Bed frames can seem like a waste: all that cubic footage covered with draping bedclothes, contributing nothing to neatness or storage in the room. By replacing a simple twin bed frame with a storage bed, you can add more than 30 cubic feet of accessible storage. Set aside an afternoon for this project, which is easily within the reach of novice and intermediate carpenters. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Sand all surfaces of your lumber using rough-grit sandpaper.
2. Set one long beam and one short beam in an L, with the end of the long beam against the face of the short. Screw together using two wood screws.
3. Add the second short beam to the free end of the long beam, turning your L into a squared-off C. Screw together as you did the first.
4. Slide the second long beam in between the arms of the C until it runs parallel to the other long beam. The centers of the beams should be 16 inches apart. Screw in place as in the previous steps.
5. Slide the shortest beam in between the arms of the C, running parallel to the short beams and in the open side of the frame. It should be equidistant from either arm. Screw in place.
6. Set one plywood sheet on the frame so it covers the open side and its inside edge runs along the middle of the central support beam. Screw in place with one screw at each corner.
7. Set the other plywood sheet to cover the remainder of the frame. Attach it to the first sheet using the tree hinges: one near each edge and one at the center.
8. Sand all exposed lumber using fine-grit sandpaper.
Tags: long beam, Screw place, beam between, beam between arms, between arms, lumber using
