How to convert US plans for a bed?

dragonfly

So I’m going to make this bed https://www.ana-white.com/woodworking-projects/camp-loft-bed-stair-junior-height

I think I may have figured out what wood to use - converting to what we have available in Oz but I want to change it to a king single - it’s doing my head in and sketch up is not for me. Any clues? Do I just pay someone to convert plans/wood cuts needed for me? A carpenter maybe?

Thank you

Noyade

Hi Dragonfly.

I've lived life since 1975 (Australia's conversion to Metric?) with 25.4 in my head.

25.4 mm to the inch.

304.8 mm to the foot.

I usually round them off - and have a calculator at the ready. Don't let math beat you.

There are also many conversion sites on the net....

https://www.calculator.net/conversion-calculator.html

EricL

Hello@dragonfly

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about converting plans for your bed.

It's great that you've received excellent advice from @Noyade. I agree with the recommendation, don't let the math beat you. A king single mattress is 1070mm x 2030mm based on these measurements you can reverse engineer the plans.

A tape measure should come in handy to give you an idea of how big and tall it will be. Just a reminder to be aware of the area you're installing the bed in. The original plan was based on a single and a king single is significantly larger.

Let me call on our experienced members @TedBear and @tom_builds for their recommendations.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

TedBear

Hi @dragonfly , in addition to good information from @Noyade and @EricL ,

It may be useful to know that the equivalents (available sizes to purchase) for

2x4 (inch) is 50x100mm

2x6 is 50x 150mm

8 feet. is 2400mm

You'll need to alter the lengths to suit the mattress you intend to use of course.

dragonfly

I thought 2 x 4 would be 35 x 90 and 2 x 6 = 35 x 140mm - which are sold.....it seems they are available on the website?

Also (sorry lots of questions) would the pine be treated, untreated, dressed, sawn, sanded, premium, DAR? - so confused by the amount out options

MitchellMc

Hi @dragonfly,

It's a little bit confusing, but @TedBear is correct with his direct measurement conversions. In reality, though, those sizes aren't available. In Australia, we refer to 45 x 90mm timber as a 2 x 4. However, 2 x 4inches is actually 50 x 100mm. That is the overall rough-sawn size from the mill and what was used for framing back in the day. Today that timber is milled down, and we get finished 45 x 90mm timber.

If you wanted finished timber like what is used in that project, it would be dressed-all-round, which means it has a smooth surface. Here's Porta 90 x 45mm 2.4m DAR Pine Standard & Better, but you'll find it challenging to locate a 140 x 45mm timber that is DAR. To get around the issue of not having 140 x 45mm, you might like to double up the 90 x 45mm. You can then clad over their face with 140 x 19mm timber to mimic one solid piece. Since you are using the timber internally, no treatment is needed.

Here's a handy guide on How to choose the right timber for the job.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

woodenwookie

I've built a couple of her plans and I used a spreadsheet. It's then simply a matter of using a formula like so:

A1 = 25.4

B1 = plan measurement

=round(B1*$A$1,0)

If you use $A$1 it will always reference A1 instead of the next row as you add measurements.

Spreadsheets are your friend.

dragonfly

Amazing thank you 🙏🏽