Build a Bed End Bench
Building a bench for the end of your bed is a project that should take no longer than 2 hours. This piece of furniture adds storage space for shoes or bags under the bench and creates a staging area on the bench seat itself. This project calls for pine wood and metal hardware but can easily be modified for fancier woods if your bedroom requires it.
Instructions
Preparing the Lumber
1. Cut five 2 x 4 beams to a length matching the width of your bed. Generally, twin and full beds are 39 inches wide, queen beds are 50 inches wide, and king beds are 60 inches wide. Measure your personal bed to be sure. If making a bench for a twin or full bed, you may want to buy beams you can cut into two sections, each long enough for the job.
2. Cut six 2 x 4 beams to a length matching the height of your bed, as measured with your measuring tape. In most cases, you'll be able to get two or more lengths out of a single store-bought beam.
3. Using a drill bit 1/8 inch narrower than the diameter of your wood screws, drill three pilot holes on center in each of the beams you cut to match the width of your bed. Place one hole 2 inches from each end of the beam and the third hole in the middle of the beam.
4. Using a drill bit the same diameter as the head of your wood screws, widen each pilot hole to a depth of about 1/8 inch. This will allow you to countersink the screws in your bench so that they don't snag.
5. Sand all the faces of your lumber.
6. Put on your face mask, and move to a ventilated area.
7. Apply wood stain to all the surfaces of your lumber. Allow it to dry before continuing.
Building the Legs
8. Select two 15 1/4 inch beams and two of the beams cut to match the height of your bed.
9. Arrange the four pieces in a rectangle with the 15 1/4 inch beams inside the other beams. All the beams should lie on their narrow (2-inch-wide) faces.
10. Connect the rectangle with two wood screws at each corner. Drill the screws in through the faces of the outside beams and into the ends of the 15 1/4-inch beams.
11. Repeat Steps 1 through 3 to build a total of three rectangles.
Mounting the Bench
12. Lay your three rectangles on theirs sides (the beams cut to match the bed height), spaced apart to match the distance between the holes you predrilled in the longer beams.
13. Set one of the beams you cut to match the bed width on the floor, flush against the supports. The face with the widened part of the pilot hole should be away from the support frames.
14. Attach the beam to the support frames with one wood screw per support, drilled down through the pilot hole and into the top of the frame. Drill down until the head of the screw is entirely below the level of the beam.
15. Repeat Steps 1 through 3, arranging the beams so that they form a sitting surface across the top of the support frames.
16. Reinforce the outermost support frames with three L-braces on the angle formed between the frame and the beams on top. Put an L-brace on the two outermost beams and on the center beam.
17.Reinforce the center frame with two L-braces. Put one L-brace on either side of the support frame, attached to the center beam.
Tags: beams match, support frames, beams beams, beds inches, beds inches wide, inches wide