Thread: Suggestions on width of side rails, single bed?

2 - 75 x 35 making up 75 x 70 jarrah rails would be more than adequate

Hey shedgirl

Are u using bed brackets to join the rails to the head and tail.

if so I used 110 x 19 Tas Oak for our king bed and has passed all tests



IYKWIM

cheers dazzler

I dont get it, why dont you just suspend the jarrah from two blocks 1900mm apart, ask a couple of people to stand on it somewhere near the middle, and see if it deflects. Better then guesswork.

Arron

Originally Posted by dazzler

Hey shedgirl

Are u using bed brackets to join the rails to the head and tail.

if so I used 110 x 19 Tas Oak for our king bed and has passed all tests



IYKWIM

cheers dazzler

I was going to mortise&tenon into the head and tail assemblies. The bed isn't big enough to have to be knocked down when its moved, unlike our king size!
And Dazz, the lad is only 3, so the tests it will have to stand up to aren't the type you have in mind. Not for along while yet, one would hope! More the launching self into space, practising trampoline manoeouvres, fighting with siblings type of action.....

As for the 'stand in the middle and see if the wood bends' test, I'll give it a go, but it was more long-term sag I was thinking of.
Thanks guys.

What about joining the 2 to make it 150mm x 35mm and them trim 20mm less the saw cut of each side

Actually, that's what I meant, got my thickness and my width mixed up. Clear as mud, wasn't it! Sorry.
A wider rail would look better, too. The timber has lovely colour and I was very lucky to get a great stack of it, along with some blackwood and bits, from a cabinet maker who was retiring. $150, plus a case of my husband's rather good grenache and cab sav.
It means I have to work around the sizes of what I have, rather than buying for each job, but that's ok.

Originally Posted by Shedgirl

I More the launching self into space, practising trampoline manoeouvres.

You must have seen my video

Whats a mortice and tenon

A jarrah rail 150x35 would be heaps strong enough. MY KS bed has 150x30mm rails, with 30x45 tas oak runners for the slats., and passed The Test. Kids beds have 100x35 rails.

That's a gorgeous bed, Tassiekiwi! Lukas' will be way less flash, but he'll be happy and I'll learn as I go.

The pic of the nippers bed didn't attach - I made 2 of these pre-Dom days...happy woth the result, but would probably make something a little more organic next time...

So if I make one that's a bit wonky, I can just say it's organic, eh? It will be, actually. The frame is pretty basic, and the bed-head will use a few boards of different species and colours that I don't have enough of to use on their own.

I think the 35 mm is fine, my king is about that and I'm no 3yo (although SWMBO would say otherwise)

I'm in the process of making 2 king singles for my 6'+ boys. The rails are knock down and about the same thickness.

Originally Posted by Shedgirl

Plans I've looked at suggest that hardwood rails should be about 110mm wide x 32mm thick. I have some nice jarrah that's 750mm x 35mm. Would this be wide enough to prevent the rails from sagging (slat base & mattress) over the 1900mm length of the bed?

What am I missing? 750mm wide? There must be a typo in there.

I made a queen size bed out of white oak for my son. The rails are 165mm x 38mm and this sucker would hold an elephant.

Just an FYI. Fundamentally from a mechanical engineering standpoint, taller rails are more important than thicker rails.

Originally Posted by TexasWoodRat

What am I missing? 750mm wide? There must be a typo in there.

I made a queen size bed out of white oak for my son. The rails are 165mm x 38mm and this sucker would hold an elephant.

Just an FYI. Fundamentally from a mechanical engineering standpoint, taller rails are more important than thicker rails.

Yep, you're right, it's a typo. 750mm jarrah and it would be just about too heavy to move! Even my husband wouldn't break that one! (he did break our last bed.) That's 75mm, Mr Woodrat. Would I be right in assuming that 75mm x 35mm would be inadequate? Jarrah is a seriously dense and strong timber.

Thanks for the comment that taller rails are more important than thicker. I was wondering about that. It's a useful thing to know if you are mucking around with dimensions in plans in order to use the timber you have to hand.