Simpson
06. A Floating King Bed Project
To make the bed, you started by buying 14 or 16-foot-long pieces of wood, which you bucked up and brought home on the roof of your SUV. However, you later realized that you had gone over the load rating.
To create the bed frame, you used Lamellos, glue, and clamps. You made the outside frame pieces and laid out the joints, cutting for the tails. You finished the joints by hand and created a smooth surface for a top bearing router bit. You hogged out the waste and used a 2″ top bearing to clean out and make a nice smooth face. After routering, you finished the surface by hand.
To ensure that the bed could be knocked down, you used a recessed corner bracket. You also had to rebate for 1-1/2″ plywood sub base and used 1/8″ holes to guide the cut. After cleaning it up with a chisel, it was good to go. Since the supplier didn’t have 4/4, you had to split your 8/4. The saw blade didn’t quite make it, so you finished splitting by hand.
You then looked at the book matching for the headboard, which you routered for bowties. The bowties came with the jig, which was lucky for you. You made sure you did a test piece first, and it came together real nice. You allowed for plenty of ventilation for the underside of the mattress in the 1-1/2″ ply while still retaining overall support for the rails.
To keep the headboard together, you used a 1/2″ x 1/2″ metal bar behind the bowties. You hung the bed on french cleats along with the matching floating side tables. Overall, it was a challenging project, but you’re happy with how it turned out.
