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te x t and photos by Bruce Kieffer

King-Size Platform Bed

Nine drawers add the storage capacity of a dresser without taking up additional space

This king-size bed features a royal amount of space for sleeping and storage. The area typically occupied by a frame and box spring has instead been allocated for drawers its like adding another dresser to your bedroom suite. And the design is adaptable to suit your preferences: You can build it with or without a headboard, and if you want a smaller bed, you can shrink many of the parts and replace the center box and drawer at the foot with a framed panel to create a queen-size version. (Visit HandymanClub.com for a cutting list for the queen-size bed and for instructions to build the headboard.) Almost any hardwood or softwood would suffice for this project; I used solid white ash and quarter-sawn white ash plywood. Ash is easy to machine, warm-toned, light-colored and relatively cheap compared with other hardwoods. My materials cost about $900; keep in mind that other types of wood may cost more. 4

This is a large project, and not for beginners; completing it requires a moderate amount of woodworking knowledge and skill. You must be able to glue solid-wood pieces to the edges of plywood pieces so they are aligned perfectly flush, and youll have to trim drawer faces to fit perfectly in inset openings. (I used my edge sander.) Be prepared to assemble large pieces with help from a friend or family member. I spent 120 hours building this bed. Im not trying to discourage you; I just want you to know what youre getting into before you invest a lot of time and money in the project.

Construction notes
Building this bed requires all of the common woodworking machines, power and hand tools, a pocket-hole drilling jig, at least five 78-in. opening pipe clamps, a variety of shorter

bar clamps and a table saw blade with flat ground teeth. (A flat-tooth ripping blade is fine.) Youll also need these router bits: a top-bearing pattern bit, a 1/2-in. roundover bit and a 1/4-in. roundover bit (see SOURCES). The storage section is made up of seven boxes screwed together: the head box, two drawer boxes, a narrow drawer box and two corner boxes (at the foot of the bed) with a center drawer box in between. Two deck panels are screwed on top of the storage section to complete the platform. This component approach makes building, finishing, transporting and setting up the bed much easier. The bed has five large and four small drawers made from 1/2-in.-thick Baltic birch plywood, a dense multilayer material that is very stable. It should be available at your local hardwood lumber supplier, or you can buy it online. The

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MATT SPROUSE

drawer corners are joined with glued and pinned interlocking tongue-andgroove joints. Machining the drawer joints for a perfect fit can be difficult, but the strength of the joint is worth the effort. The drawer slides are 1-in. overtravel models, meaning they extend all the way plus an extra inch. They offer complete access to the drawers even though the deck panels overhang the base by 2 in. The drawer faces are attached to the drawers with screws so they can be trimmed and adjusted. Keep in mind that when you assemble the three boxes at the foot of the bed, their cumulative width must be slightly (1/32 in. to 1/16 in.) less than the length of the narrow drawer box. This ensures that the sides of the corner boxes can be aligned flush with the faces of the narrow drawer box. The mitered corners of the stiles (E1) make assembling the two corner boxes the most difficult aspect of construction. I considered just using butt joints,

Cutting List
KEY NO. DESCRIPTION 3/4-IN. BIRCH PLYWOOD A1 1 Deck A2 1 Deck B1 4 Long sides B2 3 Long backs B3 2 Short backs B4 8 Sides B5 4 Dividers 3/4-IN. ASH PLYWOOD C1 2 Wide panels C2 2 Narrow panels D1 5 Wide drawer faces D2 4 Narrow drawer faces ASH E1 14 Long stiles E2 8 Short stiles E3 20 Rails F1 1 Edge piece F2 2 Edge pieces F3 2 Edge pieces G Edging pieces H1 5 Wide drawer pulls H2 4 Narrow drawer pulls 1/2-IN. BALTIC BIRCH PLYWOOD I1 10 Wide drawer sides I2 5 Wide drawer fronts I3 5 Wide drawer backs J1 8 Narrow drawer sides J2 4 Narrow drawer fronts J3 4 Narrow drawer backs 3/8-IN. BIRCH PLYWOOD K1 5 Wide drawer bottoms K2 4 Narrow drawer bottoms POPLAR L 1 Filler cleat M1 16 Slide cleats M2 2 Slide short cleats N 2 Blockings O 1 Stop block SIZE 70 x 39 in. 70 x 38 in. 13-1/4 x 69 in. 13-1/4 x 24 in. 13-1/4 x 22-1/2 in. 13-1/4 x 21-25/32 in. 13-1/4 x 13-9/16 in. 21 x 10-1/4 in. 12 x 10-1/4 in. 20-5/8 x 9-7/8 in. 11-5/8 x 4-25/32 in. 1-1/2 x 1-1/2 x 24 in. 1-1/2 x 1-1/2 x 15 in. 1-1/2 x 1-1/2 x 10-1/4 in. 3/4 x 3 x 76 in. 3/4 x 3 x 41 in. 3/4 x 3 x 39 in. 1/8 x 3/4 in. x 48 lineal ft. 3/4 x 7/8 x 20-3/8 in. 3/4 x 7/8 x 11-3/8 in. 9-7/8 x 22 in. 9-7/8 x 19-7/16 in. 9-1/4 x 19-7/16 in. 4-3/4 x 22 in. 4-3/4 x 10-7/16 in. 4-1/8 x 10-7/16 in. 21-3/4 x 19-1/2 in. 21-3/4 x 10-1/2 in. 3/4 x 1-1/2 x 24 in. 25/32 x 2-1/4 x 21-3/4 in. 25/32 x 2-1/4 x 21 in. 1-1/2 x 1-1/2 x 13-1/4 in. 3/4 x 4 x 64 in.

SHOPPING List
3/4-in. x 4 x 8-ft. ash plywood (1) 3/4-in. x 4 x 8-ft. birch plywood (4) 1/2-in. x 5 x 5-ft.  Baltic birch plywood (2) 3/8-in. x 4 x 8-ft. birch plywood (1) 8/4 ash (21 board ft.  includes 50 percent waste)  /4 ash (9 board ft. 4 includes 50 percent waste) 8/4 poplar (1 board ft.  includes 50 percent waste) 4/4 poplar (13 board ft.  includes 50 percent waste) 22-in. side-mount drawer slides (9) No. 20 biscuits (96) No. 8 x 2-1/2-in.  flathead screws (16)  o. 8 x 1-1/4-in. N flathead screws (130)  o. 8 x 1-in. N washer-head screws (46)  o. 7 x 1-1/4-in. pocket screws (4) N No. 6 x 1-1/4-in.  flathead screws (32)  -in. x 18-gauge brads (124) 1 Waterborne polyurethane (1 quart) Danish oil (1 pint) 6

but after seeing the finished bed, Im glad I employed miters. Follow the howto assembly sequence closely when you get to that point, and youll be fine.

Storage section
Cut pieces B1 through B5, C1, C2, E1, E2 and E3 to size (see cutting list, above). Note: The dimensions in the cutting list assume your 3/4-in. plywood is 23/32 in. thick, so the lengths of the pieces that fit between other plywood

pieces have been configured accordingly. Take eight of the 20 rails (E3) and drill the screw holes in them for joining the boxes later (see illustration, opposite). Two rails with holes are used on each of the three large noncorner drawer boxes, and the other two are used on the narrow drawer box. Glue and clamp rails without screw holes to the sides of panels C1 and C2. Miter one end of eight of the 14 long stiles (E1); they are used in building

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King-size platform bed

2-1/4" F2 1/4" RAD. EDGES 45 MITERED CORNER G 2 J2 J1 1" BRAD B3 I1 D1 I3 POCKET SCREW HOLE FROM UNDERNEATH F1 NO. 8 x 1" WASHER HEAD E2 SCREW B4 J3 B4 I1 K2 I2 B1 M1 B2 B5

1-1/2" RAD. CORNER

F3

17-5/8" A1 3/8" 13-1/8"

17-5/8"

2-3/4"

A2

2" 3/4" NO. 7 x 1-1/4" POCKET SCREW NO. 20 BISCUIT 21-3/4" E2 M1 B4 3/4" C2 E3 1 K1 I2 D1 E2 SLIDE CABINET MEMBER G I1 H1

12-5/8"

13" NO. 8 x 1-1/4" O FLATHEAD SCREW B1 B5 N

C2 N

E1

M2

B1 B3

B5

B5 NO. 8 B2 x 1-1/4" FH B1 SCREW L B2 J3 K2 J1 B4 H2

B4 13/16" E1

E1

NO. 8 x 2-1/2" FLATHEAD SCREW I1 K1 D1

I1 K1 D1

I3 E1 C1 E3 1/2" RAD. D2 I1 1/16" 2 I3

I3

I1

SLIDE DRAWER MEMBER 7/8" 10 H1 & H2

1/16" MARGINS AROUND DRAWER FACES

22" DRAWER SLIDE

1" BRAD

NO. 6 x 1-1/4" FLATHEAD SCREW

30

H1 & H2 PULL - END

3/4"

3/4" 1" 3/4"

5/16" DIA. J2

PULL - SIDE

E2 1-5/8" J1 M1 1/8" E2

2" M1 5-1/8"

E1 1-5/8" I1

2"

I2, I3, 5/16" J2, J3

3/4" 1"

5/16" DIA.

CL

M1 & M2

3/16" I1 J1 3/4"

I2
illustration by bruce kieffer

B1

1/4" E1

B4 & C1

3/8"

5/8"

SLIDES SMALL DRAWERS

SLIDES LARGE DRAWERS

DETAIL 1 DRAWER-CORNER JOINTS

DETAIL 2 DRAWER-FRONT HOLES

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1
Corner square

Glue and clamp the framed panels to the ends of the head box, and make sure the assembly is square.

2
Spacer E3 Framed panel

E1

3
Hold-down Drawer side

Fence

Add the mitered top and bottom face-frame stiles (E1) to the corner-box assemblies. Clamp a spacer between the rails (E3) to maintain the 21-in. opening.

Cut the drawer-joint grooves on the insides of the drawer sides using a table saw with a flat-tooth ripping blade. Make two cuts to complete the 3/16- x 3/16-in. groove.

the two corner boxes. Glue and clamp mitered stiles to the ends of the wide panels (C1). Glue and clamp short stiles (E2) to the ends of the narrow panels (C2). Assemble the three large face frames for the noncorner drawer boxes and the two face frames for the narrow drawer box. At this point, just glue and clamp the joints; the biscuits that join the face frames to the plywood sides later will add strength. Attach the remaining two rails (E3) to the front edges of the inside birch plywood sides (B4) of the two corner boxes. Finish sand the fronts of the face frames and framed panels to 150-grit. Cut the biscuit grooves for joining the parts to make the boxes. Glue and clamp the dividers (B5) to the long sides (B1); then add the framed panels to complete the head box (photo 1) , and add the narrow face frames to complete the narrow drawer box. Glue and clamp the large face frames, the long backs (B2) and the sides (B4) together to make the three large noncorner drawer boxes. To build the two corner drawer boxes, glue and clamp the sides with the rails attached, the short backs (B3) and the framed panels together; then add the stiles (E1) to complete the corner boxes (photo 2). Rout the rounded over outside edges on the corner boxes.

Drawers
The drawers are designed with slide-in bottoms. I find it much easier to finish the drawers before installing the bottoms. Cut the drawer pieces I1 through J3 to size. Note: The dimensions in the cutting list assume your 1/2-in. Baltic birch plywood is 15/32-in. thick, so the lengths of the drawer fronts and backs have been configured accordingly. Cut the drawer corner-joint grooves and tongues (photos 3 and 4) . Test your machining setups on scrap wood to be sure the joints fit. Cut the grooves in the drawer fronts and sides for the drawer bottoms. (Match the width of the groove to the thickness of the plywood bottom.) Drill the holes in the drawer fronts for mounting the drawer faces. Cut the drawer bottoms (K1, K2) 1 in.

4
Drawer front

Hold-in

5
1-in. temporary overhang

Cut the drawer-joint tongues on the drawer fronts and backs with two setups. First cut the tongue to define its thickness and length; then remove the waste with the workpiece laid flat on the table. 8

Glue and pin the drawer corner joints together. Slide the drawer bottoms in place to hold the boxes square as the glue dries. Avoid getting glue in the drawer-bottom grooves.

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wider than the finished dimension (22-3/4-in.); with this approach, you can use the drawer bottoms to square the drawers during assembly and then grab the excess to pull the bottoms back out. Finish sand the insides of the drawer sides, fronts and backs; then assemble the drawers (photo 5). After the glue has dried, remove the drawer bottoms, cut them to their finished size and finish sand them.

6
Edge strip

Drawer faces and pulls

Cut the drawer faces (D1, D2) to size. Make the drawer edging pieces (G; photo 6) a bit wider than the thickness of the plywood. Cut the edging pieces to length plus 1 in.; then attach them to the drawer faces (photo 7). Use a palm router with a flush-trim bit to trim the edging strips flush with the plywood. Finish sand the drawer faces to 150-grit. While youre making the drawer pulls (H1, H2), make 4 ft. of extra stock to build a sanding stand (photo 8) . Sand the sawn edges of the drawer pulls smooth. Use a miter saw or stationary belt sander to bevel the ends of the pulls. Next, drill the holes in the drawer faces for attaching the pulls. I made templates to lay out and drill the holes relative to the tops of the drawers. After I drilled the holes in the drawers, I cut down the templates to match the backs of the pulls so I could drill the screw pilot holes with the proper spacing.

Rip the 1/8-in.-wide drawer edging strips off the edge of a wide 3/4-in.-thick board. Work so that the pieces drop away from the blade. Youll have to reset the fence a few times. Be sure to use your saws guard.

Masking tape

Glue and tape the solid-wood edging strips to the drawer faces. Place pieces of tape every 2 in. and pull them tight. Make sure the edgings overhang the plywood on both the face and back. Insert the drawers, set the drawer faces in their openings and check their fit. Use 1/16-in. spacers to check the margins. Trim the edges until they fit; then mark and drill pilot holes for the screws that attach the drawer faces to the drawers. Label all of the parts for final assembly. When youre done, detach the drawer slides from the drawers. the edging pieces to the deck pieces. Drill the pocket-screw holes in the ends of pieces F2 and F3. Cut the radius on the front corners and then rout the roundover edges. Drill the holes for the screws used to mount the panels to the storage section.

Mounting the drawers

Make and attach the slide cleats (M1, M2). I used spacers to align the slide cleats as I mounted them to the boxes. Next, separate the drawer-slide members. Mount the slide cabinet members to the slide cleats using the front-toback elongated holes, and mount the slide drawer members to the drawers using the up-and-down elongated holes. Align the fronts of the slide drawer members 1/16 in. from the front edges of the drawers. This stops the drawer faces from banging on the drawer slides when the drawers are pushed in.

Assembly and finishing

If you want to include a headboard, build it from the plans at HandymanClub.com, and attach the blockings (N). Otherwise, attach the stop block (O) to the head box to keep your mattress from sliding forward. Assemble the storage section (photo 10); then make
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Deck panels
To make the deck panels, cut pieces A1, A2, F1, F2 and F3 to size (photo 9). Make the solid-wood edging pieces equal to the thickness of the plywood. Attach

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Pull stock Scrap fiberboard

Make this sanding stand using the extra pull stock. Sand the sawn pull sides, and finish with 180-grit sandpaper. Hard sanding blocks will wear out quickly, but they provide the best results.

and attach the filler cleat (L). Disassemble the parts as needed for finishing and fill the nail holes in the drawer sides with putty. Finish sand all exposed surfaces to 180-grit, ease any sharp edges and apply your favorite finish. I used waterborne polyurethane on the ash pieces and Danish oil on the drawers. Dont finish the deck panels; unfinished wood will help to keep the mattress from sliding. When youre done, nail the drawer bottoms in place, remount the drawer slides, attach the pulls, mount the drawer faces, make the final drawer-alignment adjustments and then insert locking screws in the drawer slides. Finally, set up the bed and enjoy a good nights sleep.

1/2-in.-thick straightedge guide

Use a router with a top-bearing pattern bit guided against a clamped-on straightedge to cut the ends of the deck pieces (A1, A2) square. This setup leaves the edge tearout-free.

Handyman Club life member Bruce Kieffer is a custom furniture builder, freelance woodworking author and technical illustrator. You can see a collection of his work at kcfi.biz.

Go to HandymanClub.com/magazine and click on WEB EXTRAS. Amazon (trammel-point set, General Tools No. 523), amazon.com Infinity Tools (glue-line ripping saw blade, No. 010-024; top-bearing pattern bit, No. 11-754B; 1/2-in. roundover bit, No. 38880; 1/4-in. roundover bit, No. 38-754), 877-872-2487, infinitytools.com Woodworkers Hardware (22-in. full extension with over-travel ball-bearing slide, No. KV8405 B22 EB; 1-in. low-profile washerhead screw, SCLP8X1), 800-383-0130, wwhardware.com

SOURCES

10

Web Extra
For a cutting list for a queen-size bed and headboard instructions, scan this Get the free mobile app at http:/ / gettag.mobitag with your smartphone or go to HandymanClub.com.

Assemble the storage section on a flat floor. Drill pilot holes and insert the screws to join the rails. Add screws to join the box interiors as needed. Setups on uneven floors will require shimming. 10
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