I made this water bed in 1973 from a quantity of black walnut scrap that my father had accumulated from several projects. Not wanting to waste this precious wood he saved his scraps until he needed the space and had to unload them on someone with a project in mind.

The water bed fits a California king water bed bladder. As you can see from the picture, after several years we discarded the bladder and had a matress and box spring set made to fit the frame.

The walnut is glued onto 3/4" plywood and the plywood is joined at the corners and bottom with aluminum angle. This proved to be a good design, and we had no problems with the pressure from the water distorting the sides.

The covered member on the top front and side edges is oak fitted into the sides to act as another resistance to distortion of the sides.

After the sides and bottom are removed, the base is exposed to show a honeycomb support system. The vertical members sit on slots in the floor panel.

Note that the lower base is covered with cushioned leatherette and is on an angle. The waterbed bladder bottom overlaps this angled covering to give a space for shoes.

This water bed has been in storage for 25 years and I know of only one small tear on the lower leatherette that can be easily repaired. An assembly drawing is available.