12″ clearance under the bed under-bed rolling drawers plans

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw and a straight edge (or have the store cut the sheets)
• Hammer
• Jigsaw
• Spade or Forstner bit, 1 1/4″
• Brad nailer, or a hammer and nail set
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part. Cut sheets with the good face down when using a circular saw: the blade splinters the top face.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Measure under the bed

   Slide a tape measure under the bed and find the lowest thing a box could hit: the side rail, a centre support leg, a slat or a hanging dust ruffle. Measure from the floor to it.

   This plan uses 12″. The boxes come out 11 1/2″ tall with their casters, so they roll under with 1/2″ to spare.

   Measure where any centre legs of the bed frame stand, too: the boxes have to roll in between them.

   • Tip On carpet, casters sink in a little; on a thick rug, add 1/4″ to what you measure under the bed before you change the clearance.

   ✓ There is a clear path at least 25″ wide and 30″ deep for every box.

4. 4Build the inner box

   For each box, stand the front and back pieces (C) between the two sides (B), ends flush. Spread glue on each joint.

   Drive three 1″ brads through each side into the end of the front and back. Keep the brad gun square to the side so the brads don't come out the face.

   • Tip Clamp a square scrap block in a corner to hold it while you nail. A box that starts out of square stays out of square.

   ✓ Each box measures 24″ × 29 5/16″ outside and its diagonals match within 1/16″.

5. 5Fix the bottom

   Lay a bottom (A) flat and set the box on it, back and sides flush. Glue the edges.

   Turn it over and drive 1 1/4″ screws up through the bottom into the box edges every 6″, centred on the 1/2″ edge and predrilled with a small bit so the plywood doesn't split.

   ✓ No gap between the box and the bottom anywhere, and nothing pokes through the sides.

6. 6Attach the false front

   Edge-band the false front (D). Hold it against the box front, bottom edge flush with the underside of the bottom and sides flush.

   Clamp it, then drive four 1″ screws from inside the box through the inner front into the false front.

   • Tip Two strips of double-sided tape hold the front in place while you get the clamp on.

   ✓ The false front lines up with the box on all three sides and covers the bottom edge.

7. 7Cut the hand hole

   Mark a slot 4″ wide and 1 1/4″ tall, centred side to side, its top 1″ below the top edge of the front.

   Drill a 1 1/4″ hole at each end of the slot right through both layers, then cut the straight lines between them with a jigsaw.

   Sand the inside of the slot until it is smooth to your fingers, top and bottom.

   ✓ Pull a loaded box out by its handle: nothing flexes and your fingers don't catch on a rough edge.

8. 8Add the casters

   Turn the box over. Screw 4 casters to the bottom, 1″ in from the edges, with four 5/8″ screws each.

   Turn it right side up and roll it under the bed.

   ✓ The box rolls under without touching the bed frame and comes out straight.

   STOP. Use 5/8″ screws: anything longer comes through the 3/4″ bottom.

9. 9Finish

   Ease every sharp edge and corner with 120-grit sandpaper so nobody gets a splinter.

   Sand all over with 180 grit, always along the grain (the direction the wood fibres run). Scratches across the grain show through stain.

   Wipe off the dust with a barely damp rag and let it dry.

   Paint, stain or a clear coat (water-based polyurethane is the easiest). Apply thin coats with the grain, let each dry fully, and sand lightly with 220 grit between coats.

   Let it dry for the time on the can before using it.

   • Tip Try your finish on a scrap of the same wood first: stain looks different on every board.