Headboard/footboard panel boards - glueup, or floating?

[Monte Milanuk]

So... working on a new bed for the master BR, with general inputs from the wife as far as what style she wants (farmhouse-ish). I've got most stuff roughly worked out in my head, working on getting it modeled up in Fusion 360 to make sure I don't go too far astray. The headboard (and footboard) are going to have some large-ish frame-n-panel sections. Initially I was thinking of just glueing up the boards, and having the panel float in the frame. But in keeping with the general theme, I was contemplating doing some sort of tongue-n-groove aka 'nickel-gap' joint between the individual boards. At that point... I'm not sure whether it'd be better to glue them all up together as a panel, and float the whole thing as before, or let the individual boards float in the frame? Pros or cons to either?

Thanks,

Monte

[Mel Fulks]

If you use tongue and groove ,don’t glue the pieces together.

[Monte Milanuk]

Just for the sake of discussion... if the whole thing is going to be captured inside a frame, what's the difference between say, six boards edge-glued with biscuits into one big panel, or six boards joined with tongue-n-groove (possibly v-groove) and then glued together? Either way the whole panel is floating, right? Or am I missing something? Is it more likely to blow up or fail one way vs. the other?

I'm open to just doing a light chamfer on the edges of the boards so that when they are glued up it gives that v-groove look to the panel. This is purely for aesthetic reasons.

[Mel Fulks]

If you want it glued , it will probably be OK. I guess it’s possible that with dry heat the slats could rattle a bit with out glue. But don’t use
much ! You don’t want to block stain.

[David Utterback]

Just for the sake of discussion... if the whole thing is going to be captured inside a frame, what's the difference between say, six boards edge-glued with biscuits into one big panel, or six boards joined with tongue-n-groove (possibly v-groove) and then glued together? Either way the whole panel is floating, right? Or am I missing something? Is it more likely to blow up or fail one way vs. the other?

I'm open to just doing a light chamfer on the edges of the boards so that when they are glued up it gives that v-groove look to the panel. This is purely for aesthetic reasons.

Flat sawn wood changes with humidity and temperature differently than quarter sawn. A mixture of these in different proportions would behave differently although for smaller panels it may not amount to much. Beds make noise when occupants move about and the possible rattle of loose panels could contribute. You might want to consider space balls.

[William Fretwell]

If the panel is one piece, with or without a v between boards it needs to float. If the panel is curved at the top allow extra room to float. If the boards are not joined but gapped then you can pin each board in the middle. Allow enough gap for expansion.

[Thomas Pender]

I have built three Queen beds with panels between the posts - QS White Oak of course () but Cherry also works. I only use glue with the mortises and tenons on the boards crossing the width of the bed between the posts. (My posts are 3x3 - real dimension - I use a special jig clamped to the horizontal boards with a really big rabbeting bit (with a rolling depth stop) on a plunge router to make the big tenons.) Everything else (including the two vertical separators between the panels) floats and it works wonderfully. I definitely would not glue for all of the reasons stated above, but mostly because it is flat out unnecessary since I cut dados in the posts, the horizontals, and the vertical separators and then can adjust the panel size (width and height) so they can move a little but still be firmly in their slots.