Beginner- hardwood headboard

[cartreg]

I am thinking about building a basic solid wood headboard to go with my simple bed frame. I would readily buy this but for some reason can't find what I'm looking for so want to see if I can make it myself. I'm a total beginner at this, so I want to run this by you experienced folk.

Here's my plan:

1) Buy 4 pieces of 1x6x6 red oak from Lowe's or Home Depot for the headboard, sawed to about 64" wide (queen sized bed) and 2 pieces of 1x2x4 red oak for the posts

2) Lay the sawed 1x6x6 pieces next to each other to make a solid 1" thick 64" wide by 24" high board

3) Lay one 1x2x4 on each side of that board to make posts. I'm thinking I'll turn it so that they will be 2" deep, popping out 1/2" on either side of the headboard for texture

4) Drill holes and screw the posts onto the headboard, one screw on each side per piece of 1x6x6 lumbar

This will give me a solid headboard that starts at 24" high and ends at 48" high.

Does this sound about right?

If I don't want to make it myself, around how much would this run if I can find a local woodworker? Raw material prices for the lumbar listed total ~$85 from Lowe's.

Thanks.

[Beechwood Chip]

Just to get the discussion started:

What tools do you have?

What's your budget for buying tools, clamps, glue, sandpaper, finish, etc?

Wood "moves", it expands and contracts in width, across the grain, with changes in humidity. If your design doesn't allow the wood to move, you'll get cracks, gaps, and weak joints.

[Bunnyblaster]

Yeah, it seems like you'd probably want to join your 1x6x6 pieces together somehow. I'm just beginning in all this too, but we built a bed for our son a couple months ago. I don't have a jointer for the headboard, so it was a lot of work with a hand plane to get the rough lumber to join up close enough. It still wasn't close enough for a really good glue joint, so I used pocket screws. It's pretty solid and you can't see the joints unless you're really looking for them.

You'll pay a serious premium if you buy your lumber at lowes. The upside is that its pre-surfaced on all 4 sides. The downside is its priced about 4 or 5 times what you can find it for with one straight edge, and it doesn't give you an excuse to buy more tools.

[Onboard]

I can’t visualize what you want, but the queen sized headboard here will go with your “…simple bed frame”. It’s a build it yourself headboard and doesn’t cost much to build. It doesn't require much in the way of skill, or tools. It’s called a Reclaimed Wood Headboard, but it’s made with new wood and distressed as desired. Of course if you have reclaimed lumber you could use that. Don’t be put off by the green color. As you can see by the photos above, most builders use a medium to dark wood stain. The construction and material details are all there. You can also download a pdf file of the article.

Here’s another set of pictures showing the dark stain and some distressing (they used a dark oak polystain) Of course color is up to you. Most of the people who have built this headboard used pine, but you certainly can use the wood you described, and use the plan for the dimensions and construction.

They also have a King size version of the headboard, but you said Queen size.

[cartreg]

Thanks for the replies. Onboard- those are exactly the headboards I had in mind. In fact, my design was a simplified hybrid of the green painted headboard in one of your links and this one: http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/how-to-build-a-wooden-headboard-and-bed-frame/index.html. Maybe more like the latter, which looked easier. I'm not planning on using their paint or distressing ideas, just the basic construction.

Tools wise, I have a drill, a saw (though I plan to let the store cut everything anyway), and all the basic hand tools such as hammers, screwdrivers, etc. Nothing fancy. My budget for extra tools is pretty low. Nails, screws, glue, etc. I'm willing to buy, but probably not real tools. I can't say I'm really that handy, I just didn't want to pay $600 for a headboard when I can make one (I think) for $100.

As for stain, I was thinking of leaving the headboard unfinished. The bed frame is unfinished anyway and the store said it's fine to leave it like that, though I doubt they care what I do with it once it's paid for (note: it's right here http://bunkbedstogo.com/p237-Plateau-Platform-Bed.html and I haven't ordered it yet, probably in the next week or so). How bad can that be? Will the wood rot, badly crack, or something like that, or just cosmetic changes over years of use? How much is expansion/contraction an issue for indoor furniture kept at roughly 60-80 degrees and 30-60% relative humidity?