Thread: I need help to fix A bed please

I am a bit far to come in person, but if you are able to post some images we might still be able to help.

OK finally got the photos up.

Just some more info its a queen bed but the queen mattress i have is a bit tight so I was thinking of making brass plates that slip over the ends of the frame rails stopping the cracks and extending the length.

Ok here is a photo of one frame rail. Both have cracks at about the same spot


This is probably a minor I think the slats hook into these plastic bits but after 20 years they dont have much life left

If the crack is new (ie not a crack along an existing glue line), just force it open a little more so you can get some glue in there (Titebond or epoxy) and glue the crack up.

If it's a crack along a glue line, force it open a little more and see if you can give each side a little cleaning up by running a piece of 100 grit paper across the inside face of the crack, then glue it up with epoxy.

If it's a crack on a glue line, the ultimate fix would be to run it through a bandsaw to separate the pieces then glue it back together after cleaning up the mating faces.

You could replace the dowels with, say, aluminium rod if you wanted something tougher than dowel.

I checked the crack its not on a glued join but being pulled by the frame nut (ill get a photo) is tie bond good enough glue to repair this?

Can I reinforce this area where the nut is or should I change the holding method completely?

Essentially any decent modern adhesive will be stronger than the wood.

Titebond III will give you a breaking strain of 4,000 psi, and only cost you $6 at Masters. Note it only has an open time of about 10 minutes, so no dawdling when gluing up.

Excess Titebond cleans off with a quick wipe with a damp cloth while the glue is still soft.

I don't think that join would need much clamping while the glue sets, just a tiny amount of pressure if the gap doesn't close all by itself.

I'd suggest the splitting might have come from over-enthusiastic tightening of the bolt for that connector, or possibly under-tightening leading to racking...but it's hard to say.

Generally I'm not a fan of reinforcing things that have taken 20 years to break, but I would replace the dowels if they look bent.

Hmm this all sounds much easier now thank you

This is problem that has forced me to sleep on the floor for over 6 months. If i glue the crack up should i re bore that hole so as to not wedge it apart again? I was thinking of a brass sleeve that ill glue in to the frame and give it more surface contact and hopefully stop the wood fibers tearing


I think you are right Master Splinter the bed has been used but alot of our family, taken down and put back together those bolts have been to loose and to tight at times. It is a very good bed it usually never squeaked or creaked

Seeing as the cross nut has been pulled in that far, here's what I'd do:

1) Buy some Botecote or West System epoxy (the Botecote sample kit should cost you about $15)
2) Mix up a sufficient amount; it'll be quite runny. Slop some onto the inner face where the cross nut has done its timber crushing just to wet it out; wet out the crack as well.
3) Clamp the crack shut (epoxy isn't a 'squeeze the life out of it' glue, it's a 'hairline gap is fine' glue)
4) With the remaining 'sufficient amount' of epoxy that you mixed, thicken it to an almost peanut-butter consistency by adding something like stainless steel powder, aluminium powder, clean washed sand or sawdust or talc.
5) Fill the crushed hole area with this thickened mix, shape it carefully (you don't want to play with steel reinforced epoxy and a file) and let it cure for a week.

Kudos to you for making the effort to restore something rather than popping down to ikea to pick up a spray painted cardboard replacement.

Can you get the existing nut out? If so, I'd carefully lever open the crack and fill it with tite bond 2 or 3. Clamp it and let it dry. I'd then drill and chisel out a 1 inch square (give or take) where the existing nut is, and glue in a new block of matching timber. Make sure the grain runs up and down (ie so the bolt is pulling across the grain of the new plug) and that you don't drill right through the frame. Then drill new holes for the nut and bolt.

Clear as mud?

Trav

Just saw you were a machinist. You could also think about getting a short bit of steel bar and tap a new thread for the bolt. Chisel out a slot for it and put it back together. The extra width would ensure that the load is spread more widely and should avoid this problem in the future.

A further option, beyond simply gluing & clamping, would be to fix two or three suitably long screws up through the bottom of each frame rail & through the cracks, just to strengthen the ends of the rails that wee tad more. If you countersink the screw heads, they should be invisible to the casual observer.

If you're concerned about someone hiding under the bed thinking "those screws utterly ruin the lines of the bed!" then you can always glue in dowels/wooden plugs for concealment.

This would also make any handling/tooling while resleeving that li'l bit safer... as even though glue generally goes off fairly quickly, it can take aeons for it to reach maximum bond strength. With the screws acting as permanent clamps, it would mitigate the risks of breaking the repair while reworking the fasteners.

Just thought it worth suggesting.