Murphy bed mechanism - advice?

[Cary Swoveland]

I plan to build a queen-size Murphy bed for a guest room (with the mattress in a vertical position when closed). One hardware option is a piston-based mechanism sold be Lee Valley: http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=1&p=41276&cat=3,40842,41271 . There are competing mechanisms, some with pistons, others with springs.

Advice?

[Bryan Parlor]

Hi Cary,

I made a queen vertical in November using the Lee Valley piston kit and the plan that came with it.

Very happy with the result.

I got Home depot to do all the cuts - they were fine except for a couple which were off by 1/16in. I found out what day they change the blade and went in when it was quite.

I got them to cut another panel recently and all the cuts were 1/8 in oversize so I think you have to ask for final sizes.

I have an EZ smart guide now so I will be doing my own in future as I can get better cuts and more control of the accuracy.


Bryan

[Jamie Buxton]

Yep, that Create-a-bed kit works quite well. I've built two queen murphy beds based on their hardware. You can buy the kit from Lee Valley, direct from creat-a-bed, or from some other retailers.

Here's some photos of one of the beds -- http://www.jamiebuxton.com/bed4.html. I apologize for the quality of the photos. The piece is big enough that I couldn't back up far enough to shoot the entire thing. The whole piece is jarrah and curly-maple veneer, plus some lumber for edges and such. I did all the veneering myself -- about 500 sq ft by the time I was done.

[Cary Swoveland]

Brian & Jamie,

Thanks for the helpful information, and pic of Jamie's creation -- very nice.

After learning that the mechanism sold by LV is made by Create-A-Bed, I found a helpful product video at YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9C4Pu5sWvQ

It looks like it will work fine for my project.

Cary

[Sue Wise]

I believe that Rocker has the same kit for $259.99.

[jonathan snyder]

Cary,

I too recommend the create a bed kit from LV. The instructions and video are great. Here is a link to the bed I made. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=46672

Good luck with he bed
Jonathan

[Cary Swoveland]

I believe that Rocker has the same kit for $259.99.
Sue,

The price on the LV page I referenced is $299 Canadian. (I'm in Vancouver.) The US$ price is $235.

Cary

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I am using the Create a Bed package right now. I am building one for a friend and so far so good on the kit. I have only to trim it out and then assemble on site! I'll post pics when i get it done....hopefully in the next two weeks!

[Cary Swoveland]

Thanks, Kelly. I look forward to seeing your pics.

Cary

[Mike Hedges]

I too am building a queen size murphy. I am using create a bed design ,great plan and great video, good technical support. Will post pictures when finished.