Suggestion for headboard project - newbie


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Hello All!

As you might suspect, i am a newbie asking for advice/suggestion/ideas on how to build my own headboard. I am fairly new to woodworking and only done small projects like a doghouse and small cabinets. Needless to say, those projects being my first ones, came out with small imperfections. This time around, i am making plans to build some bedroom furniture for our guest bedroom which is currently empty. One of the pieces i want to make is a headboard measuring 78"W x 60"H with a 2" thickness. I want it to look like a solid (smooth) one piece board. Would you have any suggestions on how i can achieve that look for those measurements in a cost effective way? I am attaching a picture of the piece i want to resemble.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

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I'll go out on a limb, and guess that is a plywood box with edge banding, and a grain obscuring / emulating "stain" ( probably more like paint).

Of course, if you actually build it as a solid construction, like photo seems to be, you'll have to do it in place. Most beds don't fit well through most doors, without some disassembly.

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Do you want to build just the headboard or the whole bed? The picture you provided is of course an entire bed. An idea of where you are in the world plus your budget will be very helpful here.

Wtnhighlander hit the nail on the head regarding the probable cheapest way of producing a headboard like what you describe, essentially just make a very big box out of plywood. You will need a couple of sheets per side so emulating grain will be pretty important to make the whole thing look solid. Putting the "seam" down lower where the mattress will occupy will definitely help the whole appearance. 

The more expensive option means using a cheaper species of wood (say ash, beach, red maple, or oak) to make a box. By using 4/4 or even 3/4 you can keep the cost down but still make a sturdy headboard. Then using a stain you can achieve whatever color you want but this will definitely result in more seams so if making the whole thing look like a single piece of wood is critical to your design then you will need to either become exceptionally obsessive about choosing your boards (which is likely not practical) or still follow some grain emulating techniques.

The most expensive option is actually making the entire thing out of 8/4 lumber and just edge glue the whole thing so it actually is made of solid lumber. If following this option your headboard would require a bare minimum of 65 board feet. Where I live I can get 8/4 beach for 4 dollars a board foot. This would equal 260 dollars for lumber. You will of course lose some thickness in milling so your headboard would be about 1 and 3/4" thick which is crazy thick for what you are making but /shrug not sure how important the exact dimensions are to you. If 2" is critical you will need to go up to 10/4. My local hardwood seller doesn't carry enough 10/4 for something like this in cheaper woods so I would likely need to go up to 12/4 to make it happen which is 5 dollars a board foot for something like ash or red maple. It would also be pretty wasteful buying in these dimensions and would encourage either a lot of resawing or just making the headboard thicker still. While this is the most expensive option (and you would need to buy extra because there is no way you will get exactly the right sized boards) it is also the easiest since you are essentially just making a large flat surface so the whole thing could theoretically be done in a single glue-up, though I wouldn't recommend that. Do you have the ability to mill your own lumber or do you need to purchase pre-surfaced lumber?

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Thanks for the quick and helpful responses :) 

To answer to some of the previous questions, i live in Houston,Tx , i only need suggestions for the headboard itself(not the bedframe). I dont have a specific budget, the less i spend the better but im flexible to spend more if it gives me a better result. Thanks again! 

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Ok, since you are attaching it to a frame, weight consideration isn't so important. That makes the edge-glued solid plank approach more feasible. To make it appear as a solid slab will be almost impossible, without faking the grain by using glaze or paint. If that is the look you are after, I would do it like Coop suggested. Maybe stuff the core with some type of insulation so it doesn't SOUND like a hollow box.

Or you could just glue a couple sheets of MDF together, if you have several burly friends to help you move it! ?

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10 hours ago, K Cooper said:

I think a torsion box type construction made from 3/8" or 1/2" quality ply with the hardwood banding would be fairly sturdy and simple to build. Aviator, get ready for more flood waters!

My thoughts are exactly in-line with K Cooper. 

On a pretty regular occasion, I have had to make bigger plywood panels as you will have to do. I use a router with a spiral upcut bit and a straightedge to get clean machined edges on the 2 parts for assembly. I add some biscuits and assemble. 

The joint comes out as clean and invisible as a factory manufactured joint. When I do this, I leave the plywood panels a little oversized and do final dimensioning cuts after assembly. 

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I would make it from solid wood using 3/4 thickness and use a 45 degree miter down the sides to "wrap" the face grain all the way to the side. I would add a couple of ribs to the back for stability. What I am describing is a torsion box with an open back (assuming your headboard will be against he wall, this has plenty of strength)

That will allow you to choose from more varieties of wood when compared to 2" solid wood construction, and it will be lighter, less expensive, and eliminate the exposed end grain

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