Bed Design

Birdhunter

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Jun 16, 2012
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I am a amateur woodworker (senior, age wise) trying to help a young couple who have become close friends. They just bought a tiny house and have a new baby so they don't have two dimes to rub together. I agreed to make them a bed. They like the look of the Simple Bed from Kalon Studio, but can't even get remotely close to affording it. I mostly make small projects like jewelry boxes so I don't have any experience making a bed. They like quarter sawn oak. It's not as pretty as the ash Kalon uses, but they like it.

I have a very comprehensive shop with jointer, planer, both Domino machines, etc.

I'm not sure how the 4 sides are joined. I need to be able to break down the bed and assemble it at their house.
 
sounds like the perfect excuse for the new domino connectors. it seems like youre doing them a huge favor by taking on this task. theyre on a budget but want the good oak even quarter sawn lol. vertical stacking baltic birch has a nice stylish feel to it and should be budget friendly.
 
I think the connectors require over 1.25" thickness. My local sources only have 4/4 lumber.
 
I had never heard of Kalon beds, I had to Google them.  Wow, they are pricey for what they are!  The queen, pictured below sells for $2700.  The Domino connectors seem like a way to go, you could also go with bed bolts.  Either way you'll need to go with thicker stock than 3/4".  My motto is you can buy junk, so why would you build it?  You want them to lie in your bed with no racking whatsoever,  so 1 1/4" thick stock at a minimum.  3/4" stock for the box spring slats.  Good luck with your build, please post pictures of it here.

SimpleBed.jpg


as a post script,  Jory Brigham uses a kind of box joint for his organic beds, this might work:

_MG_5132blackbgosheets.jpg
 
It's a bit hard to see from the pictures of the original, but you'll need something on the sides to attach the box spring slats onto anyway... so... you could also glue the same stock onto the other two sides (front and back) and sink the connectors into the thicker section formed by that (and the box spring slat holders) and use smaller dominos on the vertical parts to give the corners stability - the connectors would solely function as locking with the dominos taking the shear.

Or make it a one-trick pony and glue it together in-place on-site.
 
I think doing the final assembly and glue up onsite would work. I'm not sure about finding stock thicker than 4/4. The pictures I've seen of the frame seem to have a horizontal piece attached to the vertical pieces to support the slats.
 
Could you not just laminate two boards together to get your desired thickness?
 
I'll talk to the couple to see if the thickness is acceptable to them. A 1.5" rail makes sense to me and would allow use of the Festool fasteners.
 
Birdhunter said:
I think the connectors require over 1.25" thickness. My local sources only have 4/4 lumber.
It must be a sad sign of the times.  I would think that a major area like ATL would have suppliers that carried up to 8/4 rough.  I'm in MN and there are a number of vendors, but none offer a wide variety of species over 4/4 rough.  I'm pretty sure I can get a few of the popular ones beyond 4/4, but even hickory is not available beyond 4/4 rough.

I guess I would go the glue up route.  Whether you use the domino knock down connectors or not, I think the frame needs to have integrity beyond 3/4".

I applaude your generosity and good luck with your project.  Don't forget the pictures!

Chris
 
As pictured by Jim the Kalon Simple bed is a poor design for mattress support. There appears to be no under support for the slat matrix which would be crucial if making a Queen or larger type bed. Simple says it all, good does not come into play with this bed. Any chance you use Sketchup.

John
 
I have decided to go with two 3/4" boards glued together for the side and end pieces. The pictures kinda show a slat support affixed to the side and end pieces to form an "L". The text on the web site mentions a mid-span slat support and a 5th leg midway on that support. The slats would rest on the 4 slat supports affixed to the side and end pieces and rest on the mid-span support.

Dominos would be good to attach the slat support to the side and end pieces. Would probably use 3/4" Baltic Birch for the slat support pieces since it won't show. That would keep the cost down.

The top of the legs look inset into the side pieces. Guess I could use a router jig to hog out the inset and trim it up with a hand saw or chisel. Better ideas are very welcome.

I'll look at the Lee Valley connectors.

 
kcufstoidi said:
As pictured by Jim the Kalon Simple bed is a poor design for mattress support. There appears to be no under support for the slat matrix which would be crucial if making a Queen or larger type bed. Simple says it all, good does not come into play with this bed. Any chance you use Sketchup.

John

There is actually a center support they leave out of the pictures, but it is in the manual. All beds over the full size mattress have this center support. Actually, just about every company does this trick, they leave  out the center support in the nice pictures, but of course its has to be there for the larger beds. If you go to the site they do mention a 5th foot for the larger beds most wont know that that is.  It doesn't really ruin the look once the mattresses is on the unit as the front and rear act as beams so no feet are required there, they only need that 5th foot in the center where it cant be seen.

This is right from the manual for their Queen size.

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Here is a very simple bed to make, not as  fancy as the Simple bed design. If you modify the design it could look quite pretty and of course 2x4 dont have to be used and the nails or fasteners dont need show , but boy it would be inexpensive. This appears to be a durable design.

There are loads of other plans here with instructions as well.
http://woodgears.ca/bed/build.html

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Birdhunter - Your profile shows you live in Atlanta. Have you been to Peach State Lumber?  Lots of good hardwood choices in various thicknesses.  Suwannee Lumber is another good option on the northeast side of town.
 
Thanks for the referral to Peach Lumber. I'll go look.

I'm thinking of attaching the legs to the frame with 4 Dominos each leg. Good enough?
 
lots of good feed back in here! i think the best low cost solution is to ask them if they want the exposed hardware look and explain the pros and cons...easy break down and assembly just the cons of looking at hardware (some ppl enjoy the rough tough look). if not just do a domino glue up on site. I think theyre lucky to have you to give them these options esp on budget...we're not ikea. im sure you wont be making any money off of this.
 
The onsite glue-up is looking better all the time. No, I'm doing this pro bono. They are a sweet young couple and raising a beautiful child. The husband is a hair stylist and the wife is our Pilates instructor. They are smart about money, just don't have much of it right now. I've been very blessed in my life and it's darn satisfying to give back even as an amateur carpenter.
 
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