I have finished the mini-bed, a scaled-down version of the original queen bed, this one is constructed of Spanish Cedar and is sized for a crib mattress.  It wll be used as a toddler bed.

 

 The layout and assembly of the bed is fairly simple.  After all of the panel pieces have been machined, cut them to size.  The size should be about 1/8” shorter than the total width of the endrail(including the route for the panels).  In my case, with a queen bed, the bed is 60” wide, so the rail was 60-1/4”.  Add the depth of the route approx. 3/16” on each end, minus the 1/8” float(the panels are unlikely to float, but this will save you in the event some of you pieces are just a little long) you end up with panel strips approximately 60-1/2” long.  Take you time cutting them to length.  I cost myself hours of machining when I cut these the first time.  I ended up with about 20% of these too short to use for the bed.  But hey, they worked wonders as really expensive and time-consuming firewood. 

 

Through experience with my queen bed, I have altered the previous paragraph slightly.  Machining the rails to 1/4" over the size of the mattress can create problems if as in my case you only use 3/4" angle iron.  I would suggest either using 1" or larger angle iron or reducing the width by 1/8".  This is what I did with the mini-bed, and the mattress fits snuggly.  On a larger mattress, manipulating the boxspring into position will be a bit more difficult, so I would suggest larger angle iron, or a few cross pieces.

 

The most important thing to remember when assembling the bed frames is to make sure the parts are plumb and level.  If you are building it in a garage as I did, remember the slope of the floor.  If you build it on the floor in the wrong direction as assume the floor is level, your bed will slant downhill and your wife or girlfriend will end up rolling off the bed.  Put some marks on the end rails when the cross rail bottom will set.  If you took the time to machine tenons into the rails, you can skip this step.  When routing/shaping the end rails, I screwed the end rails into a stationary table to make sure they didn’t slip when I was almost done.  I later used these holes as the pilot hole for the 3” woodscrews that hold my frame together.  When you finish these off with wooden plugs, I believe it adds the elegance of the bed and makes the entire frame far more secure. 

 

It is best to use a drill press if you can’t drill a straight hole to save your life.  If you have never used a plug cutter before, practice before you begin.  They can be a little tricky.  Bore the holes on the outside of the end rails where the screws will go.  You only need to drill about 3/8” to ½”.  After you are satisfied with the holes(if you screw up, go to the next size plug) get a friend to help you line the cross rail on the marks you made earlier.  You will be drilling into end grain, so take you time and make sure you pilot hole covers nearly all the distance of the screw.  I put wood glue on the end of the cross rail, and on the screw threads.  If you do this, do it sparingly, anyone who has tried to apply a finish after using wood glue can tell you that even though you think it is all gone, when the first coat goes on, it is really noticeable. 

 

Screw one side of the cross rail in, then the other side.  Check for level(the floor too) then let it set overnight.  After the glue has set up, get all of your machined panel pieces, some paper towels, the long bar clamp(s), a staple gun and a hammer.  Don’t glue the first panel pieces to the rail, just to each other(along the back).  If you thought ahead and machined some pieces wider than other(say 1” rather than ¾”) you can stagger the joints to help the bond.  I did not mention this earlier because it depends entirely on the curve of the bed.  This would not have worked with my bed, because the curve is too great, and if you are building a “sleigh bed” for Pete’s sake make it curvy. 

 

This is one side of the leg just after the second row has been glued.  If you take a look at the legs I used, you can see the bottom portion is still only slightly curved.  Regardless, it is a good idea to give it just a tap with a hammer to make sure you pieces are fit snuggly together.  If one piece has a bow, hold if firmly and drive a few staples to join it to the previous row.  Makes sure you do both sides!  If one side is tight, and the other is loose the problem will compound as you move up the bed.  Using and machining the templates was much easier than I expected, even on the dowels.  The simplicity and added strength make it a welcome addition.  If the tenons are the same depth as the panel slot, it makes things even easier.

 

Continue gluing up the rail.  I found that adding just a slight amount of glue to the concave side of each piece is better than adding it to the top.  After you have the slight bead, run a moist paper towel or you finger to smooth the glue throughout the surface.  You should end up with a clean bead on the entire interior of the curve.  As for the amount of glue between the pieces, I use a bead like this:

 

Not the most accurate way, but much quicker.  Before you add the first piece into the endrail, smooth the two together to get a more even surface.  Be mindful of gluing too close to the rail.  You do not want to have to sand a compound curve.  But wait...there's a problem!  The pieces won't fit together into the endrail!  Oh no!  Just use a sander to bevel the outside edges ever so slightly.  Makes sure it is at least 120 grit, to minimize the evil compound curve sanding...You'll understand as soon as it happens to you.

 

If the pairs are not setting evenly, give them a little tap with the hammer.  You may find the end rails pull away or spread as you get higher and higher with the gluing.  If this is the case use the bar clamp near the top to apply gentle pressure the end rails.  There is no need to go as tight as the top dowel will be, just keep enough pressure to hold the panels in the grooves.  When you reach some of the more elaborate curves, you will need to add a few staples on each piece to keep the pieces from separating until drying.  Just tack them across the joints on the inside and outside curves.  There will be gaps, but the smaller the better.  We will discuss this near the bottom.

 

Finally when you reach the top(you may find it necessary to trim a couple of panel strips) apply your routed dowel to the top of the panel.  It is not necessary to glue this, in fact I would not recommend it.  Drill your holes in the end the same way as the rails.  Once again, if you machined a round tenon on the end, life is simple(I did not the first time) screw it securely with 3” wood screws. 

 

For the Queen size bed, the dowel I used(a closet rod) was badly warped, so I drilled three holes evenly spaced across the top, then added screws into the panels(after the glue had dried) to hold the dowel across and filled the screw holes with wooden plugs.

 

Repeat for the headboard, the whole process should take about 2 hours.  Watch the excess glue, if it gets in the corners against the end rail route, you will never get it out.  I started gluing about ½” away from each end and wiggled the next piece to spread the glue.  It helps if you are getting uneven spread to smooth the glue out with a paper towel or sponge.  This part of the project goes really fast, it is an amazing feeling watching everything come together at last. 

 

To fill the small gaps that may develop while gluing...Take a few steps.  First stand back, admire what you've done and go to bed.  Let the whole assembly dry, out of direct sun(this will widen and gaps) and in a more or less temperature controlled environment(to minimize shrinkage/expansion.  Fill the gaps is as easy as cutting some shims.  Take some of your left over stock and cut triangular shims the width of the panel and about 1/4" on the wide side.  The other, should taper off to almost nothing.  The way I do it is alternating the table saw from 45 degrees back to 0.  Ideally you will only need shims for the outside curves and only on the most curvy portions.  Then simply apply a thin stream of glue to the shim and tap it into the gaps.  If it doesn't close the gap, remove it and cut a wider shim.  If it does, let the glue set, then with a utility knife or chisel shave off as much of the excess as you can.  Be careful not to cut into the bed, or push to hard and force the shim back out...Take your time. 

 

After this is done, let the bed sit until the glue has dried, take a sander with an aggressive grit (80) and rough out the curves from the individual pieces.  After the curve is roughed it, finish it with a 120 to get a smooth curve you are proud of.  I add one more step and hand sand with a 220 just to make sure everything goes smoothly.  If you followed all of the directions, it really didn't seem that hard.  If you didn't and spent hours chiseling and cross grain sanding to get the glue out of the corners...rest assured you won't repeat that step again.

 

Once again, my camera failed on the most relevant pictures of the assembly.  If all of this seems like nothing but an insurmountable task, I would be happy to build a bed for you, if the price is right.  This can be a time consuming project, but if you take the time to do a few steps accurately and correctly, the rest is far less difficult.  Please email me with finished photos of your projects, I would love to include them.