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Castle joints and construction timber make a sturdy base for this D.I.Y. bed.
The project
We needed a new queen-sized bed for our guest bedroom, as the old frame was bending and warping and not able to support the new, heavier mattress we had purchased.
The budget was limited, so I decided to build one using mostly construction lumber purchased from Bunnings (of course).
Tools and materials
Here are the tools used:
- Mitre saw
- Circular saw
- Drill driver
- Impact driver
- Router with round-over bit
- Hand saw
- Chisel
- Mallet
- Hammer
- Tape measure.
Here are the materials used:
- 90 x 35mm x 2.4m untreated Pine x 4
- 90 x 45mm x 2.4m untreated Pine x 3
- 42 x 19mm x 2.4m DAR premium Pine x 4
- 75mm wood screws
- 65mm wood screws
- Sanding sealer
- Feast Watson Chocolate Walnut Stain & Varnish
- Paintbrush
- Rags
- Sandpaper (120 grit, 180 grit, 240 grit).
Steps
I first cut all of the sides to slightly longer than the final lengths.
The legs were made by gluing together two pieces of 90 x 45mm Pine. I then cut the slots into the legs and the sides using a handsaw and circular saw to create the castle joints.
Of course the cuts were not perfect and they had to be cleaned using a chisel and lots of filing and sanding.
The supports for the slats were created by ripping a piece of 90 x 45mm down the middle and gluing and screwing the piece to the inside bottom of the frame.
To create a platform effect, I glued and screwed 42 x 19mm DAR Pine to the outer side flush with the top.
I had to plane the side of the 90 x 35mm Pine that was on top to remove the rounded edges that are typical of construction lumber. This ensured that there wasn't a gap between the side and the platform edge.
Since I was using castle joints on the outer legs, I cut the legs on the middle support to also have castle joints.
I also cut slots into the middle support to mate with the front and back sides of the bed frame and added supports on the inside to prevent the middle support from moving side to side.
All of the vertical sides were cut to the final length at an angle and I ran a router with a round-over bit to smooth all edges. I also added a groove running along the middle of each side of the leg to hide the seam created by joining two 90 x 45mm pieces.
I tested that everything fit before it was time to sand.
I sealed it using a sanding sealer, sanded again and finally applied three coats of Feast Watson Chocolate Walnut Stain & Varnish.
This was the most difficult part of the whole process, and getting the stain and varnish to be uniform and not drip was time consuming.
It was now time for final assembly.
More bedroom project inspiration for your home
Bunnings Workshop member DiamondDave made a pallet-timber bed with plenty of storage in spacious drawers.
Workshop member annatr made their bedroom pop with this hanging upholstered bedhead.
Workshop member EleventhCoastal shared this nib wall bedhead with VJ panelling and floating shelves.
There are also plenty of other great ideas in our collection of Workshop members' Bedheads and nib walls.
Let us know if you need a hand with your own project. Start a discussion and tell us what you need.
For the benefit of all readers of this discussion, just thought I'd share the plans created by Bunnings Workshop D.I.Y. expert @EricL showing how you might replicate @prashantpd's popular queen bed using castle joinery.
Hope it inspires you and helps with your own project.
Jason
