Phisherman wrote:
I need to build a queen-size waterbed pedestal with 6 drawers, and
maybe a cubby. The drawers will hold sheets, pillow cases, blankets,
etc. Anyone have some basic plans that uses minimal wood, yet strong
enough? thanks
I don't have the plans for it (except in my head) but I built a
California King size bed like that about 20 years ago for my wife. We
still sleep on it every night. Basically...
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Base
I wanted to be able to disassemble the bed into reasonably sized
components so the base is two sections, each as long as the bed and half
the width.
The drawer frame sides in the bases - which are also the supports for
the mattress boards - are 3/4 particle board. The PB pieces are joined
longitudinally by 3 - 1x2 fir strips which are glued and screwed to
shaped cutouts at the inside top/bottom and outside top of each piece of
PB; the outside bottom cutout is larger for a toekick and the sections
are joined there with pieces of walnut ply incorporated into the bed
sides. The fir strips are set slightly into the PB so the PB, not the
strips, carry most of the weight.
The two base sections have mating, rabbeted pieces of 1 1/2" oak
fastened vertically on the inside at the center of the foot and head
ends; those oak pieces each have two matching through holes so that they
can be bolted together.
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Bed sides
They are each one piece of 3/4 walnut ply with cutouts for inset drawer
fronts. They are permanently attached to each base by gluing to the top
outside piece of fir on the bases and into the base cutouts for the toe
kicks.
There is a piece of 3/4" oak attached vertically at the inside of the
foot ends so that the sides can be fastened to the foot. The oak strip
is only long enough to reach from floor to below the fir strips; i.e.,
it does not show when the bed is assembled.
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Footboard
Two pieces of 3/4 walnut ply glued into stopped 3/4 x 3/4 dados in 1 1/2
x 4" solid walnut pieces at each end and the center. The solid walnut
pieces are maybe 1 1/2" longer than the ply is wide so that the ends
could be shaped and stand proud.
The dados alone aren't sufficient to join the ply panels (when the
footboard in't attached to the bed) so there is a piece of ply about 2
1/2 - 3" wide attached on edge across the two ply panels...it also
serves as a rest for the mattress support panels.
The outboard solid wood pieces have dados to accept the ends of the bed
sides. They also have two threaded brass inserts so that the sides can
be bolted to the footboard after they are inserteed into the dados. The
sides have a piece of hardwood attached perpendicular to the ends and
are bolted through that strip into the threaded inserts.
_________________
Headboard
This is made of four pieces of 3/4 walnut ply. Two of the ply pieces
are the width of the bases; the other two are narrower.
The headboard is sectional, each section being one wide piece and one
narrow piece of ply. Those pieces are glued and screwed to vertical
solid 3/4 x 4" walnut pieces that have a rabbet along the back edges to
receive the ply. Wide rabbet...maybe 1" wide, 1/4 deep. They are
similarly joined at the top. I wanted a top that could be a small shelf
so it too is 4" wide. The sides of the ends are finished with another
3/4 x 4" piece of walnut.
The two headboard sections are joined in the same manner as the
bases...1 1/2" oak pieces vertically on the back sides, oak pieces
rabbeted so they mate, through bolted.
The finished headboard is 10 feet long...the total width of the two
middle sections are the width of the bed; the outboard ends accomodate
nightstands which are hung from French cleats on the headboard. The
headboard itself is hung from French cleats on the wall. The base
sections are just cozied up close to the headboard, not attached.
________________
Mattress supports
Just four pieces of 1/2" fir ply. Could have used two (each full bed
length and half ther width but four are easier to handle. They rest on
the fir strips that join the PB pieces. Those fir strips, BTW, are
beveled on the top inboard edges...the fir ply panels are beveled so
they match.
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Drawers
Three on each side, equal width, each partioned, each close to 36" deep,
full extension slides. Wife wanted aromatic cedar but it would have
been ridiculously expensive to obtain where we lived at the time
(Honolulu). Instead, I got some of the 3/8" T&G stuff that is used to
line closets. Laid it up and glued to 1/4" walnut ply for the drawer
sides, backs and bottoms. Used 3/4 walnut ply for the fronts. Had to
special order slides from Knape Voght.
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Miscellaneous
Any exposed edges of ply or PB are capped with walnut strips.
Bedrooms often just have one electrical outlet in the wall where the bed
is so I put duplex outlets into the outboard ends on the bottom of the
headboard, wired #14 extension cords into them. When setting up the bed
I can plug the cords into the wall; once the bed is set up, lamps and
the like can have their wires go down between headboard and night stands
and be plugged into the headboard outlets. Ditto for phone. Meets
code? Dunno, don't care.
--
dadiOH
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