How To Build A Bed Frame - Woodworking Tips and Ideas for building a Bed Frame

I have never thought about building a bed frame by myself until I helped one of my friends to actually build one. It's actually quite simple and straight forward as long as you understand what a bed frame consists of and how exactly they are put together.

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We decided to use construction lumber as it is quite cheap, however some construction boards come as a little twisted, you do need to be careful when picking up the board. You may need a planer if you are making a bed out of some recycled lumber.

So first all of, consider the hardware ad materials you will be using when building a bed - the most common materials for building a bed are the following:

Tools & Hardware
Hammer
Table Saw
Belt Sander or sandpaper
Tape Measure
Power Drill
Gripping Clamp
Screws
Wood Glue
Dowel
Bed Rail hooks

Step 1. Design the bed frame
The overall design of bed consists of a headboard and footboard, side rails and bed posts. The side rails are connected with the headboard and footboard using bed rail hooks (some people also call it bed rail clips or bed rail hangers). Posts are glued and joined to the headboard and footboard. There are many options with regards to what type of lumber to buy. Typically you can choose 2 x 4 or 2 x 6 for the headboard and footboard, 2 x 8 for the side rails, and 2 x 2 or 2 x 3 for the posts. Ask the expert in the store to see what they recommend for the project you are working on.

Step 2: Create the headboard and footboard
Cut the 2 x 4 (or 2 x 6) at the length in accordance to your bed design (queen or king). If you have a bandsaw, you may considering adding a little curve on top of the headboard which would look much nicer. The next step is to join the posts to the headboard and footboard. Clamp the posts and the the board and drill holes through, this way the holes on the two parts will be lined up. Attach the posts to the headboard and footboard with wood glue and dowels. The footboard is essentially the same, but shorter.

Step 3: Create the bed rails
Each bed rail is a 2x8 x 8' piece of lumber. Attach a 2x2 to the inside edge of the rail to create the ledge which will support the slats as well as the mattress.

Step 4: Assembly the parts

Bed rail hooks are used to attach the side rails and the headboard and footboard. Place the slats on top of the sledge inside the side rails. To prevent the slats from sliding around, glue a small block every six inches on each side of the ledge. Sand any rough edge and surface to make the bed smooth.

Tips
This bed plan can be modified to any size or height you want, isn't it?

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