Wood choice for bed

[nospambob]

[Jeremy Gibson]

I'm looking into building a king size bed (heirloom bed from plansnow.com) and am wondering what wood would be good (or bad). I plan on painting the bed instead of staining it so I thought pine or poplar would be a good choice. Would that be strong enough or do I need hardwood?

Thanks!

[George]

Not for that size bed, unless he's planning to enlarge the cross-sections by about 1/4 on the rails. I'd also pay strict attention to the type of fastener used. Bed bolt probably best, because it would spread the load against the soft wood. The kind that rely on screws or such would not be good in poplar.

Give some thought to something like white birch or soft maple. Cherry worked well on the "classic" above it, as I can testify, but I think SWMBO would kill anyone who tried to paint it.

plansnow.com)

[Jeremy]

George,

It sounds like you built this bed in cherry. Any pics?

Does anyone use online sources for hardwood? I have found a few but not sure if it's a good price or a bad price. For example, westpennhardwoods.com has soft maple, select grade 4/4 at $2.35/bf.

One last question.....can someone please define SWMBO for me? I get the idea but keep wondering. Private email is fine if it's not suitable for all ears.

- Jeremy

[RESPITE95]

I have purchased from Steve Wall Lumber Co. online with good success. Call them up and chat about what you need. They are very helpful. GCS

[George]

SWMBO at my house is Susan Was My Best Option. Others say She Who Must Be Obeyed.

Bed is presently in Germany with the big kid whose wedding present it was. Quick look at the hard drive shows the nightstands and dressers, can't see the bed. But my average at posting pictures on ABPF or ABPW is about nil for the last year anyway. My ISP doesn't send them. I'll take a longer look and presume your posted address is real.

The modifications I favored were stiffening of the rails to avoid spreading stress. Went with a fully glued 1x2 1/2 to rest the bedboards on. Pinned the center two to make sure they didn't drop. The rails were 5/4 planed to

1 1/8. Mortised the ends and the cherry posts for the fasteners at if you don't paste easily, item 28597 . They wedged tightly, and so far seem proof against athletic activity (twins due in September). Softer woods, in my opinion, would not hold the screws as well, and the slightest bit of looseness would translate into crushed grain where the rails meet the posts, making things progressively looser.

cross-sections

[Jana]

Hi, go with soft/silver maple. Poplar is too soft and pine doesn't paint as nice as the maple. Jana

[TeamCasa]

Jeremy I recently finished a bed for my son, made from Poplar (posts), BalticBirch Plywood (head, foot &side boards) and beech for the rails and other parts. They did the painting and now love it.

are some picts.

Dave

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