Bedknobs?

[redhedonist]

Hello knowledgable ones,

I have an old antique brass and iron bed that is getting to the point that I have to repair, restore or sleep on the floor. I'm not talking about complete reincarnation just enough care to stop it going beyond help. There are two major issues;

The sockets where the rails slot in to the ends have become worn over its many years of service and now it looks like it is going to fold in on itself. which would be bad although I think it looks more unstable than it is. It sort of looks like this /---\. I thought of using some cable and turnbuckles at the base to try and tension it out again, chocking it has done no good. Any further ideas?

The other annoying problem is the knobs at the bottom corners. After years of kids swinging on them they have torn off, I still have them but where they should be is just a threaded screw coming up from the ground. Would it be possible to repair and reattach them? all the repro ones are different and I would rather try and recycle the ones I already have.

Lastly if all else fails and I am fortunatel enough to win the lottery, does anyone know of someone who can do it for me? I would rather not sleep on the floor for very long so am looing for someone local to me in the eastern suburbs of melbourne.

Cheers and thanks in advance.

[new_guy90]

This bed sounds like it has lots of sentimental value to you. Can you take any photos of the problem areas? Im a bit confused as to what these Knobs are, Are they the feet of the bed or do they sit on the top legs somehow :? if the holes in the knobs are threaded you can drill then tap them out to a larger size or use whats called a "Helli coil" to restore the thread

[Bryan]

Are the sockets integral with the frame or bolt-ons? I've picked up beds from hard rubbish on the footpaths with timber ends and bolt on sockets. Any second hand furniture dealer should have the sockets and rails.

I'm not sure I understand your knob prob. You say there's knobs on the bottom, but threads coming up from the floor? Pics might help.

Sleeping on the floor is unhealthy because CO2 is heavier than air and settles in a layer on the floor.

[dj_pnevans]

Pictures would help.
David

[redhedonist]

sorry about the poor description, too many kids too many dogs, brain turns to custard and everything gets labelled as the 'thingy'. pictures are of the knob, the threaded post and the leaning bed of croydon. the rails slot into the bed ends in like a keyhole shape, too dark in here for pictures...

[Bryan]

Ok so the male threads look fine, I'm guessing the female ones inside the knobs are cactus? It should be possible to repair those, depending on how they're made. Are the knobs solid brass (very heavy)? I would guess not. So it's a question of how much 'meat' is available for boring and sleeving.

[Stustoys]

Looks yo me like the female thread is still on the bed and the knob has broken. Fixing it could be a little hard. Maybe filling it with plasti-bond? and using the good ones from the head on the foot of the bed?

[redhedonist]

now I am even more confused.. didn't realise that threads were male or female. The centre of the bedknob is hollow, it has just shirred away from the top of the post. It looks a little like someone has tried to fix it somehow because one side has a nut threaded on, I have attached pictures of both sides and the base of the knob and also the connection between the bed ends and the rails. Once again thank you all for your advice and responses.

[Metmachmad]

What the heck have you been doing in that bed to get it to such a bad state?

[redhedonist]

unfortunately whoever I was doing it with was concentrating on their own hardware rather than mine ;)

[pipeclay]

You would probably be better off just replacing them,do a search for brass bed knobs,they seem to be around $20 each.

[redhedonist]

I will only replace them if there is no other alternative. One of the things I really like about my old things, is the fact that when they were made and purchased they were not easily replaced so each object that has been in service has a visible history of lumps and bumps, damages and repairs. I restored an old chest of drawers recently that you can almost date who has done what to it and when, some dreadful, others masterful. I like the concept of caretaking rather than replacing. My sisters and I have just put my mum in aged care and cleaned out her house full of amazing things. She has an old mirror that is too large to put in my place, the sort that sits over the mantle piece. It has a lot of patina if you are being kind, tarnish if you are being picky. If we resilver it it will look like a reproduction and lose all its character. sorry to ramble...

[pipeclay]

Are you capable of doing the repair work or would you be out sourceing it.

[kraits]

Melbourne Coppersmith Rivendale Copper (http://www.rivendalecopper.com.au)

look these guys up, there in melbourne,

[Bryan]

There's not going to be an easy fix for the knobs. Not one that is strong and looks good anyway. To do it right you will need some skill and ingenuity, or pay someone else who has them. With the rails, it's just wear rather than damage, but again I don't see how you can repair that without replacing some parts. Unless you want to fit some tension struts underneath? This may be what you meant about turnbuckles. What the hell, give it a whirl. I would tie from each foot to the opposite rail, so the wires cross over and make a shallow X shape.

[redhedonist]

Thanks Kraits, will check them out. Pipeclay, I would like to do it myself but I think it is beyond my expertise unless I can come up with something simple I haven't yet thought of. Also I can usually find time but rarely money.
Bryan, that is what I was thinking about but was thinking from head to foot although diagonally would probably make more sense. I bought some cable yesterday, plus a couple of turnbuckles and some grips, although I haven't been brave enough to try it yet.
What I really want is someone to do it for me, but not surprisingly every time I suggest it to one of my exes they make a quick exit ;)

[Stustoys]

Do you rent? If not, how about you bolt the bedhead to the wall. Then a strip of wood along the floor with holes drilled in it to hold the legs at the foot of the bed the right distance apart.

I doubt the knobs can be fixed and look like the others. Can you take a side on picture of one of the good ones.

Stuart

[Bryan]

Stuart's idea is a good one. If you decide to use the cables, in case my description was ambiguous, the sketch shows what I mean. This should give maximum strength I think. Ideally you would do both sides. Good luck.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

If you don't mind seeing the torn parts of the knobs or a very... errr... "rustic" :roll: fix, then you can always coat the threads in vaseline, screw the appropriate sized nut onto just the end... and then fill the knobs most way up with reasonably thick plaster of paris (or epoxy) then plonk it in place, wrap the joint in duct tape (so it doesn't ooze out before setting) and then leave until it sets.

Actually... if done in situ, forget the epoxy. Plaster-of-paris would be so much easier to clean up around the crack afterwards and the vaseline on the thread - which is mainly to stop it from sticking should help minimise problems with the thread rusting. The added nut would give the plaster something to "set around" so it won't just fall off.

It would be a LOT better if you could remove the threaded section & base of the knob from the top of the bed-frame to effect repairs. Then I'd be looking at using epoxy or similar instead for a more durable repair. (I'd also look at using marbles or small stones or similar to mix in as a "rough fill" for the bulk of the knob... purely so it wouldn't cost you an arm and a leg in epoxy resin.)

But either way, it'd definitely be a rustic repair. :U

An alternative to the cable/turnbuckle idea would be to use something like the old metal electrical conduit and flatten the ends so you can drill holes in them to use as braces. That way, instead of having the cables in an X pattern, you could just have one brace per leg, angled up to meet it's opposite number in the middle of the side of the bed. An upside-down V as it were.

Should give the same rigidity, painted the same colour as the frame it wouldn't look quite as obvious a fix and it'd give better under-bed access, which I suspect your other half may prefer for some vague womanish reason to do with "cleaning."

[pipeclay]

If you havent yet realized if there is an other half it stands to do a wee.

[redhedonist]

No other halves, just myself, three kids still home and one away, only the 5 yr old stands to wee :) I already have the cable, but I don't think I have enough to do an 'x' on each side :( . I wonder how else I could straighten it up?
Actually the 5 yr old thought the cable idea was to prevent him using the under the bed space as a cubby !

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

:doh: Whoops! :B

If you don't do an X, Then odds are that after a while instead of /==\ it'll look like either \==\ , /==/ or \==/

Cable is good at keeping things from moving apart... not so good at stopping them from moving closer together, y'know?

Of course, you could do one side of the bed with a cable sloping one way and the other side with the cable sloping the opposite way... :think: Won't be as rigid, but should keep the ends more or less upright.

[redhedonist]

as long as it doesnt look like this ----. although that night would be unforgettable!

[Ropetangler]

If you havent yet realized if there is an other half it stands to do a wee.

Ahh Pipeclay, you have a wonderful gift for words, I just wish that I could have seen the faces as they read your post:U:q:2tsup:
Rob.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

I just wish that I could have seen the faces as they read your post:U:q:2tsup:
Rob.

:D Trust me: you wouldnae wanted to see mine. Not unless you want nightmares for the next week.

"Roadkill" is one term that springs to mind.

[Ropetangler]

Hi Skew ChiDAMN!!,
If you can't laugh just yet, I'm sure that in a day or two, you'll find it hard to stop. We have all had to open our mouths at some time to change feet, so look on the positive side, the rest of us have had a good chuckle already!:D
Best wishes,
Rob.

[Bryan]

:D Trust me: you wouldnae wanted to see mine [face]. Not unless you want nightmares for the next week.

"Roadkill" is one term that springs to mind.

Was it the same truck that hit your username?

[redhedonist]

woohoo! Thanks to Kraits suggestion of rivendell copper, who just happened to be about 5 minutes away from my house, i have sorted the knobby problem. I managed to remove what was left of the nut at the base of the knob that was still attached to the bed, and he is going to solder and reattach them so I can screw them back on! Quoted me $70, am so pleased about it, I love this forum :) Now just need to brace it and hopefully it will stand up to another 100+ years of abuse :)

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

:2tsup:

[Woodlee]

Good news on the knobs , we also have a very old brass and iron bed , although it now hangs in the shed .
I recall a bloke in Adelaide about 30 odd years ago who did metal spinning and he made the replacement knobs for our restoration. Unfortunately his name escapes me . I'm sure he was down on South road near Marion or there a bouts.
The knobs are made in two pieces ,top and bottom and then pressed together .
I reckon that guy who made the knobs for us would be long gone now he was looking pretty ancient then.
He let me watch while he spun a couple of pieces for another job , I was fascinated the way he made the metal flow .A long lost art me thinks.
Kev

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

I've done a bit of metal spinning... not that I'd consider myself... "capable" at it. All you need is a wood lathe and basic tooling.

But long lost art? :no: There are still people around who can make it look easy. Some fairly young blokes are at it, too!