness. If needed, plane theparts to achieve the correct fit, reducingthe thickness and width of the coresequally to keep them square.Note: Youll need to work quickly whenassembling the legs. To ensure theprocess goes smoothly, read Steps 4and 5 first so you understand theprocedures and have all of the parts laidout and the supplies at hand.

4Lay out the footboard andheadboard leg outer wraps (A, B)on your workbench with the splinegrooves facing up. Starting with afootboard leg, apply glue to themating beveled edges (not in thegrooves) of two wraps (A). For alonger open time, use a slow-settingglue, such as Titebond Extend WoodGlue. Join the wraps together with aspline (C) captured in the matinggrooves. Then apply glue to the

inside faces (not the beveled edges)of the wraps, and press a core (E) inplace. Now place splines in the outergrooves of the joined leg wraps.

5Glue together the mating pair ofwraps with a spline. Apply glue tothe wraps, as shown in Photo B, andjoin and clamp the leg halves together,verifying that the corners draw tight.For an easy way to do this usingminimum clamps, see the Shop Tip,below. If you prefer to only use clamps,locate them 6" apart and alternate eachdirection to equalize the pressure on allsides of the assembly. Repeat toassemble the remaining footboard leg

and the headboard legs using leg outerwraps (B), splines (D), and cores (F).

6After the glue dries, scrape off anysqueeze-out. Then crosscut one end

Keeping each leg outer wrap tight against the saw table and fence,cut a " groove " deep along each of the beveled edges.

CUT GROOVES IN THE LEG WRAPS

Saw blade angled at 45o

A

Do you have some old bicycle inner tubeshanging around? If so, heres a uniqueway to get more mileage out of them.When gluing together long multi-sidedassemblies, such as the Mission bed legs,first slice the tube into one long length.Then slice this into two long strips.Remove the valve stem. Clamp a tube atone end, wrap it around the assembly,and clamp it again at the other end, asshown at right. (Youll need two tubes tocover the lengths of the bed legs.) If youdont have tubes, you can buy new onesfor under $5a fraction of the cost ofbuying a lot of clamps.

Inner tubes make handyclampsfor special glue-ups

SHOP TIP

Mission bedleg assembly

Tube endsclamped together

Page 3 of 13

,A B


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H

1fi"

3"2fi"

"""

1fi"

6fi"

5"

I

" grooves" deep

"""

1fi"

6fi"

5"

" hole1" deep

Footboardbottom rail

andheadboardcenter rail

"

"

"

"

G

Footboard andheadboard

top rails

Headboardbottom rail I

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Page 4 of 13

of each leg flush, and cut the other endto a final length of 31" for thefootboard legs and 49" for theheadboard legs.

7Lay out the 2fi" and 5"mortises in the footboard andheadboard legs, where dimensioned onDrawing 1. Using a " Forstner bit,

drill the mortises 1" deep. Then,using a sharp chisel, square the mortisesides and ends.

8Using your handheld router, rout a" chamfer along the bottom edgesof the legs. Now sand the legs smoothwith 220-grit sandpaper.

Next craft the rails for theheadboard and footboard

1From 1fi" or laminated " stockplaned to 1" thick, cut thefootboard and headboard top rails(G), footboard bottom rail (H), and

headboard center andbottom rails (I) to the sizes listed. Saveyour cutoffs for making test tenons.

2Fit your tablesaw with a " dadoblade. Then cut a "-deep groovecentered along one edge of thefootboard and headboard top rails (G),footboard bottom rail (H), andheadboard center rail (I), where shownon Drawing 2.

3To form tenons on the ends of therails, where shown, lower the dadoblade to ". (We made test tenons onour cutoffs and verified their fit in the

leg mortises before cutting the tenonson the rails.) Then make cheek cuts toform " tenons 1fi" long on the rails.For safety, support the rails as shown inPhoto C. Raise the blade to ". Withrails H and I placed on edge, trim thetenons to 5" wide. For an easy way tofine-tune the fit of the tenons, see theShopTip, on thepage 6.

4Mark the center and ends of thearch on the footboard bottom rail(H), where dimensioned on Drawing3. Then bend a fairing stick to thesepoints, and draw the arch. (For a

free fairing stick plan, go towoodmagazine.com/fairing.) Bandsawand sand the arch to shape.

5Sand the rails (G, H, I) to 220 grit.Then, to keep the rails matchedwith the footboard and headboardlegs, identify the rail left ends and theleft legs on the front face usingmasking tape.

Apply glue to the beveled edges and inside faces of the leg half

without the core. Then assemble the mating leg halves together.

GLUE AND ASSEMBLE THE LEG

A A

C A

E

B

2 RAIL TENON DETAILS


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5Rip six "-wide strips from both

workpieces, as shown in Photo F.To keep the correct orientation of thestrips for spindle alignment, mark thesame end of each strip. Then planethe strips to " wide to fit thegrooves in the rails (G, H, I). Setaside four strips. Youll use themlater as guides to hold the spindles inalignment when assembling thefootboard and headboard.

6With the marked ends of thespindle strips (J) inside, glue andclamp two strips each in the grooves inthe rails (G, H, I), where shown on

Drawing 3. Position the strips flushwith the shoulders of the tenons.

7Cut the center filler slats (K) to sizeto fit the space between the spindlestrips (J). Then cut the spindles (L) tosize to fit the notches in the spindle strips.Sand light chamferson the ends of theslats and spindles.

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Use a supportstand and anauxiliaryextension onyour mitergauge to safelyhold and guidethe rails whencutting thetenons.

Support stand(Go to woodmagazine.com/supportstand for plans.)

Auxiliaryextension

C

Time for the spindle

strips, fillers, andspindles

1To make the notched spindle strips(J), where shown on Drawing 4,cut two 627" pieces for a queen-size bed, two 624" pieces for adouble bed, or two 635" piecesfor a king bed. Make sure you cut thepieces to identical length so thespindles (L) will align correctly later.

2To cut precisely spaced dadoes inthe pieces to form the notches inthe spindle strips, make a simpleindexing jig. Screw a 236"

auxiliary fence to your miter gauge,centering it with your tablesaw blade.Next, fit your saw with a " dadoblade. Raise the blade to ", and cut anotch through the fence.

3Cut a 2" piece for an indexpin. Lightly chamfer the pin topedges with 220-grit sandpaper. Then,with the chamfered edges up, glue thepin in the notch, flush with the backface of the fence. Remove the auxiliaryfence mounting screws, and move thefence exactly " to reposition the pin,as shown in Photo D.

4Raise the dado blade to ".Position a spindle-strip workpiece

against the pin, and cut a dado acrossthe piece. Now shift the piece to locatethe dado over the pin, and cut again.Continue this shift-and-cut process, asshown in Photo E, to form 18 notchesfor a queen bed, 16 notches for a doublebed, or 23 notches for a king bed.Repeat for the other workpiece.

Adjusting your tablesaw blade height toremove a whisker of material to get a precise-fitting tenon can be tricky. To avoid the risk ofremoving too much material, cut close to thefinal thickness of the tenon. Then use a rabbet

block plane, as shown at right, to trim thetenon to the perfect size. (A rabbet block planehas a blade that extends through the bodysides, allowing it to trim tenons flush with theshoulders.) Simply adjust the plane for a fineshaving, and take an equal number of passesacross both tenon cheeks as needed.

Also, to ease insertion of the tenon in themortise and give extra room for glue squeeze-out, slightly chamfer the tenon edges with ablock plane, as shown at far right.

Trim tenons with hand planesfor an incredible shave and fit

SHOP TIP

Rabbet block plane bladeextends through side of body.

Chamfered edges

Block plane

Now lets check the fit

of the parts weve madeso far

1Dry-assemble the footboard bypositioning a center filler slat (K)and 36 spindles (L) for a queen bed, 46spindles for a king bed, or 32 spindlesfor a double bed in the notches in thefootboard bottom rail (H). Make sureyou position the spindles with thequartersawn faces to the front andback. Using the four spindle strips (J)set aside for guides, align the spindlesand install the top rail (G), as shown inPhoto G. Secure the assembly with a

clamp at the center of the rails.Remove the spindle strips. Then dry-fitthe footboard legs (A/C/E) to theassembly, as shown in Photo H.

2Verify that all of the parts fittogether correctly. Then sand the


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Page 7 of 13

27"

"

"

"J

P

"

8"

#8 x 1" F.H.wood screw

1fi" angle iron

764" pilot hole" deep

I

B/ /D F

Bed-rail fasteners

" chamfer

4 SPINDLE STRIP DETAIL

5 BED-RAIL FASTENER DETAIL

(For a queen-size bed)

(Headboard shown)


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center filler slat and spindles. (We useda random-orbit sander on the faces ofthe parts, and hand-sanded their edges.)

3Disassemble the footboard. Thentransfer the markings on themasking tape to the rail tenons and tothe top of the legs, and remove thetape. Sand the legs and rails. Repeat theprocess to dry-assemble the headboardlegs (B/D/F), top rail (G), center andbottom rails (I), center filler slat (K),and spindles (L).

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Page 8 of 13

Shift the auxiliary fence to positionthe index pin exactly " from thedado b lade. Then reattach the fenceto your miter gauge.

With your tablesaw fence set "from the blade, rip six spindle strips(J) from each notched workpiece.

MAKE TOP-NOTCH MORTISE STRIPS IN A JIFFY WITH A SIMPLE INDEXING JIG

Top edges of pinlightly chamfered

Auxiliary fence

Index pin positioned" from dado blade

Index pin locatedin this dado

Workpiece forspindle strips

"-wide spindle strip

J

JD E F

With the marked ends to the inside, position the sparespindle strips on the front and back of the spindles (L) tokeep them aligned. Then add the footboard top rail (G).

Dry-assemble and clamp the footboard legs(A/C/E) to the ends of the footboard top andbot tom rails (G, H), making sure the legs drawtight against the rail tenon shoulders.

DRY-ASSEMBLE THE FOOTBOARD TO CHECK THE FIT OF THE PARTS

Sparespindlestrips

/ /

G H

G

K

L

H

G

A C E

H

Fashion the tops, corbels,side rails, and supportslats

1Cut the sub tops (M) and tops (N) tosize. Rout a " chamfer along thebottom edges of the sub tops, whereshown on Drawings 3 and 3a. Thenglue and clamp the tops centered on thesub tops with a " overhang all around.

2Drill " holes 1" deepcentered in the top edge of thefootboard and headboard top rails

(G), where dimensioned onDrawing 3a, for " dowels.

3Insert " dowel centers in the holesin the footboard top rail. Position atop assembly (M/N) on the footboard,centered end-to-end and side-to-side.Press on the assembly to mark thedowel-center locations on the sub top(M). Remove the top assembly and thedowel centers. Now drill " holes 1"deep at the marked locations. Mark thetop assembly to keep it matched with

Cut the needed dadoes in thespindle-strip workpiece, shifting itover the jig index pin after eachcut.


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Page 9 of 13

Inserting the 6" cauls between the spindles (L)and under the top rail (G) in four places (two shown),

clamp the top assembly (M/N) to the footboard.

CLAMP THE TOP ASSEMBLY IN PLACE

xx6" caul

Masked area for corbel

I

the footboard. Repeat for the headboardand its top assembly.

4Cut the corbels (O) to the sizelisted. Then photocopy the full-sizecorbel pattern on page 12. Spray-adhere the pattern to a corbel. Nowbandsaw the corbel to shape, cutting

just outside the pattern line. Sand tothe line using a 120-grit sanding drumin your drill press or an oscillatingspindle sander. Using this piece as a

template, mark the contour on the othercorbels. Cut and sand them to shape.For an easy way to make identicalcorbels by pattern-routing, see thedownloadable article DA-00121.Note: Mattress lengths may vary by acouple of inches. To ensure a correct fitin the bed, measure the length of yourmattress and cut the side rails (P) toyour measurement plus 1".

5From 1fi" stock planed to 1", cutthe side rails (P) to size. Rout a "chamfer along the top outside edge ofthe rails, where shown on Drawing 3.

Then, from " stock, cut the supportslats (Q) to size. Sand the parts smooth.

Head for the finish,and put it all together

1Mask the top of the footboard legs(A/C/E) and headboard legs(B/D/F); the tenons on the rails (G, H,I); the top edges of rails G; the topand back edges of the corbels (O);

and the mating area on the legs forthe corbels. (Because it would bedifficult to stain the headboard andfootboard after assembly due to thenarrow spaces between the spindles(L) and legs, we masked and stainedthe parts individually.)

2Sand any parts that need it with220-grit sandpaper. Remove thedust. Then apply a stain to all of thebed parts except for the bottom face of

the top assemblies (M/N) and thesupport slats (Q). (We used WatcoDanish Oil Finish, Dark Walnut.)

3Remove the masking tape. Thenassemble the footboard top rail(G), bottom rail (H), center filler slat(K), and spindles (L) as before. Nowglue and clamp the legs (A/C/E) tothe assembly. Use rubber clamp padsor cardboard between the clampheads and the assembly to preventmarring of the finish. Repeat toassemble the headboard.

4Cut four 2"-long pieces from a "

oak dowel. Also, from " scrap,cut four 6" pieces for clampingcauls. Apply glue to two dowels, thetop edge of the footboard top rail (G),and the top ends of the legs (A/C/E).Insert the dowels in the rail holes.Then clamp the matched top assembly(M/N) in place, as shown in Photo I.Repeat to assemble the headboard andits top assembly.

5Apply glue to the back and topedges of the corbels (O). Thenclamp them in place on the headboardand footboard legs under the sub tops(M). After the glue dries, stain andfinish the bottom face of the sub tops,and touch up any areas that need it onthe legs around the corbels. After thestain dries, top-coat all parts, includingthe support slats, with a clear finish.(We applied three coats of Aquazar

Water-Based Clear Satin Polyurethane,sanding to 320 grit between coats.)

6To mount the bed-rail fasteners tothe headboard and footboard legsand side rails (P), lay out the matingleft/right pairs of fasteners, as specifiedin the instructions supplied with thehardware. Position the fasteners on theparts, where dimensioned on Drawing5. Mark the mounting-hole locations.Then drill 764" pilot holes " deep, andscrew the fasteners in place.

7Cut two pieces of 1fi" angle iron to72" long. Drill " shank holesthrough the iron, where shown onDrawing 3. Then position the iron onthe side rails (P), flush with the bottomand centered end-to-end. Using theholes in the iron as guides, drill 764"pilot holes " deep in the rails. Nowscrew the iron to the rails.

8With a helper, assemble the bed, asshown in Photo J . Then positionthe support slats (Q) on the angle iron.

M

N

G

O

L

Attach the side rails (P) to the footboard byengaging the bed-rail fasteners. Then join the

rails to the headboard.

Headboard

Support slats

J

Q

P


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Materials ListQueen-size bed

FINISHED SIZEPart T W L Matl.Qty.

A* footboardleg outer wraps " 2" 31" QO 8

B* headboardleg outer wraps " 2" 49" QO 8

C* footboardleg splines " " 31" O 8

D* headboardleg splines " " 49" O 8

E* footboardleg cores " " 31" O 2

F* headboardleg cores " " 49" O 2

G footboard andheadbd. top rails 1" 3" 62" QO 2 78" 56"

H footboardbottom rail 1" 6fi" 62" QO 1 78" 56"

I headboard centerand bottom rails 1" 6fi" 62" QO 2 78" 56"

J* spindle strips " " 27" QO 8 35" 24"K center filler slats " 3" 18" QO 2 4"

L spindles " " 17fi" QO 72 92 64

M sub tops fi" 3fi" 70fi" QO 2 86fi" 64fi"

N tops " 4" 71" QO 2 87" 65"

O corbels " 2" 20" QO 4

P side rails 1" 6fi" 80" QO 2 75"

Q support slats " 4" 60fl" C 5 76fl" 54fl"

*Parts initially cut oversize. See the instructions.

The lengths of mattresses can vary. Our queen-size mattress measured 79". To ensure a correct fit, measure the length of your

mattress, and add 1" to determine the length of the side rails (P).Materials key: QOquartersawn white oak, Owhite oak, Cchoice of hardwood (24s also are suitable).

Supplies: Spray adhesive, " oak dowel 10" long, #81" flathead wood screws (32), #81" panhead screws (10), 1fi" angle iron72" long (2).

Blades and bits: Stack dado set; " Forstner bit; 45 chamfer router bit.

SourcesBed-rail fasteners. 5" bed-rail fasteners, no. 94K01.01, $6.20 (set of 4 prs.). Call Lee Valley 800/871-8158; leevalley.com.

Center leg for king-size bed. Center bed leg, no. 68429, $12.99. Call Rockler 800/279-4441; rockler.com.

Parts differences for

W L Qty.

King-size bed Double-size bed

W L Qty.

Note: To make a king-size or double-size bed, cut all of the partsto the sizes and in the quantities listed for the queen-size bed atleft except for the differences specified belowfor parts G throughN, P, and Q.

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Produced by Marlen Kemmet

Written by Owen Duvall

Project design: Kevin Boyle

Illustrations: Roxanne LeMoine

Graphic design: Lorna Johnson

For a king-size bed, mount a center bedleg (see Sources) to the bottom of thecenter slat (Q) to prevent sagging, asspecified in the instructions suppliedwith the hardware. Now complete thebed with a box spring, mattress,mattress pad, linens, and comfypillows, and climb aboard for a well-

deserved rest.

The purchase of these plans does nottransfer any copyright or other ownershipinterest in the plans, the design or thefinished project to the buyer. Buyer mayneither reproduce the plans for sale nor offerfor sale any copies of the finished project.


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Page 11 of 13

L

M

N

O

P

Q

L L L L

LL L L

O

x 7 x 96" Quartersawn white oak (5.3 bd. ft.)


x 5fi x 96" Quartersawn white oak (2 needed) (8 bd. ft. total)

1fi x 7 x 96" Quartersawn white oak (2 needed) (16 bd. ft. total)

x 5fi x 72" Hardwood (5 needed) (15 bd. ft. total)

*

*


J KJ K


BA


D

EF

C x 5fi x 96" Oak (4 bd. ft.)

1fi x 3fi x 72" Quartersawn white oak (2 needed) (6 bd. ft. total)

*

H

I

1fi x 7 x 72" Quartersawn white oak (6 bd. ft.)

1fi x 7 x 72" Quartersawn white oak (2 needed) (12 bd. ft. total)

*

*

G

*Plane or resaw to thethicknesses listed inthe Materials List.

CUTTING DIAGRAM


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Page 12 of 13

O

CORB

EL

FULL-SIZEP

ATTERN

20"

2"

Joinpatternhere.

Joinpatternhere.

O

Join

patternhere.

"

34

O

Joinpatternhere.

FULL-SIZE PATTERN

To ensure full-size patterns are correctsize, your printer should be set to print

at 100% (not fit to page). Measurefull-size patterns to verify size.

1"

fi


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Page 13 of 13

The Mission bed project shows the best method for putting ray-flecked quartersawn grain on all four sides ofa post or table leg (something even Mother Nature cant do). That technique, however, requires a highly

accurate tablesaw to bevel the edges of the leg wraps. Heres an alternate method that doesnt demand asmuch precision and yields quartersawn figure on nearly all surfaces.For a 2"-square post, rip two pieces of " quartersawn stock and a core of scrap " oak to 2".

Laminate the three pieces together, as shown, and set the assembly aside.Joint opposite faces of a 2" quartersawn blank, and then resaw one face into a "-thick veneer. After

jointing the freshly cut face of the blank, resaw another " veneer. (Youll have one resawn piece left overfor the next post.) Glue two facesjointed side into the laminated post as shown.

After the glue dries, joint the veneered faces of the post and then plane the post to its final 2" thickness,turning it top-for-bottom on alternate passes. This reduces each veneered face to " thick. Chamfer thefour corners of the post to blend the grain and hide the joint.

Jan Svec, WOODmagazine project editor

Chamfer edges.

Core

Glue jointed faces to post.

Quartersawn stock

Quartersawn stock

.

Quartersawn skin puts eye-popping grain all around

SHOP TIP

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Plan Bed Heirloom Arts and Crafts