Help Me Improve these plans on my first project

[sofa_king_rad]

My wife found this bed and plans on the Ana White site.. The few videos and things that I've found of people building the same bed, they are use Pine building studs (2x4's and 4x4's) form the big house store.

I'm planning to build and probably paint this same bed, however would like to use hardwood for the posts and am looking for any tips on how to improve. This is my first project that will be something used in the house. One change for sure is that the Headboard and foot board will be the same height as this bed will be used as a day bed. I'm even considering adding some sort of head board type thing for the longwall side of the bed.
http://www.ana-white.com/print/8696

5 - 2x4 @ 8 feet long
1 - 1x4 @ 8 feet long
1 - 1/2 sheet of 1/2" plywood
2 - 1x8 @ 8 feet long
1x3 slats or other slat material
1" and 1 1/4" pocket hole screws
1" finish nails
3" screws or bed brackets for attaching side rails to headboard/footboard
wood glue

I'm really thinking sort of a mix of these two bed. In this 2nd one I like how the footboard is sort of capped of with a couple decorative pieces on top, and the more paneled appearance of where the plywood goes for the body of the footboard.
http://www.ana-white.com/2010/01/plans-how-to-modify-farmhouse-bed-to.html

For tools I have the OF1010, TS55, MFT-3, Rotex Sander, then various hand tools and other drills, sawsalls, etc. No Planer or Jointer, Kreg Pocket screw jig.

 

[ear3]

You will be somewhat limited by not having a planer -- any way you could splurge on a portable dewalt? If not, then you have two options to go hardwood. You could find a kumber yard that does good quality surfacing of rough lumber on site, and so you could buy some 8/4 or 6/4 oak that they would then dimension. The problem is that you cant always be certain of getting a good finish on a lumberyard surfacing -- you may be able to correct any snipi g with your rotex, but its always safer to plane on your own to assure the best finish.  Other option is to get presurfaced lumber and then laminate the posts.

 

[sofa_king_rad]

To be honest this is my first attempt at building something with hardwood. I've only done simple shop and work stuff that only required cheap pine (good for practice).

The hardwood dealer close to me has a pretty good selection of presurfaced hardwood from what I could tell. Being my first project, I still have a lot to learn even about selecting the wood. I actually haven't looked at the price of a planar and probably should I guess.

 

[nclemmons]

If you are painting it, consider using poplar from your supplier on the entire bed.  Easy to work and minimum grain so it would look nice painted.  And relatively inexpensive versus other hardwoods.

I you are going for a 'daybed' style, I'd personally drop the height a bit, particularly if you are going to go three sides with the elevated wrap-around.  Think about sitting on the bed and wanting to rest your arm on the head/foot to give you an idea as to proper heights for comfort.

Are you using mattress and springs or just a mattress on the slats?  Take that into consideration in terms of height.

I think the caps add a nice detail to the piece and make it more finished.  You'll need to think about how you join the three pieces if you end up going daybed.  You could miter the corners on the wrap, or use butt joints.  You might use knock-down connectors like these - http://www.rockler.com/connector-bolts-statuary-bronze-connector-bolts for easy assembly and disassembly.  They give you the option of the cross-barrels at the bottom of the page which would make either a miter or a butt joint easy to keep snug.  I've had great success with them on attaching rails to head/foot on beds.

Agree with Edward that you will likely need a planer or a friendly lumber supplier that you can work with.  You might need an extra rail for your saw given the length of the pieces if you are ripping any of them.  And a panther blade if you are ripping hardwood, particularly.

Do you use Sketchup?  Great for creating concepts.  And it's free!  I'd recommend drawing the details to figure out how you do the daybed wrap, dimensions, top-cap, etc and get it designed with input from your wife or even sharing here -

Good luck!

 

[ear3]

The Dewalt DXW734, which is what I have, is $399.  There is a more deluxe version, the DW735, for $649.  Honestly, having a portable planer is one of the best investments you can make, as it allows you to work with rough lumber and create your own stock.

To be honest this is my first attempt at building something with hardwood. I've only done simple shop and work stuff that only required cheap pine (good for practice).

The hardwood dealer close to me has a pretty good selection of presurfaced hardwood from what I could tell. Being my first project, I still have a lot to learn even about selecting the wood. I actually haven't looked at the price of a planar and probably should I guess.

 

[Tayler_mann]

I myself have completely eliminated using planers and jointers by buying pre surfaced materials. They are all the same size and they are usually a sanded surface were as planers have a great job at tearing out material where you don't want it too be. I also use the track saw to cut all my pieces so they are always glue ready and extremely close to perfectly square. A jointer does it better but one less step.

For this project I would invest my money into a router setup and a domino machine. Since you have the 1010 you could get the CMS table and it will be a great investment. You could cut all the joints with the router if need be. Cutting rails and stiles with the 1010 would work for the paneling.

One thing to think about always is the glue up process and how to make it easier. That is essentially the most important step of woodworking. If it doesn't go well the job might not go to well.

The domino machine would definitely make this job much easier.  [big grin]

 

[sofa_king_rad]

[member=167]neilc[/member] while it will be Day Bed style - it isn't b/c it will be used a sofa or seating area, just that it will be oriented as a day bed with book shelfs on both ends.

 

[Holmz]

You could get some small pieces of wood and just work through the routing and joints.
Whether it is poplar or pine should not matter much.

On the design, there is aesthetics, and engineering. It is is a piece that is going to get a work out, or poses some risk to life and limb if it fails, then the design needs to accommodate some strength calculations. My BIL (an engineer), says if it looks dodgy it usually is.
A 4x4 is massive when it comes to a short piece, and a 1x1, if it gets long enough, may not be strong enough for bending loads.

The minimum for that bed would be a jig saw, router, chisel, and hand plane.

A track saw or table saw, and a router should be able to do most of it. You may need a chisel if you have some specific bed fasteners.

You probably need a drill too.