When you suddenly realize that your baby is already big enough to move into his or her own bed, you will have the option of buying a toddler bed with its own railings. After all, the railings will not only be for your child’s safety, but they will also work for your own peace of mind. Then again, buying a toddler bed will mean that he will soon outgrow it and you will have to buy another bed; as such it might be much wiser to buy a regular-sized single bed and just build the bed rails yourself. After all, building your own bedrail also means you have unlimited options for the design.

Step 1. Set your table saw rip fence to 4 inches. Be sure to measure from the inside edge of the fence to the center of the blade. For the depth, set it at about 1-1/2 inches. Make 2 pieces each from two pieces of 8-foot length of clear pine measuring 1 x 12 inches. This will give you two pieces measuring 4 inches wide, and two pieces measuring 3-1/2 inches. Set the 3-1/2-inch-wide pieces aside.

Step 2. Measure the rip fence and set it at 1-3/4 inches. Rip the two pieces of 8-foot x 3-1/2-inch clear pine. You will use these to make the spacer blocks as well as the vertical rails for your bedrail. Get measurements of the height from the top of the side rails of your child’s bed frame to the floor; for bedrails that rise about 18 inches over the mattress, add 24 inches to the height you measured.

Step 3. Using the crosscut guide on your table saw, cut the two pieces of clear pine with 4-inch width to this dimension; these will be the sides of your bedrail. Set the width of your bedrails by deducting 8 inches for the width of the side pieces; cut two pieces of the pine for the top and the bottom of the rail.

Step 4. Lay the pieces for the side bedrail flat, putting the bottom and top pieces flat between them. Flush the outer edges of all the corners. Put wood glue to the ends of the pieces, using clamps to hold the sides fixed in place on the bottom and top of the frame. With a framing square, check that the frame is aligned, and then tighten the clamps. Leave the glue overnight to dry, and only remove the pole clamps after the glue has dried.

Step 5. Cut 8 pieces of spacer blocks measuring 4 inches long from the 1 ¾-inch wide rip pieces. Also make 6 vertical rails of the same dimension for the side pieces.

Step 6. Pre-drill each end of the vertical rails and the spacer blocks. Put wood glue to the vertical rail and have it aligned against one edge of the bedrail frame. Use 1-1/4-inch wood screws to screw the vertical end piece to the bedrail. Spread wood glue to the spacer blocks, and have them set flat on the vertical end piece at the bottom and top of the frame, flushing the edge of the spacers and screwing 1-1/4-inch wood screws to them. Do the same for the rest of the spacers and vertical rails, with the final vertical piece aligned against the edge of the bedrail. If necessary, cut a special spacer to complete the project.