Does anyone have any suggestions on where to get bed hardware. I’m specificaly talking about the hood type (I can get them at my local Woodcraft) that mount the rails to the headboard and footboard. I have heard the hook type are good but I know Stickely uses a similar style except the hook end is actually sort of like a beefy pan head screw that can be adjusted in and out for a very tight fit. Maybe the hook type is just as well but I wondered if anyone knew and if so, where can you get them?
Second, I was going with using5-6, 1″ or 3/4″ x 6″ slats (3 with center adjustable support feet) to support the box spring. I have also seen metal brakets in sets of 3 or 4 (not the kind that come with metal bed frames) that screw to the wooden rail and have adjustable feet in the middle. Are these better and were can you get them. I look on line to no avail.
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Anyone?
I do not use bed hardware but rather bed bolts with covers.
Thanks but the bed is already designed to use the type I talked about.
Lots of bed hardware at http://www.rockler.com/CategoryView.cfm?Cat_ID=141
What type of bed are you making that you need supports for the slats to hold the box spring? The best way I have seen to keep the slats from saging is to dovetail them into the bed rails. Assuming that's what you are trying to accomplish.
I don't see how dovetailing them into the rail will keep them from sagging across their span. Just like a floor joist only has a finite span before the sag is a limiting factor. The bed is:http://stickley.com/gallery/details.cfm?id=1263&c=36&cat1=89&view=all&view=complex
Nice looking bed, are you looking at the Queen or King? The way dove tailing the slats into the bed rails helps is that the slats will pull the rails in if they try to sag and the rail will resist this movement causing the slats to be under tension. A member under a flexural stress is up to 4X stiffer if the ends are fixed than if they are allowed to move. If the slats just sit loosely on the rials then they are free to sag. Try it out if you like by taking a piece of MDF and support it but not anchor it on the end and place a heavy weight on it and see how much sag you get, then over the same span anchor the MDF on each end by screwing it to a 2x4 frame, place the same weight on it and measure the deflection. This would be similar to setting a shelf in a dado with no glue or into sliding dovetails also with no glue. In the first example the ends are free to move, while in the second example they are somewhat fixed. Obviously there are limits to the extent of the span just as in your example, but anchoring the ends will extend the span. In the case of the King box springs the break in the middle and the longer span could give them more opportunity to sag as the pressure is in a different place than where it is with a Queen box spring, where the pressure from the box spring is actually very close to the bed rail. No promises on the King, but on shorter spans the dove tail ends on the slats in dove tail shaped supports on the bed rails will stiffen them considerably, not to mention that it keeps them from moving around.
I see exactly what you are saying and I agree. The bed rail will have a 1"x1" ledger glued/screwed to the inside bottom edge. The slats the King boxspring will rest on WILL be screwed (2 per end) to the ledger on the rails. The center feet on 3 of the 6 slats, spaced evenly, will give extra support to the center of the box spring(s) where they are split. Effectively cutting the span of the slats in half.
BTW were are getting away from my question about hardware to mount the rails to the foot and headboard :)
I personally have used the hook type where there are two metal plates, one with hooks and one with slots, that are set into the bed rail and bed posts. These have worked very well for me on the beds that I have made. One of which is around 20 years old. It's still as solid as the day I made it and it survived a teenaged son. I have a coworker that just made a Mission style bed and used the same hardware. This hardware seems to be available at just about any woodworking store or catalog.
Good luck!
Great thanks. I'll go ahead with those then.
Back to the slats for a second, I just want to give you a calculated example;
For a 5 inch long, .1 inch thick, .5 inch wide beam, subject to 10 lbs applied at the midspan, modulus = 2e6 psi,
a simply supported beam (flex test) deflects .3125 inches, A beam with the ends totally restrained deflects .06 inches.
I'm an engineer and work in plastics so I'm familiar with these types of problems.
Good luck with the bed I think it's a great project!
Mike
Are you using a box spring and mattress? The support for a box spring is different than that for supporting the mattress only. For a mattress only you want 3/4 3" slats on 1 or 1-1/4" centers. This will provide very strong support and sufficient breathing room for the mattress. Use spacers between the slats to prevent shifting.
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