I made the whole thing out of standard pine boards.
I would suggest constructing the bed and assembling it in order to determine the dimensions you will need for your
plywood deck and then return to the home supply store and pick it up. (Have them cut your plywood for you
(see cutting diagram at the bottom of the page). It makes transporting it home much easier.)
The beauty of this design is you can also make the deck using slats of 1 x 4's, it is your choice.
10, 8 foot 1 x 4's should work fine.
Cut out the following lengths out of your 4, 8 foot 2 x 6's.
2 @ 74 inches (this is the side rails of the bed), the remaining 22 inches from each piece is for the 2 legs at the foot of the bed
When choosing and cutting your lumber, do so carefully as there is little room for error in my cutting instructions.
Side Rails
You will need to build a lip on the inside of your rails to support your plywood deck or your slats.
Use the 1 x 2's and place them 1 inch from the top of your 2 x 6 and glue and screw them in place with
galvanized screws. On the head and foot rails of the bed, do not extend the 1 x 2's all the way to the end.
You will need at least 1 ½ inches at each end to secure your hardware. (See diagram below)
On your side rails you will want to leave two spaces where your 2 x 4's will rest to hold up your plywood deck across the span of the bed. Measure 22 ¼ inches down from each end of your side rails and make a mark. This marks the center of where your 2 x 4 will sit, measure 1 ¾ inches on either side of this mark and run your 1 x 2's up to this mark. Use an additional piece of 1x 2 under the gap to give a place for the 2 x 4 to rest.
The diagram above shows the placement of the 1 x 2's (shown in gray) on the side rails of the bed. The photo below shows how the 2 x 4's sit in the channels you made with the 1 x 2's. Your plywood deck will be in three sections so make sure the place where the edges of the plywood meet is over a 2 x 4 support bar. Cut your support bars after you have assembled the bed to assure you get the correct length.
Many bed designs in period show the support bars coming through the side rails with a mortise and tennon joint and being fastened with a wooden peg or shim. I have found that this is not necessary to do when using the 2 x 6 boards since they do not have a tendency to bow out on the sides.
Legs
Once you have cut the appropriate lengths for your legs, as noted in the cutting list, you are mostly done. The legs at the foot of the bed will need to have the hardware attached, as shown in the picture to the right.
You can see why I chose to use a wide board for the legs because of how I'm placing the hardware and the type of hardware I'm using. There are no specific measurements for the placement of the hardware. I have set it so the legs stick up about an inch above the side rails, but you could set them flush, once again it's your choice. I will suggest that you attach your hardware in the same place on each of your legs and the rails, that way you will not need to mark which board gets attached to which leg.
Headboard:
I chose to make a headboard because I was tired of constantly knocking the pillows off the end of the bed each night. You can choose to omit this feature OR you could choose to add a footboard as well. The headboard consists of a 1 x 12 cut the same length as the head rail. It rides in a channel made of 1 x 2's (boy these guys get a lot of work) attached to one end of the longer legs used at the head of the bed.
You could make your headboard out of a variety of materials. You could choose to use several thinner boards and stack them in the channel, or you could use a ½ inch piece of plywood and cut a fancy design and decorate it. I chose to upholster my headboard with the same fabric as the cloth privacy panels that hang around the sides of the bed.
I attached the 1 x 2's so the headboard would rest flush with the tops of the legs, as shown in the picture to the right. I positioned the headboard towards the back of the legs so it would more or less run directly above the support rail.
You might want to shorten the length of the headboard by 1/8 of an inch so that it will ride smoothly in the channel.
Cutting instructions for the Plywood:
I attached the 1 x 2's so the headboard would rest flush with the tops of the legs, as shown in the picture to the right. I positioned the headboard towards the back of the legs so it would more or less run directly above the support rail.
Out of your 4 x 8 piece of plywood you want the following pieces:
Most places that offer the service of cutting your plywood for you will do up to 3-5 cuts for free.
The first two pieces are used towards the head and foot of the bed. The edge of each plywood sheet should rest on top of the two support bars (see diagram on right). The section in the middle gets the remaining sheet of plywood. To help maneuver the plywood in and out of your frame I suggest cutting away the corners of each sheet. Place a large soup can on the edge of each corner and trace around it and cut off the excess. You can also use a circle cutting bit in your drill with the same effect. This is not necessary; it's just a convenience factor.
Yes, the center section of plywood does not cover the entire width of the bed, however I have found that it doesn't have to because of the support bars running under it. If you are worried you can cut down the remaining strip of plywood from the initial 4 x 8 sheet to fill in the gap.
You can now, paint, varnish, stain, seal, polyurethane, or whatever you want with your bed. Since it will be used outdoors I would suggest sealing the wood in some way or another to protect it from the elements. I think I spent more time sewing the cloth panels, priming and painting the bed with 2 coats of red paint and upholstering the headboard than I did building the bed.
You are done! Throw down some foam, an air mattress, futon or what have you and enjoy a well-earned rest.
Sleep well everyone!
This page last updated 6 April, A.S. XXXVII (C.E. 2003), by Zadok ben Solomon ibn Alfakhar.
Camping Bed in an Afternoon
Scenario: (Insert name of BIG local camping event here) is a week away and the thought of spending a week sleeping
on an air mattress on the ground is not appealing to you. You’ve seen directions, plans and web pages to make a bed
similar to those found inperiod.You’ve been thinking about doing this, but you always seem to run out of time. They
look great, however the amount of tools you own can fit in your kitchen drawer, with room to spare, and the thought
of putting up a shelf makes you break into a cold sweat.
Do not despair, I can help you!
If you have a tape measure, drill, pencil and hand saw you can make this bed in an afternoon and have it ready for
your next big camping trip. The key to making this design work is the hardware. I purchased surface mount bed rail brackets
from Rockler Hardware. If you do not have a Rockler Hardware store in your area don’t worry, they have a
website, www.rockler.com and a secure online order form! Actually any bed rail brackets will work; I just prefer
these because you do not need to mortise out a section in the bedpost in order to set the bracket flush with the surface.
The bed I made is sized to fit a standard queen-size mattress (60" x 80"). I fudged the numbers in order to get the most
efficient use out of the standard lumber so it is actually 77.5" long, instead of 80. The height of the bed is designed
with a 15" clearance, which should fit the standard size Rubbermaid or other plastic storage crates. If you need more
room, just make the legs longer.
Here is the shopping list that you will take to the hardware store:
2 @ 60 inches (this is the head and foot rails of the bed, you may adjust the length to 54 inches for a Full size, or 39 inches for a Twin), the remaining 36 inches from each piece is for the legs at the head of the bed.
(If you do not wish to have a headboard cut the legs the same length as those for the foot)
Photo of the bed in my pavilion with the plywood deck removed. I permanently attached the cloth panels on the side rails
to help hide mundane items and clutter. Having the panels attached makes the set-up time go MUCH quicker.
2 @ 58 (or the measurement that you got from your assembled bed)
x 24 inches
1 @ 30 (or the measurement that you got from your assembled bed)
x 48 inches
