Thread: I need some curved bed slats

If that is what you are after, for $150; I would just buy the Ikea product. There is no way you could make that assembly for that money. Especially if you put any value on your time.

Originally Posted by markharrison

If that is what you are after, for $150; I would just buy the Ikea product. There is no way you could make that assembly for that money. Especially if you put any value on your time.

Thanks Mark, but not really what I was asking. I’m wondering if they are a product of acceptable quality. I don’t want ones which sag or split regardless of who makes them. I notice that the slats are very slim-looking laminated material.

Plywood (laminated wood) is extremely strong!

When you consider that the weight of a person with a mattress to spread the load across that whole assembly; I cannot imagine it would any be any stretch of engineering principles!

The beds I've made have slatted bases with flat solid wood slats. They've held up for more than 20 years. I really cannot imagine that these would be any worse!

We bought a set of the Ikea slats for each of our three (now young adult) kids when we made their beds. They've held up very well for the past 10 years or so. I expect they will be around for a long time yet.

Originally Posted by LanceC

We bought a set of the Ikea slats for each of our three (now young adult) kids when we made their beds. They've held up very well for the past 10 years or so. I expect they will be around for a long time yet.

Ok, thanks. I take it they are same or similar to the ones now available?

with a little research and patience start watching Gumtree or Marketplace (Farcebook) amazing what you can pick up second hand.

If I am heading to big smoke I'll chase up S/H furniture that I can resell back home at a small profit.

Aaron, we have a king size bed with full width 19mm Tas oak T&G battens. It was bought second hand in c.1985 and still going well.

Laminating full width curved battens should not be difficult - I'd use a kitchen vacuum laminator for a job like this - but I would question if curved battens are necessary with a modern mattress. Also quite a lot of effort and cost.

A quick way of doing a curved slat base is to make an adjustable frame with slat pockets down each side frame. End frames are in two pieces, half lapped in the centre with two slotted bolts to fasten. Assemble frame with end frame laps open, fit plywood slats into frame. Using sash clamps draw the side frames together until the desired curve in the slats is reached. Tighten the bolts in the end frame half lap joints. You now have a drop-in sprung slat base. If you want it stiffer, reclamp, lossen the bolts and tighten clamps then the bolts.

To answer your question, yes, the Ikea ones are good, made of beech plywood.

Häfele also sell slats.

As per Greg Q
Hafele sells those slats and rubber slat pockets.. they are decent quality and do not delaminate
the one thing you need to be aware that not all mattresses are compatible with those posture slats. some mattresses require solid slat (ie latex mattress)
Hafele slats are made from beech plywood and do withstand fair bit of pressure

OK, we were in IKEA for a different purpose so I took a look at the LONSET bed bases. I was considering them carefully and my wife did her usual ‘stop messing around and just buy them’, and so I did for the sake of marital harmony.

Skimpy everything. They do work though and haven’t broken so I guess IKEA just knows how to build things with the least material possible. I put them in an existing bed to which they fitted quite nicely. The only downside is that if they are any more comfortable then the previous flat pine slats then we can’t detect it.

I will use them for the new bed anyway.
Thanks to those who responded.

FYI : this is the style of bed I am shamelessly ripping off. Mine will be leather-clad however as I don’t have a workshop any longer and don’t think I could achieve a high standard of finish if using timber. Leather hides everything.

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1. I strongly doubt you can build anything remotely similar for $150. So just buy that and build for it. Or else, build your own flat slats for the satisfaction.
2. I built a bed with a lot of flat pine slats. I went overboard with strength. It's very strong and comfy. I like a hard bed.
3. We have another (bought) bed with bent springy laminated slats. There is no detectable difference between my DIY pine slats and the curved slats by the time you add a quality mattress.

We also bought a new bed. The slats on that are total crap. Cheap knotted unsuitable timber. So at some stage I will create new slats for that one. but I'm not in a hurry because it's not detectable though the high quality mattress.

I just remembered that five months ago I had to provide slats for my daughter’s antique double bed and noticed a bin of meranti decking board 1.8 shorts at Bunnings for under $3 each. Job done for not much.

I still like the Häfele slats for my restless self though

Our Queen-size bed has two rows of slats slotting into rubber pockets held together by four 3-in-wide rubberised ribbons simply resting on the two side and two middle frames. Because the ribbons are not held fixed to the frames, over time the mattress has pushed and "twisted" them and some pockets have split open.

Our current mattress is becoming way too heavy to handle when bed-making and we will replace it with something lighter and easier to handle. This will be the opportunity to change the slats.

I would be interested to know how can slats be held in place on their frames without "meandering".

The other issue is the selection of a quality mattress of lighter weight...!!

Cheers
Yvan