As has become my custom, I started the project with a Sketchup model. The bed is made from regular 2x4 and 2x6 materials (except for the slats). It took a while to pick through the lumber at the big box stores to find relatively straight boards. (3/2019)

The lumber is stacked up and acclimating to the basement. In the distance you can see the old cabinet I disassembled and painted for Justine. (3/31/19)

I needed to put in a mortise at the end of the side rails to put in the bed rail fastener. This simple jig is just a piece of plywood with a slot cut out in the middle that a router with a pattern bit can follow, screwed into the end grain. I had to follow that up with a bit chisel work to get the fasteners to fit. (4/4/19)

Just a top view of the template ready for a test cut. (4/4/19)

It turned out to be a little tough to route into the end of long board. This isn't going to work. (4/4/19)

I ended up clamping the board down to the table and routing horizontally. Routing on the side isn't my favorite but it worked. (4/4/19)

The hooks on the bed rail fastener needs some room behind to engage the plate. I ended up using a spiral bit on the plunge router. I could have just used a drill, but it's a new router so I wanted to play with it. (4/5/19)

Here I'm laying out the frame to confirm the rail fasteners are fitting properly. (4/5/19)

I added some biscuits for the ledges on the side rails. They won't add much, if any, strength in this application. I put them there to help keep the boards aligned when I glue and screw them together. (4/6/19)

I probably went overboard with the pocket screws. I couldn't get a dead-flat surface or edge to ensure a good glue joint. Since this is 2x material I was able to use longer screws that had more holding power. It should hold up. (4/6/19)

I tried to improve the joints of the head board by using a router and a straight edge. This straight edge has a built in clamp to hold it in place. I learned the hard way that a long straight edge can actually deflect when under pressure. The first few attempts resulted in a bowed edge. I ended up using a couple of trigger clamps to hold the straight edge in place instead. (4/7/19)

Ideally, with a jointed edge, glue would suffice to hold the head board together. Since this is construction grade material and my attempts at jointing the edge was less that ideal I decided to add the screws and biscuits to ensure a stronger bond. (4/15/19)