Payne Gap Schoolhouse Bed

Around November of 2021, we permanently moved into the schoolhouse, and until yesterday we were sleeping on a mattress placed on the floor. I started designing a bed in late July 2022 that referenced Donald Judd’s Single Daybed 32. Like Judd’s design, I wanted to use pine, a ubiquitous and economically-priced wood found at most lumber stores in our area. My design allows for storage under the mattress platform, while the closed sides keep dust out. The original design called for the mattress to be hinged on one long side to allow the mattress platform to swing open, a feature that we ultimately abandoned.

While Judd’s design looks like it would be easy to construct, looks can be deceiving, especially in sleek designs where every joint and cut beg to be scrutinized. These designs, to be successful, demand great craftsmanship.

We prematurely jumped into our first glue-up of three 2×12″ boards to form the headboard, only to be vexed by keeping the piece square. Ultimately, we had to have the piece professionally sanded to an acceptable level of squareness. Similarly, when we glued the joints on the base, one joint snapped under the pressure of wrestling it into squareness. Another joint broke on the base, failing even after the glue dried. Later we determined that the headboard was not strong enough, and we glued another layer of perpendicular boards to strengthen it. Many other steps followed, each with their own challenges, which are shown in the sequence of images on this page.

From start to finish, it took about six weeks. The project was an extraordinary education.

Our project could not have happened without the help of Lester Clary, our neighbor and retired aircraft engineer, who patiently shepherded each step with mastery through the finished product. We deeply thank you, Lester.

Lessons Learned *

• Start with square lumber. Or, more realistically, buy the squarest lumber you can find, then plane to square. Check and recheck squareness.
• You can never have enough clamps.
• Remember to check diagonal measurements to insure squareness.
• Avoid large dimensional lumber with long widths such as 2 x 12″ for glue ups because longer widths are prone to buckling under clamping pressure.
• Don’t stress the jigsaw blade. Pushing it too hard causes the blade to make a curved cut.
• Do some stress testing. You want to make sure whatever your building will hold up to stresses it will encounter in use.
• When using lag screws to connect two boards, drill the hole in the first board as big as the screw, then make a smaller pilot hole in the board you’re trying to attach.
• Countersunk screws look great.
• If you’re a fledgling painter, use a paint with a color so you can see what you’re doing!
• Rushing never pays. Step back and think through what you’re doing before executing.
• Remember to add gussets to strengthen corner joints.
• Be prepared for the inevitable need to revise your design.

* Most of these lessons were facilitated by Lester Clary, retired aircraft engineer, our friend and teacher, who advised at every step of this project and made it come to life.

Photographs by Sam Duncan and Jeffrey Lee.