Introduction: LuxO's EZ Headboard & Footer

About: luxOmat is dedicated to making it easy for Makers to make things, for Designers to bring their creations to life, and for their customers to buy with confidence

A few weeks ago we posted an Instructable to make a King Size Bed Frame and promised to add the bits with the custom headboard and footer.

Well, here it is.

This isn't terribly difficult, but will require you to have a CNC machine of sufficient size to cut and maybe some odd router bits to make it work - hopefully you already have a large enough CNC table, or you won't be able to make the Bed Frame anyway.

TOOLS:
You will need:

  • Assorted bolts & nuts per the King Bed Frame Instructable
  • Screwdriver that matches your bolts
  • 6mm Hex Wrench
  • CNC machine with 4' x 5' bed (or larger) & bit to fit your design - we used a 1" ball bit for ours

Optional:

  • Hammer or Rubber Mallet
  • Drill with counter-sink bit

Step 1: Choose Your Pattern and CNC Your Parts

Start by browsing our pattern choices for the header and footer - DXFs and VCarve files are available [[here]].

Two possible patterns are included here - both use a 1" ball router bit. For best results, cut slowly though the material to avoid it going all willy-nilly.

Now would also be an excellent time to do any finish work you want to do prior to assembly.

Yes, you could technically paint or stain after it’s assembled, but honestly it’s just not going to look as good. Sanding is easier too. I think I’ve made my point. Be sure to read through the instructions before assembly. While this is technically an “EZ” level kit and it doesn’t have any glue, it does have some bits that are tricky to be sure

Step 2: Attach the Footer First

If you are working through the EZ King Bed Frame Instructable, you should already have:

  • bed frame - CNC cut and with additional drilled holes
  • rivet nuts, tee nuts, and wing bolts

Installing the Tee Nuts

Tap the tee nuts for the footer into the holes you already drilled into the foot of the bed (they should be lined up with the cut-out holes near the foot of the bed, as in the first picture). You don't *need* a hammer, but it would help. The tee nuts help when you're tightening everything together at the end, so that the tension in the bed doesn't strip out your bolt.

Installing the Tee Nuts (Inside the Cut-Out Hole)

Line up a tee nut with the hole inside the cut-out hole near the foot of the bed (see second picture). Next, thread another tee nut backwards onto one of the bolts (see third picture). We are going to use this bolt as a brace to set the tee nuts into the frame. Put the bolt in so that one tee nut is between the wood and the drill and run gently for a few seconds. The edge of the bolt should catch the tee nut on the inside of the cut-out hole and the tee nut on the drill should spin and pull the other nut in the base into the wood, securing it for later The finished product should look like the last photo.

Installing the Rivet Nuts

Again, if you're following along with the Bed Frame Instructable, you should already have holes drilled out in the footer (but not all the way through). Take a 6mm hex wrench and screw the rivet nuts into the holes. BE CAREFUL not to strip the rivet nuts out. The goal is to get them flush with the surface of your footer panel, but don't worry too much about it, as long as it's not totally hanging out past ~ 1/8", you should be fine.

Attaching the Footer

Find your thumb screws. Install them from the inside of the cut-out hole near the footer, with a little of the bolt sticking out (see the last picture for this step). Once they are all in place, lean your footer panel against the foot of the bed and line up the bolts sticking out with the rivet nuts that you just installed. Here's where the beauty of thumb screws comes in - now you just have to spin the screws to tighten the footer panel against the bed.

Step 3: Attaching the Headboard

The header mounts in the same way as the footer, except that the drill holes in the header go all the way through - no need for rivet nuts! Just insert the tee nuts on the inside of the cut-out hole and tighten down all four screws.

*Optional: countersink your header screw-holes before you assemble your bed. It's not necessary for the design, but it helps the hardware sit flush with the wood panel.