Glue for the Bedpost (Overnight or Not)

I have to run out now, so don't have the time for a proper reply. However, I would strongly advise against just using glue. Especially if the bed is to be used.

I will return.

Thanks, Intrepid. There's no hurry. I currently sleep on a bed spring and mattress only, and the mahogony stuff works as scupture in the back room.

I've thought of tape (with glue) and don't see that as more secure.
At this point looks don't really matter, so I'd consider something like tied steel rods on the outside. Imagining new uses for Simpson Strong-Tie Connectors...... (I still have their catalog somewhere.) It would be a little tricky, as the bottom part of the leg is a series of somewhat globular shapes.

Also, given I glue it as a starter, what glue would you use?

Given the thread title, I thought you're in to some kinky sex tactics, osso

Otherwise I have no suggestion, sorry. My bed is iron - unbreakable!!

Will bend with the right amount of fire, eh?

We inherited Mr. Fix-it's grandma's old bed many years ago. The side rails were in really bad shape and the bed was really wobbly as a result. We put our new box spring and mattress on a new bed frame and then bolted the headboard and foot board to the frame so that they don't have to actually carry any of the weight. Do you think something like this would work for you if the leg was glued but didn't have to support the weight of the mattress and box spring?

I find that the regular carpenter''s glue works fine for most any application.

I forgot to ask whether the break is part of the load bearing portion of the leg or just at the top (ornatmental) area.

I thought your initial idea of dowelling was an excellent one. I am trying to envision what the break actually looks like. Would be great if you were able to post a pic.

You mentioned that you were trying to figure out how to line up the dowel in the odd shaped break. If you are unable to do it from inside and line it up, you could drill from the outside diagonally through both pieces and insert a dowel just short of the entire length and cover the hole end with mahogany plugs.

Depending on the total leg length.

Go ahead and glue the leg together.

After the glue is set, drill the length of the leg down the center to a size suitable for your steel dowel. insert and glue dowel.
If you make the drill hole a beesdick (important measurement that) too small it will assist the steel to stay in place but you will need to hammer it in like a Nail.

A few thoughts:
You will need to nick the steel along its length in several places to get a mechanical bond.

You could possibly investigate the use of cement/brickwork bolts these expand when tightened up.
Can you get a length of self tapping (wood thread) steel thats a suitable thickness and length.

Countersink the bottom and top of the leg. Use a metal thread dowell and sink the nuts into the countersink rebates at the top and bottom.

If you didn't understand that I can do a photo series for ya on a piece of treated pine.

I will try to come up with a proper set of photos to explain better, but I think I can adapt some of these ideas.

First, the break is load bearing, and Tai Chi, I really like the mechanism for the bed construction, whereby the two long sideboards notch with steel into the head and backboards, whatever you call them. The 'leg' top of the backboard (and headboard) are fancy.

The break is about seven inches from the bottom, at a point where the shaped leg is only an inch or an inch and an eighth wide. I don't have a drill bit that's ten inches long and somewhat doubt my ability to get it perfectly vertical into the newly glued leg. Not that I care about precision so much as I don't want a whole new split to happen. My drill is no Makita either.

The leg goes from the floor, fattens up and becomes part of the backboard, and extends another bunch of inches past the backboard.

Thinking... if I drilled with a somewhat shorter bit from the level of the break and inserted a steel piece that had a little give but still held the thing together..

Ugg, that doesn't sound sturdy.

I could also give the bed a pegleg with some sort of fitting that would look rather like a post or column base, tossing the dear old lower leg. Ugg again.

An auxiliary leg... ah, when the lower leg fattens up near the cross piece of the backboard, it would be square if you sectioned it. I could find a steel connector that is sturdy, of the right height, and bolt that into the back of that square part of the leg in two places, or three, depending on the holes in the steel. The bed would rest on that and the glued leg, sans steel in it, would look normal from three sides, the steel being visibie mainly if you crawled under the bed. (Actually, that's a lie, because it's not at the headboard but the backboard and you'd see it if you looked. showing beneath the bedccovers.

Just looked at it, that won't work - because that's where the slot for the long side board goes. BUT, I could do a false leg of steel at the nearby side board. The side board to backboard and headboard connections are extremely sturdy, steel going into steel.



All this will be clearer when I take some photos. That will involve some dragging of furniture, won't be right away.


Thank you all for your help. Very interesting.

I did understand it, Dadpad, thanks.

Hah, last idea, saw off the leg and set the corner of the backboard and side board on a concrete block...

Now I'm realizing that even if I was great at drilling this many inches vertically straight, it would hit, about an inch an a half past seven inches, the slot for the side board.

Well, sorry to drive you all crazy with descriptions and then reconsidering, but it's been useful to force me to really look at this.

Thanks again, and back with photos.

tap,tap,tap....

Wood eye?

Hair lip.

One of my rare smilies...

Oss there is only so much you can do with what you have, methinks a new leg may be in order if you want nice.

Strap it on the outside and be done with it.

Yes, I'm at some version of that. (Strapping is tricky now that I understand that I'd be strapping to the still vulnerable leg, which you'll understand when you see pics.) Steel possibly (I'll look at my connector catalog closely), or wood most likely, though not mahogony - I could let the leg alone and notch a mahogony stained 2X, or even 4X, near the leg on the backboard, or two 1X plant-ons to the backboard.

I'll still show photos.

tap,tap,tap....