Butt Joints

[gucu]

Hi

I am trying to make a four poster bed and am keeping it simple by butt jointing 2 x 2 pine. However, in order to stop the bed from rocking I am having to add 45 pine strips in the corner.

If I bought 8 x 1 pine boards and secured this to the top of the frame, would this stop the rocking motion please?

Or has anyone got any other suggestions please?

Thanks

Rich

 

[Trainee neophyte]

Hi

I am trying to make a four poster bed and am keeping it simple by butt jointing 2 x 2 pine. However, in order to stop the bed from rocking I am having to add 45 pine strips in the corner.

If I bought 8 x 1 pine boards and secured this to the top of the frame, would this stop the rocking motion please?

Or has anyone got any other suggestions please?

Thanks

Rich

Bed rail brackets? Top and bottom, I presume. Would there be room at the top for that? I look after a house that contains a flimsy 4 poster bed. I have never road-tested it, but it is very wobbly, IKEA or similar. The top rails are just lap joints - the problem is the wobble starts at the bottom of the bed, and is accentuated by a joint halfway up the posts - the posts are about 2" square, and screw together using a central bolt - end to end. The entire thing moves 2 - 3 " in all directions at the top, at about 7 foot height. I think the bed part needs to be completely static, so the tops of the posts don't move at all - a tiny bit of motion at 6" height will be 10 X the amount at the top.

As I said, I've not made use of it in anger, but I imagine bedroom gymnastics would be severely curtailed by the squeaks and groans, and the entire edifice swaying in the storm like a square-rigger in the South Forties. If you are thinking romance, I strongly advise you to over-design. A lot.

 

[thetyreman]

I imagine bedroom gymnastics would be severely curtailed by the squeaks and groans, and the entire edifice swaying in the storm like a square-rigger in the South Forties. If you are thinking romance, I strongly advise you to over-design. A lot.

:lol:

 

[thetyreman]

I would use some kind of bolts this kind of thing https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/COT-BED-FURN ... g7lmujir6A

 

[gucu]

Bed rail brackets? Top and bottom, I presume. Would there be room at the top for that? I look after a house that contains a flimsy 4 poster bed. I have never road-tested it, but it is very wobbly, IKEA or similar. The top rails are just lap joints - the problem is the wobble starts at the bottom of the bed, and is accentuated by a joint halfway up the posts - the posts are about 2" square, and screw together using a central bolt - end to end. The entire thing moves 2 - 3 " in all directions at the top, at about 7 foot height. I think the bed part needs to be completely static, so the tops of the posts don't move at all - a tiny bit of motion at 6" height will be 10 X the amount at the top.

As I said, I've not made use of it in anger, but I imagine bedroom gymnastics would be severely curtailed by the squeaks and groans, and the entire edifice swaying in the storm like a square-rigger in the South Forties. If you are thinking romance, I strongly advise you to over-design. A lot.

Apart from the bed gymnastics, as I understand you then bracing the bottom should stop or limit top sway. I will be trying that out this weekend.
Thanks

 

[Simon_M]

I bought an IKEA bed frame circa 2012. It has a steel support from head to tail - the idea being that it provides central supports for slats to either side that support the mattress. The steel support has two steel plates that allow the length to increase but to provide a strong downward support e.g. the equivalent of a telescopic RSJ. It works because the steel support fitted into a plate at the top and tail of the bed attached with about 8 screws in each. The screws don't pull out of the wood because the steel support doesn't pull them out - it expands, so that there is no force except the vertical support provided by the "meaty" screws that are more than sufficient. Another device employed is four metal struts which join the centre of the four sided frame together to limit sideways movement. At the corners of the frame, the bolts from the head and tail are fixed into nuts that are held in holes in the sides and there are pairs of dowels that provide sideways support. None of these are visible and the joint is strong. If the bed was moved and reassembled, with some of these parts missing or not tightened sufficiently, the integrity would be compromised.

 

[AJB Temple]

I have two four poster beds. One of them is hotel quality made of thick oak with 4 " square legs and turned posts, and is fixed together with dowel locators, 6mm thick steel plates in non visible areas and absolutely massive coach bolts. It also has a full oak canopy that adds huge rigidity. You could have an orgy on it without it moving.

The other one is in a guest room and is fixed together with the kind of bolts in the eBay link above. No. Just no.

For a bed in daily use you want dowels or tenons, and proper metal brackets and heavy duty bolts.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

Bed rail brackets? Top and bottom, I presume. Would there be room at the top for that? I look after a house that contains a flimsy 4 poster bed. I have never road-tested it, but it is very wobbly, IKEA or similar. The top rails are just lap joints - the problem is the wobble starts at the bottom of the bed, and is accentuated by a joint halfway up the posts - the posts are about 2" square, and screw together using a central bolt - end to end. The entire thing moves 2 - 3 " in all directions at the top, at about 7 foot height. I think the bed part needs to be completely static, so the tops of the posts don't move at all - a tiny bit of motion at 6" height will be 10 X the amount at the top.

As I said, I've not made use of it in anger, but I imagine bedroom gymnastics would be severely curtailed by the squeaks and groans, and the entire edifice swaying in the storm like a square-rigger in the South Forties. If you are thinking romance, I strongly advise you to over-design. A lot.

Apart from the bed gymnastics, as I understand you then bracing the bottom should stop or limit top sway. I will be trying that out this weekend.
Thanks

I made a bunk bed for the little ones, and used what are standard fittings in Greece. Unfortunately, I can't find any on the internet - will keep hunting. eBay suggested "bed rail bracket" as a search term, and some of the things look similar. This is NOT what I used, but seems to do the same job: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4x-Metal-Bed ... ect=mobile

If you can get to a hardware shop and have a rummage, try to find something that will work and be solid. The bunk bed I made is 6' tall, with 6x4" ish posts. The bed frame is lengths about 2" square, and these fittings just pull it all together and make it snug. We move house twice a year (don't ask), and the bed is disassembled/reassembled every time, and still holding together well - not wobbly at all. Can send photos if you need it - we are moving again on Friday, weather permitting, so bed will be in pieces, briefly. I may even have time to grab a camera.

 

[gucu]

Thanks for all the reply. I am going to look at the bolts option and also beef up the base by boxing it in. I'll purchase struts so I can lift and use it for under bed storage. It is a work in progress and a project so I am learning as I go along. I might have a go at tenons - seems a good idea to try something new out
I hope the move goes well and photos are always handy.
Thanks

 

[Deadeye]

I've just finished a bed (photos on the "las thing you made" thread).

I used long bed bolts - the longest I could find (200mm) - in pairs. Drilling the hole accurately was fiddly and i took time building a jig to do so. Don't make the holes any bigger than the bolt.

I know you said butt joints, but I cut just a 1 cm deep mortise (with a router and then a chisel to square the corners) for the end of the rails.

The combination of the two has made it rock solid - heaving on the posts shakes the floor, not the bed!