Murphy Bed

[Lee DeRaud]

(Posted now for no particular reason, except I had to open it up to get it ready for my mom's arrival.)

This was the project that convinced me I wanted to start doing "small" woodworking...stuff I could lift unaided. Built over about a six-month period, finished four years ago. How I normally see it:
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Ready to use:
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It's built around the gas-piston hardware from Rockler, which is about the least obtrusive mechanism I've seen for one of these beasts. The one at my folk's old house used springs and was a royal pain to operate. The design was based on the one that came with the hardware (not the one in the Rockler catalog), heavily modified to add the storage on the sides and top, and the internal "nightstands".
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Lest anyone think my house is big enough to have a dedicated "guest room", here's the view from the other direction:
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[Brett Baldwin]

That's a great addition to that small space. Lots of storage. Those murphy beds are great for small spaces. My mother and stepfather put one in the studio apartments they own. It really makes a livable space out of a tiny footprint.

BTW, do your guests ever get upset when you burn something with the laser or check the posts here at the Creek while they are there?;)

[Lee DeRaud]

BTW, do your guests ever get upset when you burn something with the laser or check the posts here at the Creek while they are there?;)This is my mom's first visit since I got the laser...we'll see how it goes.:p
I don't use that computer for anything except running the laser, maybe my mom will use it to check her email. But I will have to remember not to print anything after she goes to bed: the printer (yup, another laser :cool: ) is inside the cabinet under the Versalaser.

[Jamie Buxton]

Lee --
Those are some slick modifications. The internal bedside tables are nicely convenient. The shelf on the bottom of the bed, I take it, is fixed in place, and becomes the "feet" for the bed in its open position?

Jamie

[Jamie Buxton]

Lee, what kind of mattress do you have? Innerspring?

[Lee DeRaud]

Lee, what kind of mattress do you have? Innerspring?Yup. I built this before the current run of "air matttresses", plus the gas struts are sized assuming a standard-weight mattress.

[Lee DeRaud]

The shelf on the bottom of the bed, I take it, is fixed in place, and becomes the "feet" for the bed in its open position?Yes. The hardware kit has some hinges for "flip-up" supports, but I didn't like them.

[Jim DeLaney]

Yes. The hardware kit has some hinges for "flip-up" supports, but I didn't like them.

Lee,
I've been considering building one of these for my 'library/guest room,' too. What's the depth of the cabinet on yours? I'm guessing I'll need about 16" depth for a full-sized 'real' mattress.

I had (briefly) given some thought to building a shallower cabinet, with simpler hardware, and using an 'Aerobed' mattress, but somehow, even though the Aerobed is pretty comfortable, that doesn't seem like a very welcoming scenario for a true "guest room."

[Lee DeRaud]

What's the depth of the cabinet on yours? I'm guessing I'll need about 16" depth for a full-sized 'real' mattress.You hit it ride on the head, 16". Note that the platform isn't just a 3/4" slab of plywood: it's a single-faced torsion box assembly about 2.5" thick. The shelf/foot is 7" and the top of the mattress ends up at about 19" off the floor. I'm using about a 9" mattress, looks like 11" is about the limit for that depth cabinet.

The geometry of the hinges is the limiting factor on the depth of the cabinet. For it to be any shallower, the bed would have to be higher, but that would make it stick out further when open, leaving a big gap between the mattress and the headboard. (I know that doesn't sound right, but it's how the one at my folks worked, and that gap was really annoying.)

[Vaughn McMillan]

Nice bed, Lee. I like the storage built-ins you did.

It brings back memories of a girl I know many years ago, who took me to her little apartment after the first date. We chatted for a while in the living room, and much to my surprise the living room turned out to also be the bedroom, thanks to Mr. Murphy and his bed. ;)

- Vaughn

[Lee DeRaud]

It brings back memories of a girl I know many years ago, who took me to her little apartment after the first date. We chatted for a while in the living room, and much to my surprise the living room turned out to also be the bedroom, thanks to Mr. Murphy and his bed. ;)And I'll bet she didn't have to move seven or eight Rubbermaid bins full of acrylic and wood into another room before she opened it up.:p

[Howard Rosenberg]

for sharing your ideas.
Howard

[Jim DeLaney]

...Note that the platform isn't just a 3/4" slab of plywood: it's a single-faced torsion box assembly about 2.5" thick...


Lee,
I'm a little confused by the term "single-faced torsion box." Is the 'mattress holder' just a box, with the bottom of the box being the outer face of the cabinet when the bed is folded up, or are there two layers of 'bottom' sandwiched between battens to make a true torsion box?

I'm sure the construction will be clearer once I spring for the $225.00 hardware package from Rockler, but for now I'm a bit confused.

[Lee DeRaud]

Lee,
I'm a little confused by the term "single-faced torsion box." Is the 'mattress holder' just a box, with the bottom of the box being the outer face of the cabinet when the bed is folded up, or are there two layers of 'bottom' sandwiched between battens to make a true torsion box?Yeah, that probably wasn't the best way to describe it...

The platform is a 3/4" plywood bottom with a grid of 1x3 poplar L-sections glued/screwed to the inside, surrounded by a frame of 3/4" melamine about 7" high. That gives you a box about 4" deep for the mattress to go into. The inner "skin" is 3/8" MDF, held in by a couple of screws...it's just there to provide a flat surface over the grid for the mattress to rest on. There's probably no reason not to glue it to the grid, but the plans didn't call for it and it doesn't appear to need it.