Thread: Jarrah bed and bedside tables

Cambo

The brackets came from Carba-tec. I had some concerns about their strength but they are holding up very well (no sniggers now!). I will try and take a pic of the fitting and slats sometime.


Col

The breadboard ends are mortice-and-tenoned and glued only at the outside. Originally I thought to glue the whole lot as the tables are in a stable, airconditioned or ventilated home, and wood movement would be minimum. I did it this way, then had second thoughts. The ends are there to hide the end grain of the old floorboards which, unfortunately, are v-grooved on the underside.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Derek,

Very nice work mate - puts my bunk beds to shame I think.

Just wondered what brackets you used for fixing the rails on the headboard?

Cambo

As I mentioned earlier, the brackets came from Carba-tec. Basically these were the only ones I could find that appeared suitable (in rigid steel). Both Carba-tec and Timbercon sell another, similar-looking bracket made from a thinner, mild steel. I found those ones very flexible and I had little confidence in them. The ones in the picture lock together very solidly. They were, however, small and I had some doubts as to their ability to do the job. Consequently I recessed them into the timber for extra strength. They are held on with screws.

We have been using the bed for several months now (although I have only just finished the bedside tables). The bed is very heavy and these brackets have not shown any signs of weakening.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Thanks Derek

I haven't seen those particular brackets before - will have to check them out next time i'm down at Carba-tec (if they ever get anything in stock). Thanks for the description and review.

Cheers
Cambo

New knobs.

Dark brass to replace the garrish new-looking brass knobs.

Snapperhead, what do you think?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Hi Derek,

You've done a great job on the timberwork - but I do agree with Snapperhead's original comments about the handles (except for the bit about "hey your wife must have chosen them" LOL).

I'm wondering why you chose to use two pull handles for such a small drawer? Is it possible to open the drawer with one handle or do you need to pull both? From a practical sense, having one hand free would be kinda sensible.

Timber would have been good, but maybe a bit too much? On a set with such long and thin lines, I probably would have gone for something like a flattish profile 96mm D-handle in brushed chrome. The new ones are definitely an improvement tho.

Steph

Steph

I appreciate the comments and try to learn from them. My sentiments are very similar to yours. However, some decisions - such as ithe design of bedroom furniture - are made in such a way as to include those sharing them, meaning my wife. Lynndy said to me "I want handles like those", pointing to an old English oak flip down desk that once belonged to my grandfather. The closest I came to these handles was in the original choice. It turned out that she was also not enamoured with the bright brass and, what had really been referring to was, in fact, the colour of the desk handles, which was the dark, aged, tarnished brass look. So I was able to change the handles. But she did insist on two to each drawer since she felt that one in the centre was not carried off as well as two. The drawers slide easily enough on one.

Why brass and not chrome. All the hardware in our home is brass, so chrome would be out of keeping.

My next plan is to build bedside lights out of timber and old brass. This will call for a little turning and carving. It will be a nice challenge to get an aesthetic design. Perhaps something inspired by Rodin. Any suggestions for a contrasting timber (contrasting to Jarrah, that is) are very welcome.

So there you have it, which is probably far too much information to begin with!!

Regards from Perth

Derek

Hi Derek

A very well finished and executed piece, I am surprised that you’re satisfied with the brackets though, I tried the same ones on my current project and found them to be not good at all, I decided they must be intended for a single bed, the King size bed I’m making just bent up the top part with even a little simulated extra curricula bed type action . I even drilled through the top tab and fixed it with a lag bolt, but they were still too weak.

I found another sort in Timbercon that screws on and uses 2 high tensile bolts to tension the brackets up (gang bang proof I reckon). If you ever do get a problem I’d recommend trying them. Reckon you could retro fit with a bit of jigging around.

Cheers


Dave

Dave

Thanks for the info on the brackets. I saw a picture of these (I think the same) on a post elsewhere on the Forum. These were not available when I built the bed (in July/August last year). The ones I have are extremely strong. There is absolutely no flex in them at all. As I mentioned earlier, there were two different types of brackets available at the time at Carba-tec (but I did try every place in Perth, and about a year ago I sought information on this Forum about alternatives - just nothing else available at the time), and the other brackets may be the ones to which you are referring. To be safe I recessed them in the main style (is that the correct term), which provides additional strength in both supporting the load and preventing any possible twist. 6 months down the track and nary a suggestion of weakening. I will make a point at looking for your brackets as I have another bed to make.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I also liked your bedroom project. If you have any construction details on bedside tables to share I would be pleased to receive same

better handles, i personally would have gone with one pn such a small drawer (wouldnt be much weight in it) but i suppose you already bored two holes for the other handles. nice one