DIY Waterbed Plans

Upper Frame

• 1

  Cut two 2-inch-by-6-inch-by-8-foot boards the length of your water bed mattress plus 3 inches. These are frame boards. Wear eye protection when using tools for this project.

• 2

  Cut two other remaining 2-inch-by-6-inch-by-8-foot boards the width of your water bed mattress. These also are frame boards.

• 3

  Place a 1/4-inch corner rounding bit on a router, and use the tool to make the top edges of the 2-by-6 frame boards rounded. Do not make the ends or the bottom edges rounded.

• 4

  Put a 1/2-inch rabbeting bit on the router, and use it to put a rabbet in one side of the bottom of each frame board.

• 5

  Sand the frame boards, first with coarse, then medium and then fine sandpaper until the boards are smooth.

• 6

  Lay the long frame boards on end. Position the short frame boards perpendicular to and between the long boards. Slide one short board to one end of the long boards, and slide the other short board to the opposite end of the long boards. Position the rabbeted sides of the lower side of the frame boards toward the center of the bed.

• 7

  Screw four door hinges into the inside corners of the frame boards to hold the rectangular bed frame together. Stain and varnish the assembled frame.

Base

• 8

  Subtract 7 inches from the end frame width, and cut two 1-inch-by-12-inches-by-6-foot boards that length to make the base ends. Subtract 7 inches from the long sides of the frame, and cut two 1-inch-by-12-inches-by-6-foot boards that length to make the base sides.

• 9

  Stand the ends and sides of the base on end, and screw two corner-reinforcing straps into each corner to make a rectangular frame.

• 10

  Measure the inside diagonals of the bed frame rectangle, and subtract 6 inches. Cut two 1-inch-by-12-inches-by-6-foot boards that length to make X-frame supports.

• 11

  Cut a 6-inch long, 3/4-inch wide dado cut with the table saw in the center of each X-frame support, running from one edge and extending one-half the board's width. Mate the two dado cuts in the X-frame supports to create an X.

• 12

  Measure the length of the inside of the bed frame, and add 1 inch. Cut the long side of two 3/8-inch-by-4-foot-by-8-foot plywood sheets that length.

• 13

  Measure the width of the inside of the bed frame, and add 1 inch. Cut one sheet of plywood so that its width plus the full width of the other piece of plywood are equal to the figure you just calculated.

• 14

  Paint the base assembly black.

Bed Assembly

• 15

  Set the base frame in the center of the area where you will put the bed. Center the X frame support in the middle of the base frame.

• 16

  Lay the plywood sheets on top of the base where the frame will go. Notch the plywood frame bottom 2 inches deep near the wall side of the frame to allow passage of heater and thermostat cords.

• 17

  Set the frame on top of the plywood, and let the edges of the plywood slip into the rabbeted notches in the bottom of the bed frame.

• 18

  Screw two corner-reinforcing straps between the frame and plywood bottom along each side of the frame. You won’t need them on the ends to complete the assembly.