Hello All, (No company plugs here, just providing links for detail
clarification)

I am ready to finish shaping the posts for my cherry bed and was
looking through catalogs and plans at the selection of hardware to
attach the side rails to the posts. The plans that I sort of followed
suggest a bed rail fastener similar to the type sold by Woodcraft
( http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=3269 ). When i
perused Lee Valley I found these, ( http://www.leevalley.com/home/Search.aspx?c=1&action=n
) which looks like they would be simpler to apply/attach but I'm not
as excited about this as the first example. Another method that I
can't find an exaple of is the bolt and barrel nut devices that I've
seen numerous times in Fine Woodworking.
To those who have built beds, what have you used and are you happy
with the results? Anyone tried more than one type of fastener and
found one better than the other?
Thanks again for your inputs and I hate this great weather we are now
having. It makes it real difficult to stay in the shop when it's
nice.

Marc

marc rosen writes:

To those who have built beds, what have you used and are you happy
with the results? Anyone tried more than one type of fastener and
found one better than the other?

I would suspect those rail fasteners are wobbly.

My son's old bed rail broke, and I had to replace it. The hardware was
old and odd looking. Incredibly, the Woodcraft store had the exact
replacement!

It's a Sheraton bolt.

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=1096

It's very strong, and easily tightened - after the bed is together.

Lee Valley has bed bolts
http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/pa...=3,40842,41269

These are similar to the Sheraton bolt. Perhaps easier to install.

The Sheraton requires you to mortise in the square bolt, while the Lee
Valley just requires a hole.

It's a Sheraton bolt.

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=1096

It's very strong, and easily tightened - after the bed is together.

Lee Valley has bed bolts
http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/pa...=3,40842,41269

These are similar to the Sheraton bolt. Perhaps easier to install.

The Sheraton requires you to mortise in the square bolt, while the Lee
Valley just requires a hole.




If you are going with the Stickley-Mission look (like I think you are) than
the sheraton style decorative bolt cover will not fit the style (IMHO).

I have done two beds with these
(http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=3269) and have had no
problems. Easy to inlay and easy to attach.

Good luck.

--
Stoutman
www.garagewoodworks.com

"marc rosen" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello All, (No company plugs here, just providing links for detail
clarification)

I am ready to finish shaping the posts for my cherry bed and was
looking through catalogs and plans at the selection of hardware to
attach the side rails to the posts. The plans that I sort of followed
suggest a bed rail fastener similar to the type sold by Woodcraft
( http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=3269 ). When i
perused Lee Valley I found these, (
http://www.leevalley.com/home/Search.aspx?c=1&action=n
) which looks like they would be simpler to apply/attach but I'm not
as excited about this as the first example. Another method that I
can't find an exaple of is the bolt and barrel nut devices that I've
seen numerous times in Fine Woodworking.
To those who have built beds, what have you used and are you happy
with the results? Anyone tried more than one type of fastener and
found one better than the other?
Thanks again for your inputs and I hate this great weather we are now
having. It makes it real difficult to stay in the shop when it's
nice.

Marc

I've built two beds with the style shown from woodcraft. They took a bit
of fiddling with to get them to slide in and lock properly , just a few
shims, but they work ok. One was a sleigh bed that was king sized 82"W
84/86" L give or take . The other is my own queen sized bed . Both are
still in use for close to 10 years now with no problems. As for the other
style, I've not used them so can't say how well they work.
Jim

"marc rosen" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello All, (No company plugs here, just providing links for detail
clarification)

I am ready to finish shaping the posts for my cherry bed and was
looking through catalogs and plans at the selection of hardware to
attach the side rails to the posts. The plans that I sort of followed
suggest a bed rail fastener similar to the type sold by Woodcraft
( http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=3269 ). When i
perused Lee Valley I found these, (
http://www.leevalley.com/home/Search.aspx?c=1&action=n
) which looks like they would be simpler to apply/attach but I'm not
as excited about this as the first example. Another method that I
can't find an exaple of is the bolt and barrel nut devices that I've
seen numerous times in Fine Woodworking.
To those who have built beds, what have you used and are you happy
with the results? Anyone tried more than one type of fastener and
found one better than the other?
Thanks again for your inputs and I hate this great weather we are now
having. It makes it real difficult to stay in the shop when it's
nice.

Marc



I have built about six or so beds and have tried a couple of different
attachment hardware fittings and always come back to the traditional bed
bolts . I usually get mine from horton brasses ,cromwell conn. Beware of the
barrel type nuts if overtightened they tend to apply pressure radially on
the wood which in turn can cause the wood to split . The plane flat nuts
distribute the load linearly. mjh

On 5 May 2007 18:23:02 -0700, marc rosen wrote:

Hello All, (No company plugs here, just providing links for detail
clarification)

I am ready to finish shaping the posts for my cherry bed and was
looking through catalogs and plans at the selection of hardware to
attach the side rails to the posts. The plans that I sort of followed
suggest a bed rail fastener similar to the type sold by Woodcraft
( http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=3269 ). When i
perused Lee Valley I found these, ( http://www.leevalley.com/home/Search.aspx?c=1&action=n
) which looks like they would be simpler to apply/attach but I'm not
as excited about this as the first example. Another method that I
can't find an exaple of is the bolt and barrel nut devices that I've
seen numerous times in Fine Woodworking.
To those who have built beds, what have you used and are you happy
with the results? Anyone tried more than one type of fastener and
found one better than the other?
Thanks again for your inputs and I hate this great weather we are now
having. It makes it real difficult to stay in the shop when it's
nice.

Marc


I bought a set of bed rail connectors from Woodworkers Supply many
years ago and used them on a rice bed I built. They were heavy steel
angle type with lock pin sections, and held together with 5/16" socket
head cap screws. They locked up tight with no joint movement.

They were the best I've ever seen, Naturally, Woodworkers Supply
discontinued them, and I haven't seen them anywhere else.

Frank

I bought a set of bed rail connectors from Woodworkers Supply many
years ago and used them on a rice bed I built. They were heavy steel

How much rice did it take to build it?

--
Stoutman
www.garagewoodworks.com

I have built about six or so beds and have tried a couple of different
attachment hardware fittings and always come back to the traditional bed
bolts . I usually get mine from horton brasses ,cromwell conn. Beware of the
barrel type nuts if overtightened they tend to apply pressure radially on
the wood which in turn can cause the wood to split . The plane flat nuts
distribute the load linearly. mjh

I finished a queen sized bed last year, and I first tried the bed rail
connectors like those you mentioned from Woodcraft (mine were from
Rockler). I used some on a different project first, and found they
didn't fit as closely as I'd like - I could never get them to pull
themselves tight, as they're supposed to. I tried playing with
mortise depth and shims and even filing down the "hooks", but I could
never get a nice tight connection between the two pieces - YMMV. I
wasn't too impressed overall.
So I ended up making basically my own version of a "bed bolt" - LV and
Woodcraft have versions, as linked in previous replies. I didn't want
the fancy end caps for my mission style bed, so I used pyramidal wood
door pulls cut to a press fit into the countersinks. I also didn't
like the idea of a round barrel nut, for the reasons mjh mentioned
above, so I mortised a flat-ended opening in the side rail, and used a
3/8" bolt through the post, with a filed-down washer and nut inside
the side rail. I also put in a couple 3/4" dowels to take most of the
weight, so the bolt wouldn't have to take any weight, and could be
used primarily to tighten the connection. I'm sure it's
overengineered, but it was sort of fun and the thing hasn't even
wiggled in a year (despite my best efforts...)
Good luck,
Andy

One little postscript, I usually use a shallow mortice in the bedposts to
take the side rail loads then the bed bolt just holds the bed together .
Most hardware suppiers have decorative bed bolt covers . perhaps a tweak
every couple of years will keep everything tight .

It should be remembered sleeping is not all some folks do in bed
.........!!!!!!! mjh





Andy" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have built about six or so beds and have tried a couple of different
attachment hardware fittings and always come back to the traditional bed
bolts . I usually get mine from horton brasses ,cromwell conn. Beware of
the
barrel type nuts if overtightened they tend to apply pressure radially on
the wood which in turn can cause the wood to split . The plane flat nuts
distribute the load linearly. mjh

I finished a queen sized bed last year, and I first tried the bed rail
connectors like those you mentioned from Woodcraft (mine were from
Rockler). I used some on a different project first, and found they
didn't fit as closely as I'd like - I could never get them to pull
themselves tight, as they're supposed to. I tried playing with
mortise depth and shims and even filing down the "hooks", but I could
never get a nice tight connection between the two pieces - YMMV. I
wasn't too impressed overall.
So I ended up making basically my own version of a "bed bolt" - LV and
Woodcraft have versions, as linked in previous replies. I didn't want
the fancy end caps for my mission style bed, so I used pyramidal wood
door pulls cut to a press fit into the countersinks. I also didn't
like the idea of a round barrel nut, for the reasons mjh mentioned
above, so I mortised a flat-ended opening in the side rail, and used a
3/8" bolt through the post, with a filed-down washer and nut inside
the side rail. I also put in a couple 3/4" dowels to take most of the
weight, so the bolt wouldn't have to take any weight, and could be
used primarily to tighten the connection. I'm sure it's
overengineered, but it was sort of fun and the thing hasn't even
wiggled in a year (despite my best efforts...)
Good luck,
Andy

I bet you did not buy them but conned a lease a t the store...mjh


"Stoutman" .@. wrote in message
...

I bought a set of bed rail connectors from Woodworkers Supply many
years ago and used them on a rice bed I built. They were heavy steel

How much rice did it take to build it?

--
Stoutman
www.garagewoodworks.com

Hey Guys,
Thanks for all of your replies. I think I will go with the plan's
suggested fasteners and also acknowledge Stoutman's comments about the
Stickly style I want to achieve. My plans also recommends placing a
dowell near the rail's fastener to provide some cross grain for the
screws. Anyone here do this as well?

Marc (again)

Stickly style I want to achieve. My plans also recommends placing a
dowell near the rail's fastener to provide some cross grain for the
screws. Anyone here do this as well?

I think I used the same set of plans, but ditched their fasteners as
described in my previous post. I'd recommend doing some sort of mock-
up or practice piece with those fasteners, to make sure they'll
accomplish what you want. The end cap/cover is easy enough to work
around - I can post a photo of my fastener system and end caps if
you're interested.
But if you try the stock fasteners and they work for you, great!
Maybe the brand/batch I got were bums.
Enjoy the bed,
Andy

placing a
dowell near the rail's fastener to provide some cross grain for the
screws. Anyone here do this as well?

Sorry - forgot to comment on the dowels - if you do end up using this
style fastener, I think the cross grain would be a very good idea, and
possibly some longer screws into a couple dowels just to be on the
safe side. Screwing into end grain, even at a slight angle (as in
pocket screws) is quite weak, in my experience.
Andy

On 6 May 2007 18:00:24 -0700, marc rosen wrote:

Hey Guys,
Thanks for all of your replies. I think I will go with the plan's
suggested fasteners and also acknowledge Stoutman's comments about the
Stickly style I want to achieve. My plans also recommends placing a
dowell near the rail's fastener to provide some cross grain for the
screws. Anyone here do this as well?

Yes. It seems to work well- but I only use that in shop furniture,
where I don't care if there is an exposed plug on the surface.

Back to the bed hardware- I like to put a block on either end of the
apron, and install threaded inserts into the leg. Bolts go through
the blocks, and thread into the inserts- that way, it can be taken
apart just as easily as any other system I've seen, but there is no
exposed hardware.