On May 27, 10:01*am, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On May 27, 9:34*am, bobmct wrote:

Slightly O.T. but still within the realm of a home...

We have an old four poster bed that wiggles a lot. *It appears that
where the side rails fit into the posts (metal hooks that hang over
steel pins in the post slot) it has become sloppy over time.

I thought I saw a long time ago that there are shims or metal springs
that can be wedged into the slots to help squeeze the hooks when
inserted.

If anyone is aware please advise as best you can. *Also, if anyone has
any ideas, other than carpenter's glue, please share because I cannot
be the only one with this situation?

I will be eagerly awaiting all answers. *Thanks

I stole this without permission from:

http://www.wikipatents.com/5613253.html

"Bed shims comprise a plurality of bed shim units including flexible
front and rear plates and a rigid central plate, the plates being
secured together, the rear plate having a flat surface including a
peel-off adhesive backing, each bed shim unit includes two circular
holes extending therethrough, two parallel longitudinal perforations
extending between the circular holes of each bed shim unit, the
parallel longitudinal perforations defining a generally rectangular
area between the circular holes, the generally rectangular area of
each bed shim unit adapted to be punched out to define a generally
oval shaped hole extending therethrough."

In English, I think they are suggesting nothing more than a shim that
is shaped similiar to the end of the bed rail with slots cut for the
hooks. You would essentially be extending the bedrails, but not the
hooks, so that the hooks grab tighter and there is no gap or play.

Buy using some type of hard foam/flexible material, you would be able
to compress the shims somewhat for a tight fit. In addition, a
flexible material would eliminate any squeaks caused by wood-on-wood
contact should the bed start rocking back and forth for any reason.

The shim material should be as hard as the wood. There's a lot of
force being applied on a small area. Think of the leverage of a bed
post being resisted by a force applied to the end of a bed rail.

As the patent, and common sense, would suggest, a U-shaped shim that
was slid down over the pins/hooks from above would be necessary so
that the shim would stay in place. The thickness of the shim will not
be that great - probably on the order of 1/16".

I would disassemble the bed and inspect each of the connections to
make sure that something hasn't given way. Examine the hooks and pins
for wear. Tighten anything that can be tightened. Reassemble the bed
and cut some plastic U-shaped shims of different thicknesses. A
single shim of the correct thickness, instead of several built up to
that thickness, is more likely to provide satisfaction.

The plastic should be tough material, not brittle so you can cut it
more easily, and hard enough that a fingernail pressed into it with
force doesn't leave an impression.

R