This seems a little more up my alley than the frame plans that I have found. Same with the 4x4s. Post a Comment. Place the X, face up, in the center of the base. Each and every day there are reports about people who have actually completed some of the projects futon plans free zero in the Ted's Woodworking free diy futon frame plans zfro. The last two holes were 1.

I have been scouring the web for easy, simple futon frame building instructions and plans and I have not come up with anything! We need to build it for our boys to sleep on, but be able to put it up during the day. Thanks in advance! Hi, i found a free DIY Futon frame plan.

The futon plans consist of a five page article originally printed in the February-March, edition of Workbench Magazine. The plans include a lumber and hardware list, a dimensioned cutting list, schematics of all the parts, photos of set-ups, jigs, and the finished frame. You can copy your design from any IKEA futon frame.

Go to the store and measure and actually see how it is constructed. Find an online manual. Futon frames can be as simple as two pallets connected by door hinges placed against the wall.

Elevate with a some strong legs. Build a prototype one, then you can build a better one to improve your woodworking skills. Plenty of plans out there, put futons in the search box above and see what you can find. Good luck. Reply 10 years ago. Thanks a bunch for the idea!! This will give you a starting indentation point to create your pilot hole.

The pilot hole must be as straight as possible. Stray even a little bit and it will throw off the alignment. At the intersection the center , drill a dowel hole.

If you are using different size nuts and bolts, adjust the drill bit accordingly. Each lap joint will have two bolts reinforcing it. If you are not using barrel nuts, just repeat the 37A-F steps for 37G-H. Do not go all the way through. Use an appropriate bit for the barrel nut. Mine were 13mm wide. These holes should meet up with the other holes you drilled.

We will now drill holes to prep for the cushions. Sheathing: - We will drill some holes in the sheathing to allow the cushions to "breathe. I ended up drilling six 2" holes along the top and bottom, but you can do as many or as little as you want.

I used a 2" hole cutter, but if you don't have one, just use your largest drill bit. Just don't drill within 3. In this step, we will drill holes for the nylon wheels and the traveling bolts.

The width of the hole will be the width of your nylon roller shaft. The depth will be equal to the length of the shaft minus 1. The hole needs to be wide enough to fit the nylon roller. Make the hole wide enough bolt's hex head - Drill a 1" deep hole at the intersection nearest S5 wide enough to fit the nylon roller. Use the Dremel, if needed. For this step, you will be using the Dremel with the multipurpose cutting bit or routing bit , and the cutting guide. You will also use the chisel and hammer to clean up the edges and corners.

To create a mortice: - Draw the outline of the mortice using a pencil see below. If the pieces don't fit, sand the mortice or the tenon, whichever is easier until you get a perfect fit. The last bit of routing. Here, we will route out the channel in which the bolt travels. You will need the Dremel and the chisel. The last two holes were 1. It is these two holes that we will be connecting with a route. This is the section you will be routing.

Because of this, try to leave as much material as possible, while still allowing the bolts to travel through the channel. Draw it on the side closest to S4. Optional for 21A-B You can square out the inner corners of the 2 holes using the chisel. This is not necessary, but it will help the bolts stay in place if it is tending to move around too much and slip.

If there's a little less material than required, it's fine. Just make do and cut each section slightly smaller to accommodate. If there's extra material, accommodate the material by cutting the foam a little larger. We want to use as much of this stuff as possible, and waste none. This step can get a little messy, so I'd recommend you do this on a plastic or paper sheet, or at the very least, flooring that is not carpet.

This will help keep dust and bugs out, and keep the filling in. Make sure to match the dimensions of the sheathing with the foam. Fold the edges of the fabric to reinforce it and prevent tearing, - Staple the fabric into place on the sheathing. There's a little bit more drilling and possibly even routing. However, it's very simple. In this step, we will attach the 37" mattress fame pieces together, then install the hinges.

So, to begin, let's start attaching the 37" pieces together. Bolt them into place. The lap joints are being reinforced with bolts, and do not require glue. This also preserves the modularity of the futon. If anything is slightly off, go at it with your drill until the bolt is fitted and secure.

If they don't, it's upside down. The should be face down ie. It shouldn't be much material A 0. This will allow the hinge to mount flush into the wood. At this point, if you're building the bare bones version, you're practically done. There will be some minor refinements, but the hard work is over. Erase any nonessential pencil marks. Give everything a good wipe down with a damp cloth. Let's assemble the rest of the frame. Use the pictures for reference. If needed, use a rubber mallet to "persuade" some of the more stubborn joints to fit.

Glue is entirely optional. If you're not using glue, skip the step entirely. Use the level every step of the way. If you don't have a level, use your ruler to measure everything over. As long as your cuts are all fairly accurate, you should be pretty level. S1 should face left, and S2 should face down.. Struts: - Bolt together 39A and 39B using a bolt, nut, and two washers for each hole. Insert 39CD into the mortice in 23A.

Place the tenons into their corresponding mortices. Make sure the holes in 21G and 21J are facing outward. Reinforcement: - Use wood screws to reinforce the structure.

Focus on the 21" pieces in the mattress frame. If a joint is loose, reinforce it with screws, but try to hide the screws as best as possible. Underneath 37GH, there should be a bit of space until you get to 39AB. This presents a problem, because there is no support for the mattress. In the folded down position, the frame is a little unstable. Putting too much weight towards the back end will make it tip. We'll fix all that here. Line them up with the 21" pieces of the mattress frame.

I used the scraps leftover from cutting out the 37A-H lap joints. It should be in the ballpark of 15". Use the remaining two hinges to do this. The reason why we didn't simply make 39AB and 39CD higher is because the actual height will vary between different futons, due to different hinges, or slightly warped wood. Saving this step to the end ensures that the frame will be properly supported. If you're doing the bare bones version, you're done!

Enjoy a nap on your new futon! At this point, you should disassemble the futon. If you are staining, erase all markings, and give everything another good sanding. Clean the wood with a damp cloth, and allow to dry. If you are painting, I'd recommend just a good sanding. The paint will cover up any stray marks. I stained my futon, since I liked the look of the Douglas Fir I used. However, if you particularly bad-looking wood, feel free to cover it up with paint.

Get creative too. It doesn't have to be boring, monotone, and homogenous. Draw a design directly on the wood, then stain and finish it. Or just use paint to directly design it. I didn't stain mine, since I didn't want the finish to get scratched up and damaged during the move. I'll stain and finish it when I get to my new place.

Assemble the entire thing like I previously laid out. If any joints are no longer fitted due to the finish or paint, give it a light sanding.

If anything is held together by wood glue, you can use that rubber mallet to break the pieces apart, hopefully without damaging anything. In this project, the 4x4 can be substituted with a 2x4 as a matter of fact, any of these pieces of wood can be substituted with anything else, just as long as it's structurally sound.

I chose 4x4s for aesthetics, but you could use 2x4s. Just be sure to adjust the measurements accordingly. Using 2x4s will also save you a bit of money. If you don't care for modularity, you can: - Omit the lap joints. Instead of cutting four 39" pieces and eight 37" pieces out of the 2x4s, cut them as a two 75" pieces, and four 72" pieces. Instead of cutting the plywood into six sections, leave them as two large sections measuring 27"x75".

You will need two sheet of plywood for this. Instead of using mortice and tenon joints, you could also use a combination of wood screws, nuts and bolts, or reinforcing metal brackets to join the pieces in a butt joint. If you choose to do this, cut each piece shorter to compensate for the lack of a tenon. For instance, if you are not using a tenon on 21A, then cut it down to 20", since the total length of the tenons will be 1" 0.

The lap joints can also be substituted with any strong joint. Dovetail joints would work. So would box joints finger joint. Instead of using a combination barrel nuts and hex bolts, you can opt to use either all barrel nuts or all hex nuts. Just use the drilling method appropriate for each. Also, it's entirely possible to use hex nuts in the same manner as barrel nuts. In other words, it's possible to "bury" a hex nut inside the wood and hide it, but this generally requires a slightly larger hole.

Drill a hole to the exact with of the hex nut, measuring from one flat plane to the parallel one. Do not measure from the vertices of the hexagon. Using the width of the planes will allow the wood to "grip" the hex nut. I didn't have any on hand, so I used the barrel nuts instead, which I had plenty of.

However, the process would be the same. Drill the holes, don't go all the way through 37G, then screw the bolt in. I imagine this would have been much easier, and recommend that you do this. There are dozens of ways to fold down the mattress for a futon. The way I specified is a simplified variation of the dual nylon roller design used by many futons, in which 2 sets of dual nylon rollers control the motion of the mattress frame.

Although my futon uses 2 rollers, it really only uses the nylon rollers basically as a glorified pivot. I used the hex bolts to replace the other set of nylon rollers, because it was easier to route a small channel for the hex bolt head, and because the hexagon tends not to roll, which provides stability.

This futon could easily accommodate a dual-nylon roller design. Just build the basic frame, and use your own design for the nylon roller channels. However, you will have to measure out the exact routes each roller will need to travel. I have very little idea how to plan and build something like that. I imagine using a garage door spring would be part of the process, but after that, I'm lost. Finally, there's the bi-fold futon, which, in my mind, is nothing but a glorified pool chair, and not a true futon.

However, for simplicity, you can't beat a simple hinge design. Instead of using a mortice and tenon for the frame and the struts, you can opt to use reinforcing steel brackets attached with either bolts or with screws. Just remember to cut the wood pieces short to compensate for the added length of the tenon.

Although it's possible to use wood screws to hold the mattress frame together, I would not recommend it since it would seem to be structurally weak at the joint. However, I'm no expert, and could be entirely wrong. I like overdoing things, so for me, mortice and tenon joints are preferred. For the struts and the mattress frame, it's also possible you could use some dovetail joints or box joints, reinforced with a countersunk vertical bolt or two. There are plenty of options for the cushions.

In my futon I used a non-memory foam mattress topper along with the filling of some old pillows, as well as some Poly-fil. The end result was a 4 inch mattress, which is plenty comfortable. You could use any combination of pillow, filling, and foam topper.

In that scenario, I imagine it would be best to place the memory foam onto the fabric first, followed by some non-memory foam, then the plywood.

But it'd be best to experiment and see what feels best to you. There's also actual upholstery foam, which, if you can get access to, would be great. This stuff varies in price depending on the quality and sizes, but will generally be more expensive than pillow and foam toppers.

This is the stuff used to upholster sofas, boats, etc You could recycle some old sofa cushions as well, but just be sure they're clean. Lastly, there's poly beads. This stuff is essentially the filling inside bean bag chairs. Although comfortable, the material is a huge insulator since it's mostly air. I've heard of people using this stuff for in-wall insulation.

So keep in mind that it will likely trap your body heat very well, and could be uncomfortable in warmer climates. I also imagine noise would be a problem if you were to move around a lot when you sleep. I welcome you to use any combination of the materials above, or anything else you can come up with.

Use whatever you can afford, or whatever is most comfortable for you. If you have the sewing skills, you can "shape" the fabric by sewing corners into it. It's not necessary, but does help with aesthetics a bit.

Instead of 'domes' of cushion, you'll have rectangles. Also, if you're feeling extra adventurous with the sewing machine, you can make the cover completely removable. Add a zipper to the fabric and you have a removable cover. Just be sure to buy extra fabric since the cover must wrap around the bottom as well. If you want, you can add some extra hinges. I find that 4 hinges is just enough assuming you use good screws , but for added stability, more couldn't hurt.

Also, in some of my previous projects in which I used hinges, I applied epoxy or superglue between the hinge and the wood. I didn't do it for this project since I wanted to be able to break everything down, but it's certainly an option you should consider.

Just know that the hinges won't be coming off without a fight if you do proceed with this. In another project of mine a drawbridge style folding desk , I applied epoxy to the wood and hinge, and superglue to the screws for even more added strength. Don't plan on taking it apart if you do this. It's practically permanent. I used screen door hinges for this project since they are heavy duty enough, yet also common and cheap enough.

I picked mine up from a local dollar store. Man that was hard work I should have just made that Pet Rock and called it a day. But you know what? I've got myself a nice little futon now that can be broken down and taken with me when I move again.

And just like with a Pet Rock, I can swing the 2x4s to kill zombies in the coming apocalypse. In case you didn't notice, this Instructable is a little longer than average. Obviously, this can be attributed to the highly customizable nature of a project such as a futon. I encourage you, if you are comfortable, to make this project your own by customizing in ways both big and small.

I don't have the necessary software to do this myself, but if anyone who decides to build this wants to draw up plans and cutouts and post them up, I'm sure the community would be very grateful. Although the design I presented here is certainly college dorm-worthy, I'll be the first to say that there are plenty of improvements that could probably be made.

The folding mechanism could use a little work to remove sag, and the joints could be strengthened. I highly encourage anyone with the know-how or the power tools to improve on this design to give it a shot and post up your results in the comments.

However, for a beginner project that can basically be built in a single weekend with mostly hand tools, I think I've accomplished what I set out to accomplish: it's sturdy, cheap, comfortable, and will easily last years.

I also think that this is a good intro project for woodworking. I know I certainly learned a lot. Comments are welcome, but do keep in mind I am not a carpenter, nor do I claim expertise in anything I have done in this project. This is: the single largest project I have ever done; the first real woodworking project I've ever done; and the first Instructable I've ever done. Please go easy. I've proof-read this I'ble over at least 5 times, but if you find any mistakes, please let me know ASAP so I can correct it.

I hope you enjoyed the project. Regards, - Disco Stu. Nicely done, well made and written. For more ideas about breakdown furniture look around for a book titled "Nomad Furniture". Reply 11 months ago. Reply 9 years ago on Introduction. Is that Hennessey and Papanek? It just so happens that I ordered a copy last Friday off Amazon, but the seller won't ship til after Thanksgiving. Thanks for the suggestion, I was worried about the relevance of a 38 year old book, so it was a complete blind-buy.

Now I feel better. Could be. I've a copy here, somewhere really should organize my books. Did find The Nomadic Handbook by Hennessey. Some interesting ideas there ie: couch crate, bedroom in a crate. As for relevance. In my opinion, it all has some relevance if not direct connection to what we do or make today. I look at Ctesiphon's force pump and see the beginnings of every reciprocating engine. Hero of Alexandria is my hero. Question: On step 5 the lap joint cuts - shouldn't the 37's total 70" and the 39's total 72" when put together?

Guessing maybe just a typo. Otherwise - awesome instructions so far I have saw dust everywhere in middle of living room but loving every second. I have a tarp down but seems to be a thin layer on everything lol.

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