# King Size Slat Bed



## darsev (Feb 3, 2012)

You know something is in the air when a conversation with your daughter begins "Daddy I love you...." Well now she has a slat bed to match the king size mattress she was given when she moved into her current unit.

Attached are a few images of the build process and the last one is the final result. Sorry about the quality of the last image - I took it on my phone in poor light, but it was better than nothing. For the record, all the timber is pine with a Jarrah stain and Cabothane top coat. All the rails are mortise and tenon, and on the footer and header they are glued and doweled. The side rails have furniture studs holding the tenon tight in the mortise so that we could transport it disassembled. The verticals on the bed head are dovetailed at the top, with mortise and tenon at the bottom.

The hardest part was getting the stain the "right" colour. It had to match a chest of drawers that she already had at her place, but I had to do the matching from memory. Somehow, must have been some help from above, the matching was close enough. Anyway, she has it now and is off my back - for a little while. Now it's the turn of the daughter in law. After seeing the way the staining came up, she has some drawers of her own that need ... well fill in the blanks....

Darryl


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## Willway (Aug 16, 2012)

Beautiful work Darryl!!!!


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## Big Steve (Feb 12, 2012)

Darryl, that is a wonderful job! You might think about a center leg. king beds have quite a span.

Love the finish.


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## darsev (Feb 3, 2012)

Big Steve said:


> Darryl, that is a wonderful job! You might think about a center leg. king beds have quite a span.
> 
> Love the finish.


Thanks Steve, there actually is a centre leg in the bed head, but not the footer, and the weight loading on a bed is distributed more towards the head than the footer. If you look carefully enough at the 7th image where everything was out in the yard being varnished, you can see the centre leg to the right of the drawers and the left of the bedhead. I wanted to put one on the footer, but daughter dear wasn't keen at all on the idea. I think we have enough timber in the whole job to carry the weight OK. When I tested it, there was zero flex anywhere at all in the bed as far as I could see. Time will tell....

Darryl


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Very nice job Daryl. I really like the Mission style of furniture.


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## berry (Oct 17, 2005)

Very nice build. I espcially liked the scroll saw decorations on the head board. 

There's a load of room under the bed and I think you should make some sliding drawers.


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## Big Steve (Feb 12, 2012)

darsev said:


> Thanks Steve, there actually is a centre leg in the bed head, but not the footer, and the weight loading on a bed is distributed more towards the head than the footer. If you look carefully enough at the 7th image where everything was out in the yard being varnished, you can see the centre leg to the right of the drawers and the left of the bedhead. I wanted to put one on the footer, but daughter dear wasn't keen at all on the idea. I think we have enough timber in the whole job to carry the weight OK. When I tested it, there was zero flex anywhere at all in the bed as far as I could see. Time will tell....
> 
> Darryl


Darryl, I am sure are right and I see it now. Our frame has three legs on each side. Mine is steel. (I feel guilty saying that here)

Yours is truly beautiful.


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Very nice indeed. And much simpler than so many of those bed designs. Looks better too. I've been needing a new bed for some time now, and this gives me some great ideas, and I may even get started on my own version. No, it's better than nice, it's lovely.


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## darsev (Feb 3, 2012)

Big Steve said:


> Darryl, I am sure are right and I see it now. Our frame has three legs on each side. Mine is steel. (I feel guilty saying that here)
> 
> Yours is truly beautiful.


Steve,

I checked with my daughter, and she said there are some creaks when she sits on the bed and when she gets up off the bed, but there is no noise or movement any other time. I plan on checking the bolts on the weekend after it has had a week to settle. I am reasonably confident that the side rails are strong enough as it has 70 x 35 framing timber (F12 from memory) screwed and glued onto the 140 x 19. (That's 2 3/4" x 1 1/2" screwed onto 5 1/2" x 3/4" in the old terms.) It is more the footer rail that I am keeping an eye on.

Regarding steel, I wouldn't be embarrassed about it. I have worked in steel before and it has its own charm. Actually I was thinking about getting a welder again last week, but a quick reality check on family economics put the brakes on that pretty quickly. I made a Compass Coffee Table while back using a steel frame from a project from my steel fabrication course from several years back, and it looks pretty and is both strong and light. (Photo attached) I have been thinking about some steel and timber designs for coffee tables, mainly steel frames, but those ideas will have plenty of time to marinate while I am getting the cash together to get a welder.

Darryl


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## darsev (Feb 3, 2012)

Thanks Theo. The design is fairly simple, but the way to connect the side rails to the bed head and footer took me a while to figure out. Now that I have worked out how to use a furniture stud in combination with a mortise and tenon, I will use it again in similar circumstances. The furniture stud idea came from a discussion with an old furniture maker at a Men's Shed Open Day. It worked real well.

Darryl


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## N'awlins77 (Feb 25, 2011)

Really nice Darryl! After I finish our kitchen and living room, my daughter wants me to build her and her husband a new bed. One with all the storage under the bed.


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## papasombre (Sep 22, 2011)

Hi, Darryl.

You are absolutely right. My daughter, who moved recently to a new house is constantly asking to me " Dad, when you will be back? I miss you"

My wife told to me that she wants a set of new cabinets for her kitchen!!!


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## Daikusan (Apr 12, 2013)

Darryl
I really like the coffee table, it another beautiful piece of work. I like the quote you put on it too. Mind telling us about the wood you used?
Steve


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## darsev (Feb 3, 2012)

Daikusan said:


> Darryl
> I really like the coffee table, it another beautiful piece of work. I like the quote you put on it too. Mind telling us about the wood you used?
> Steve


Ooooh, that was a long time ago, Steve.... I think the end pieces were Meranti. the light coloured base was American Oak and the darker compass points were Wenge. Both of those were offcuts of veneered mdf from the factory. The centre of the compass was ordinary pine that I salvaged from a pallet. I saw the knot in it and grabbed it for the centre. The letters and the lighter colour compass points - I'm not sure at all. Possibly a lighter coloured Meranti, but I seem to remember they cut too easily for Meranti. I've attached a photo of some pieces that I still have - maybe some Aussies can identify it. I think the compass ring is pine. It is definitely a softwood. I soaked it in water for a couple of days and then gently tapped it into the groove I had routed for it. It almost cracked in the S - W quadrant, but nothing that was visible when sanded back.

Darryl


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## Daikusan (Apr 12, 2013)

Darryl
Thanks for getting back with the info. The picture you attached looks a lot like Japanese mahogany, they use it for everything here, but don’t quote me on that. Im far from an expert in identifying wood. Japanese mahogany is fairly soft and rots fairly easy outdoors. I found this looking around for Meranti: Meranti: Wood identification


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

Very nice! I see in picture #7 that your bench dog got out and is roaming the yard.


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## darsev (Feb 3, 2012)

Steve,

thanks - the link mentions a dark and light form of Meranti, so it could have been. Being an inlay, it was only 3mm thick, so that could have been why I remember it being easier to cut. I think I may have seen Japanese Mahogany - is it used a lot on the rice paper screens?

Darryl


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## Daikusan (Apr 12, 2013)

darsev said:


> Steve,
> 
> thanks - the link mentions a dark and light form of Meranti, so it could have been. Being an inlay, it was only 3mm thick, so that could have been why I remember it being easier to cut. I think I may have seen Japanese Mahogany - is it used a lot on the rice paper screens?
> 
> Darryl


Darryl
I don’t believe Ive seen any mahogany in the shoji, the Japanese rice paper screens. Im venturing a guess that mahogany is not used much because in thin strips (4X8mm) it splinters easily especially with 2mm notches. I believe the wood that is generally used is matsu, a Japanese white pine. Some shoji frames are lacquered black. I would guess 80-90% of trim work, door and window frames are mahogany. Its easy to work with and planes out nicely.

The lantern in my icon was made from rice paper and matsu. I need to make more of the lanterns so I will take pictures and post them.
Steve


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