I'm pretty sure I have a good idea of what I'll be doing for the rest of the bed. For those curious. I'm wanting to make my own version of the DWR American Modern bed. The two boards in question are the main support board, which will support the middle of the bed slats, and a 1x2 toe rest to hold the mattress. The lumber will be either poplar or maple (I still need to price wood, and budget is unfortunately a constraint).
I'm planning on a 1x4 for the center board. It is green in the image below.
I am planning on applying glue to the end-grain faces of the board and then butting it to the pink main boards. I think I'll then use a Kreg jig to secure it with at least two screws per side. I do have a biscuit joiner; would it be better to use that? It would be my preference to use it. I'm just hesitant about alignment.
For the toe rest, I can only think of one way to do it. It is the green rectangle in the image below.
The toe rest will be 1x2. I'm planning on drilling the underside with a doweling jig, and then using dowel centers to mark holes on the end of the pink board. Is there a better a way?
I'm hoping that I can get confirmation that my plans for joining the two boards will work, if not I'd like advice. Thanks in advance.