bed leg mortise tenon layout

[mickthetree]

Hey all
Any suggestions on creating a bed frame using traditional mortise and tenons?

The side rails and the end rails are the same height up the leg so the tenons would clash.

I have seen "bed bolts" used before but do they pass through the tenon of the end rails?

Stub tenons?

Argh! Cant get my head round it!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I haven't looked on line, but the Ironmongery Direct catalogue they list a bed fittings set A486706 page 733. Beds often have detachable side rails for ease of moving - these might do you.

 

[mickthetree]

Thanks Philip, but I would like to make a proper mortice and tenon. Although if I incorporate a bed bolt it will be movable later.

ah ha!! I have just found an online plan that shows it. The end rails are a split tenon and the bed bolt passes between them!! The long rail is a stub tenon with the bolt.

 

[Racers]

I made a couple of pine single bed using bare faced mortice and tenon joints using 3x3 posts glued and dowelled if you put the bareface on the inside you can mortice into the middle of the 3x3 giving you enough length for a strong joint, mitre the ends of the tenons.

Pete

 

[AndyT]

There are various options depending on how chunky your timbers are.
You could have ordinary tenons small enough not to meet if the legs are thick, or if they do meet, you can bevel the ends, or halve them over each other. ( Table frames are often like this.)

But with a bed, you probably need to break it down into parts to get through doors, especially if it's a double.

A common way is to have the head and foot as glued up sections with tenons into the legs, but for the sides, just cut shallow stub tenons and/or sink the whole end of the side member into the leg, so that the weight is fully supported. To hold it all together you don't use glue but instead put a bolt through the foot to go end on into the side, screwing into a nut, let into the wood and set some distance back.