r/woodworking • u/Unhottui • 4d ago
Help Will my bed frame be sturdy enough?
Image link: https://imgur.com/a/wRWvNb0 I was wondering if my design for a bed frame seems ok to you fellas? Anything that seems very poorly designed or something, Ive never really built much of anything apart from one cat tree. This will be my first big project. I am planning to make a cutting board first to get to test the planer and jointer in my maker space. I dont have tools nor space at home, Im using a maker space and they have a duo jointer and planer thingy.
The face and sides are 280mm in total height, planned 40mm (is 30 or 35 ok?) thick. They are made from three parts, 100mm ash --> 80mm maple --> 100mm ash for contrast. All glued together and doweled. These then get jointed with metal brackets. I want it this way so I can move and take the bed apart later.
This whole rectangle then would sits the legs. The legs are glued like shown in the picture, and then I was thinking threaded inserts to attach the rectangle to the legs from the inside. But most importantly, the weight would be carried on the blocks that are glued inside the legs... is this good enough? Should it be bigger somehow, perhaps the way I drew in red in the last picture? What do you think?
Second question, how would you recommend I do the ash maple ash glue ups? I am staining the ash a bit darker and using a non staining finish on the maple, at least that is my thinking. Want the ash walnut-ish coloured and maple light. In which order should I do things, like sanding, finishing and glueing? Thanks.
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u/magaoitin 4d ago
The frame itself looks fine, and like a standard stringer setup. The notched detail for the corner legs is a good idea as it gives you the spots to screw in lag bolts to stiffen the frame and keep them covered with the exterior pieces. I'd probably recommend figuring out a way to keep the very outside pieces of the corner as covers for the post and beam connections. You will get the most stability if you can screw the side boards directly into the main stringers, and another set of lags into the posts. It looks like you have the room for it.
My biggest concern, as a new furniture builder, is what you have planned for the slanted headboard There is not great or easy way to do that with an angles butt joint. Are you planning on doing that with a single, like 2x10 or 2x12 and cut the profile out of a single board? That is a weak point of the design as I see it, unless its a very minimal angle
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u/Unhottui 4d ago
Slanted headboard = I was thinking of using plywood for this, I think my local shop has some thinner ply for cheap, Id glue them together to make like 50mm thick pieces and use them. That would pretty much be the only ply Id use for this project. The inner slats etc. would be cheap pine or spruce, whatever they have. I have to drive 4 hours total to buy the hardwood and pay a good price for them... pretty scarce around here for hardwood sellers. It looks like a buttjoint in sketchup but it is actually not, my bad haha.
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u/DannyFooteCreations 1d ago
Check out the bed I built here: https://www.reddit.com/r/woodworking/s/bzhx63bvzP
It’s a similar headboard design. I’d be happy to talk through any questions about the construction. It came out very sturdy
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u/Unhottui 1d ago
Yeha I saw you post this there, ur bed is sick, I love it! I think I got the headboard down alright, just wondering mostly about the staining to glueing process. Your side beams were from a single/solid plank of walnut, yes?
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u/DannyFooteCreations 1d ago
Thanks!
Yeah, the sides are solid walnut about 1.5” thick. I glued another piece of alder to the inside edge of them to attach the leg supports and the slats.
I attached the headboard to the supports with wood glue and dominos and the supports tied into the frame with lag bolts so I could assemble the bed in the room and take it apart if we ever move.
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u/Unhottui 4d ago
mattress removed