Fixings for a bed

[Larky]

Hi all, does any one know of a company that sells cross dowel nuts & bolts, I want to make a bunk bed for my daughter I will be using mortice & tenon for the head & foot board but need metal fixings so I can knock the rest of the bed down so to speak. The bolts need to be 100 mm long & would like to use M8 but screwfix & such like don't do this, Isac Lord seem to sell in packs of hundreds, any help much appreciated cheers.

 

[Chris Knight]

Welcome Larky,

It is quite easy to make your own. Just buy a metal rod of suitable diameter, then drill and tap it for the cross dowel - drilling is best done on the drill press. Bolts you can buy or make up from threaded rod (studding).

 

[Neil]

Hi Larky,

Axminster do these now:

Click image for link

M10 and M12 available. £4.95 for two nuts, so pretty expensive! Chris' suggestion might be better.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[mr]

I recently achieved same sort of thing with threaded nut inserts and bolts.

 

[Larky]

Thanks Waterhead, Neil & Mr.
Neil thats just the ticket, they are expensive though, I might look in to investing in a tap & die set & give Waterheads advice a go.
Cheers
Larky

 

[mahking51]

Hi
Just Chop a normal mortice and use a normal nut & washer. I usually glue pieces over the nut making it captive after trial fitting. Works well
Regards
Martin

 

[Steve Maskery]

Hi Larky,
It depends on how much work you want to do, but if you want your hardware to be completely hidden, this is how I go about it. The nut is in the leg, and the bolt is replaced by a length of studding and another nut.

1. I cut a veneer about 3 or 4mm thick off the outside face of the leg.

2. Counterbore a hole the A/F size of the nut. For an M12 nut this is 17mm, if memory serves me correctly. (Not 100% certain on that).

3. Drill right through at 1/2".

4. Pull an M12 nut into the counterbored hole so that it is beneath the surface, and glue the veneer back on. It is now invisible, but you can screw into it from the other side.

5. On the inside face of the leg I rout a channel, about 120mm long and 1/2" wide and 1/4" deeper than the centre of the board. This is then rebated to 1/4" above the cente line of the board and a filler piece glued in over it. This creates a channel 1/2" square, which gives a bit of clearance for 12mm studding.

6. I rout a pocket on the inside face of the board, 120mm from the end, and about 100x50mm in size. I rout to within about 3mm of the far face. This creates a recess big enough to get your second nut into and use a spanner on it.

7. So, insert a length of studding into the leg, slide the rails onto the studding, attach a washer and nut inside the recess and tighten up with a spanner. Very strong, very neat, very cheap.

Cheers
Steve

 

[llangatwgnedd]

Why not this type then?
https://www.isaaclord.co.uk/prodData.asp?prodid=1553&SubCat=

 

[Steve Maskery]

Why not this type then?

How long a list do you want?

They rely on a few little screws for their rigidity. The screws soon work loose and the bed goes all wobbly.

At least that's what happened to my wife's bed, purchased before she knew me and better.

Cheers
Steve
PS my drawing appears to have screwed up the thread. Humble apologies, I'll try better next time

 

[jasonB]

I would use the same ones as Sawdust P suggests, did a bunk bed a few months ago using them, the more weight on the bed, the tighter the fixings pull it together.

Jason

 

[Keith Smith]

There is a more robust version of the fastener Sawdust producer linked to. It is rebated into the frame and makes a very neat job, in fact it is invisible once fitted. The only problem #-o I haven't found anyone that sells them in the UK. I had to get them from Rockler in the States.

Keith

 

[Argee]

I used these from Hafele on a recent job (the first pic was of a test fitting rail):

Ray.

 

[engineer one]

there always used to be a kind of lock system that slotted into each other.
and you could still use nuts and bolts instead of screws, and as suggested veneer or plug over it, so you could use he Hafele one.
i wonder if blum or anyone else does such,
paul :wink:

 

[llangatwgnedd]

here the one that issac Lord sell similar to the one Ray is showing

https://www.isaaclord.co.uk/prodData.asp?prodid=1552&SubCat=

I have seen a few in the pine shops with just drilled angle iron

 

[Larky]

Thank you all for your help & going to the trouble of pics & drawings its been very intuitive, just got to decide which course to take might have a go with Steve's suggestion.

Cheers

Mark

 

[engineer one]

larkey, like you i think that screw fixings into the bed posts is
kind of dodgy.

continual movement of the bed will ALWAYS loosen screws put into the
wood, and with most of the fittings, the screws are a bugger to put in,
and you cannot be sure they will be tight.

even those barrel nuts will move, but the advantage may be easier access to the tightening or re-tightening process.

seems strange that after all this time the items in the lord book for instance are all that are available still.

if you need a knock down bed, check out the various diy items, then
see about modifying the idea.

i wonder whether it is possible to make block tenons in each corner,
then mortices on the bed rails.

just a thought
paul :wink:

 

[Argee]

larkey, like you i think that screw fixings into the bed posts is
kind of dodgy.

continual movement of the bed will ALWAYS loosen screws put into the
wood, and with most of the fittings, the screws are a bugger to put in,
and you cannot be sure they will be tight.

I understand your initial concerns, but - just like hinges - the majority of these fixings should NOT be surface-mounted, but morticed in. They are very reliable if installed correctly.

Ray.

 

[Neil]

Another thing I've used are worktop connectors, after seeing them on a €1000 bed in Habitat! Combined with a M&T to take the weight, of course...

Cheers,
Neil