I made a plan & created a cut list in sketchup & put it all together with a few friends today.

Thank-you for the advice I found in my earlier post, it was invaluable!

I used a bandsaw with a sturdy fence to make easy work of the long cuts. And a miter/chop saw for the short cuts. I REALLY love the bandsaw & can't wait to use it again. The miter saw.... Not so much. We had to fine tune the lengths because I didn't account for the wider blade & they didn't come out even :(

The finger-jointed board worked great! It actually only split once, but it was along the grain NOT the glue lines or joints.

We did mess up attaching the box to the head/foot boards and we just used a brad nailer rather than dowels or pocket holes to join it together- but for my first project with large tools, I am so satisfied with the results.

I'm going to fine tune the plans/ cut list & try it again with different dimensions.