aluminum ell plate for attaching headboard to bed rails

[tom coleman]

I am planning on using aluminum ell brackets to attach bed rails to headboard.Will thrubolt into the 2x6 headboard and use #10 screws into bed rails

I am also thinking of attaching headboard to wall w a french cleat.
Comments or suggestions appreciated

[Greg Sznajdruk]

I am planning on using aluminum ell brackets to attach bed rails to headboard.Will thrubolt into the 2x6 headboard and use #10 screws into bed rails

I am also thinking of attaching headboard to wall w a french cleat.
Comments or suggestions appreciated

There are a number of different methods to attach bed rails here are but a few.

http://www.leevalley.com/en/home/Search.aspx?action=n

Using these types of attachments can alleviate any concerns about the strength and weight bearing capability of your bed. Additionally the bed can easily be broken down to move.


Why reinvent this wheel?

Normally if the head board is attached to the wall, the bed is usually freestanding.

But I've only built 3 beds and tend to stick to tried and true.

Greg

[ian maybury]

Not sure aluminium is a great idea - it needs to be several times thicker to achieve the same stiffness as steel. Then there's the DIY aspect - it can be done, and could even be made a very nice feature. Lots of labour though, and the risk of getting something wrong so best not unless you're on a mission. Lots of proven stock solutions out there - my inclination would be to go for something good and strong - and capable of being tightened up if needed.

If heading down that road it'd be important to use a high strength heat treated alloy, something like 6061 T6. Better yet if the final item is anodised as aluminium on it's own may dull badly over time.

Mixing French cleats and a stock headboard with legs (?) may not be a great idea either - in that it would be best to either rest on the feet, or on a strongly mounted cleat. Hitting both at once won't work very well - especially not if the floor isn't perfectly flat.

A cleat set up alone would probably hold a bed up very nicely if properly sized, mounted and anchored into the wall. It'd have the advantage of meaning that the bed would definitely stay put, but might prove awkward though if it needs moving back to be made up or cleaned under or whatever...

[roger wiegand]

I've never seen any sort of metal bed fastener that didn't end up wobbly and creaking. Mortise and short tenon with a bed bolt to draw it together works perfectly and is easy to tighten up, allows for complete disassembly of the bed for easy moving, and is very easy to make. It's a mystery to me why anyone going to the trouble of making a bed would use anything else.

[pat warner]

Too many stresses in different directions, screwed to the wall or not.
Would use mortice & tenon with steel cross dowels and bolts.

[william watts]

Just completed 1 bed of twin bed set and used the typical bracket and hook faster mortised into the rail and headboard. These are what the plans called for, but I would not use them again, they are loose fit and just seem sloppy. Rogers suggestion of a shallow mortise and a bolt is a good one. I would be concerned that #10 screws into the rail might cause it to split with weight on the bed, especially since they are located near the end of the rail.

[Ole Anderson]

If you are stuck on the french cleat idea, I would place one low and one high so you can't pull the bed and the lower part of the headboard away from the wall.

[Mike Monroe]

I used these on a queen bed, paneled head and foot boards, and they work well. 4+ years later and the bed is still rock solid.

http://www.kennedyhardware.com/images/P/t_16143.jpg

[william watts]

I used these on a queen bed, paneled head and foot boards, and they work well. 4+ years later and the bed is still rock solid.

http://www.kennedyhardware.com/images/P/t_16143.jpg
That is the same bracket I used and have no doubt it will hold the bed together for years, but not "rock solid". The brackets I have slide together very easily and have enough play to allow the head and foot boards tilt toward the center of the bed. Bugs me

[Jerry Wright]

When using this style of bed iron, the tightness of the connection is determined by the depth of mortises that the irons are set in. I adjust, until a rubber mallet is needed to drive the hooks to the bottom of their respective slots. Obviously, the area of contacting wood must exceed the area of the irons. I have these on a captains trundle bed bed and they have been rock solid for nearly 40 years, even with kids jumping up and down. They also disassemble and. Reassrmble easily for room redecoration.

Jerry

[Jim Barstow]

Over the years I have made almost 10 beds. I started out using those metal brackets shows in a previous message. After 2 beds I stopped using them since they just don't provide enough strength and creak. My standard connection now uses short (1/2" max) tenons in to the headboard/footboard and 2 bed bolts to cross dowels per joint. I use bronze colored flat head bolts with a hex key. On cherry or walnut beds, the bolts pretty much disappear. In one case, in countersunk the bolt heads and covered them with a wood cap.

This results in a bed that is absolutely rigid and never, ever creaks. Racking is a serious problem with the metal connectors. With my beds, you can push on one corner and the whole bed moves.

[pat warner]

Drilling schedule (http://patwarner.com/images/connector_bolt.jpg) scares off some. But I agree with you.
A double set of X-dowels lasts for the duration.

[Jerry Wright]

Guys - with proper joinery techniques, the pictured irons work great. And, they are invisible when assembled. I always expand the side rail at the very end so there is a mating surface about 2 inches wide by the height of side board. No rocking, no racking, no creaking...just a beautiful, tight, rigid, yet elegant joint.

[Mike Monroe]

Guys - with proper joinery techniques, the pictured irons work great. And, they are invisible when assembled. I always expand the side rail at the very end so there is a mating surface about 2 inches wide by the height of side board. No rocking, no racking, no creaking...just a beautiful, tight, rigid, yet elegant joint.

+100
Using the metal brackets, the bed rails attach to the headboard and footboard posts very, very securely. No creaks or wobbling what so ever. I’ll use them again when I make another bed.

[william watts]

I will make the mortise a little deeper on the the 2nd bed of the set. Then I will revisit the mortises on the 1st bed and redo them, hate it when that happens. Pat, in post 12, got it right about the drilling. Hook type brackets eliminate that problem, but you gotta get it right.

[Jim Dwight]

I've used the hook type metal brackets that disappear with the rail installed on at least 4 beds and also used through bolts on another 2 or 3. Both work fine. The through bolts are probably less prone to movement but the hook type brackets I got were so tight I had to file them a little before using them. They still wedge in tight enough I have to use a mallet to remove the rails. I also think it is worthwhile to make a router guide to cut the recesses. That helps me make the recesses nice and tight. I will use the hook type brackets from now on based upon appearance.

[Mike Monroe]

I also think it is worthwhile to make a router guide to cut the recesses. That helps me make the recesses nice and tight. I will use the hook type brackets from now on based upon appearance.

Definitely make a template jig for the router to mill the bracket recesses. I made a simple jig that I clamped to the end of the rails and also to the bed post. Jig was easy to make, worked well, and is reusable.

[roger wiegand]

I used those same brackets on the first bed I made, mortising them in as described. Tight to begin with, but very wobbly after a couple years (ab)use by rambunctious kids. They were both more time consuming to install and ultimately didn't work as well as a M&T with a bed bolt, plus the hardware was more expensive. I don't get the appeal.