I need to extend (replace) bedrails on an antique mahogany & oak bed built in ME (circa 1870). They’re too short for modern mattresses (taller people now?)
Two of the four bedrail cast iron connectors are cracked, so I bought replacement connectors from Paxton Hardware. The Paxton connectors are slightly smaller than the original hardware – i.e. the screwholes don’t line-up.
I did a search on the Knots forum and saw that some used West Systems epoxy for gunstock restoration. Would it work for the bedrails to hold screws? Other products?
Replies
dave,
Having both lengthened old rails and made new longer ones, I believe that you are better off making new.
Securely joining the extensions to antique rails nearly always means modifying them so that they are not easily restored to their original configuration. This is a big no-no, esp. if the bed has any siginificance as an antique. Then there is always the nagging question of whether the modification will hold up under use, or will it give way, causing injury to the bed's occupants, and/or to the bed itself. Finally, the modification is a challenge to finish in a way that is inconspicuous.
All round, it is better for the bed, for the sleepers, and for the restorer, to just make a pair of rails, and finish them to a compatible color with the originals.
As far as plugging screwholes, simply whittling a hardwood plug to fit the hole, then gluing it and driving into place has worked well for me. When the glue is dry, carve the plug flush, then drill a new pilot hole in the proper location. Larger, wallowed-out holes may be reamed out to accept a face-grain plug, if you have a plug cutter that will make a long enough plug- or a stack of them- to fill the hole to its full depth.
Ray
Listen to Ray (joinerswork). He has given you the absolute best advice available.
Jeff
I ran across this problem years ago when someone asked me to solve the identical problem with a family heirloom. What I did was to make short "extenders" for the rails -- a length of wood matching the existing rail ends, with a male connector on one end and a female on the other. I was able to find matching connectors to mount on both ends of the extenders so no modifications at all were needed to the original piece.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Everything fits, until you put glue on it.
I'm a contributor over at Breaktime, but I love to poke my head in here once in a while to see how the better half lives. I do a ton of wood restoration and conservation and replacement of wood rot on old homes. There are a few answers I would have for you.
First answer is don't change the bed at all. If the bed has any antique value, it will be gone once you do this. Instead, have a mattress made to fit. I have seen this done and it has worked very well.
If you are going to change it, then make new rails and color to match, or is that what you're doing? I can't quite tell because you say extend and then you parenthesize replace, and I read those as two different things.
In any event, if you do make the new rails, you will need to plug the holes on the posts, no? Do as the other poster said, drill out the hole & epoxy in a plug of same wood, color to match. If the plug is to hold new screws on the new connectors then make sure it's a whittled plug and the screw is catching solid end grain. Run a saw kerf along the entire length of your plug for any glue to escape when you're tapping it home. If the plug hole is not to catch a new screw, then cut new plugs with a plug cutter with the wood from the old rails and patch with those.
I would stay away from any of the wood replacement epoxies, they were formulated for other types of structural purposes. If I'm reading you right you are going to want to fill the holes in the rail & post & re-tap in a new screw that would partially catch the old hole? This is is a structural load that is both sheer and a little lateral, and gets stressed every time someone lays on the bed. The threads of the screws will eventually cut through the epoxy and give way. Use good hard wood to hold the screws, not epoxies.
West is a good system and I've used it many times, but in this case, go with fresh wood.
A little story, and perhaps this is why I took the time I did to reply.
When my Grandpa died back in '86, (he was 97!), my mother inherited a beautiful cannonball three quarter bed made of mahogany and birds eye maple from the 1850's. The headboard was really stunning. She wanted a full size mattress to fit, and that meant extending the head and foot boards. I begged her not to do it & Have a mattress made, but I could never convince her of much. She had a local "wood hobbyist" do it. He used straight rock-maple and tried unsuccessfully to color match it. It looked horrible, but she got her full size mattress. When she passed 5 years ago, nobody wanted it, (I'm sure because of the unsightly repair) and I think it got sold at a church basement bazaar for $20.
It wasn't the money, it was the destruction of a beautiful period antique that someone would use & enjoy as such. I hope that it is being used regardless.
JB weld is one of the old standbys for fixing mistakes in metal.
If it is metal you are fixing.
It's a good company. I called them once and they were helpfull.
Your local hardware store should have some.
Will Rogers
Edited 12/11/2009 10:30 am by popawheelie
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