mardi 25 juin 2013

DIY Toddler bed with birch plywood





My daughter is now ready for the toddler bed I made for her. Here is some pictures while I was working on it and some tips if you would like to make one yourself.






First I made a cardboard mock-up just to be sure I liked the proportions and the forms.



Fortunately the wood shop near my place sells their sheet of birch plywood in 30 in by 60 in, which was perfect for my design (well, technically I knew that, so I designed the bed in consequence). I had them cut in half so that means 4 boards of 15'' by 60'' (I only used 3 of those boards). 2 for the sides of the bed which is the length of the mattress, and the third board is parted in 2 boards the width of the mattress plus 2 times the thickness of the plywood. That means, in my case, 52 1/2 inches for the sides, and (28 1/2 + 1 1/2 ) 30 inches for the headboard and footboard.


I drilled holes to help the cutting with the jigsaw




Those are the leftovers from the cutting of the legs. I re-used it by cutting them in 1 1/2 '' stripes for the supports of the bed board.



Footboard and headboard have the same design so it's possible to put the bed in different places in the room without affecting the position of the cutaway on the side.



 Screwing the bed board supports (the leftovers...).



 This is the tricky part...

Drilling holes for dowels and screws. These have to be perfectly centered and aligned with matching holes on the headboards and footboards.


The headboard and footboard are screwed in place



Finally the bed board is cut at the right dimensions with a drilled hole for easy removal.


I didn't want to put varnish or chemicals on that bed so I just used beeswax for finishing.





 She seems to enjoy it !

12 commentaires:

  1. Just wondering what sized mattress you used?And where its from?

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  2. could you give me the dimensions of the bed? I would love to copy you.

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  3. pena que precisa de alguns equipamentos mais específicos.. :/

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  4. Love the bed. Great idea. Just one question. Did you sand the plywood at all?

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    Réponses
    1. Hello, I sanded the edges for sure, and I think I did a 320 grit pass to smooth the surfaces.

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  5. This looks awesome! I would to build a toddler bed for my little one, and I love this look. Thanks so much for writing a tutorial

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  7. May I asked what material thickness you used and what is the height of the boards? Thank you in advance! Caroline

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  8. Birch plywood is much more resistant to warping and bowing than other plywood, especially in thicker sheets. Its void free core also means that screws bite and hold with 100% of their threads leading to better screw holding, this makes it a great choice for long-term use. Timex Plywood and Doors comes in top 10 plywood companies in India. Our success story is one backed by passionate people. Our people are professionals who are knowledgeable about their products and well trained. For more information: Call 022-29273200 or Email us marketing@timexply.com

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  9. It’s look great is this bed can be upside down?? Like lower on the floor like sprouts beds.?

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