Bed rail fastener

Overview

A bed has to come apart. A double bed in one piece does not go through a door or up a stair. The bed rail fastener joins each side rail to the headboard and footboard. Two forms are common. The hook-and-slot plate has hooks on a plate in the rail end that drop into slots in a plate on the post, locking when the rail's weight settles. The bed bolt passes through the post into a barrel nut set in the rail, as with a cross dowel. Both let the rail come off and go back without loosening the joint.

Types and sizes

• Hook-and-slot plate: a pair of steel plates, one hooked and one slotted, each about 100 to 150 mm (4 to 6 in) long; mortised into the wood so they sit flush.
• Bed bolt: 8 to 10 mm (5/16 to 3/8 in) diameter, 100 to 150 mm (4 to 6 in) long, with a barrel nut in the rail end; a decorative cover on the post hides the head.
• Interlocking brackets: cast-iron or steel brackets screwed to the inside of rail and post.
• Sizes vary with the bed width: a king-size bed needs the heavy plates.

Where it is used

Bedsteads: Victorian and Eastlake beds, whose tall posts and heavy rails relied on bed bolts and cast brackets for assembly. They are the usual fixing for any bed with a headboard and footboard on posts, and for cots and day beds.

Choosing and sizing

A plate should span at least half the depth of the rail, and a bed bolt pair should sit at one-third and two-thirds of the rail height. For a heavy bed use two hook plates per rail end, or two bolts. Choose the plate thickness for the mattress load: 3 mm (1/8 in) minimum for a single, 4 mm (5/32 in) for a double or king.

Installation

1. Mark the plate positions on the rail end and the post, with the rail at the correct height and square to the post.
2. Rout or chisel the recesses to the exact plate thickness so each plate sits flush.
3. Screw the plates with the supplied wood screws; pilot-drill the holes in hardwood.
4. For a bed bolt, bore the bolt hole through the post and the nut hole in the rail, as for a Cross dowel and bolt.
5. Assemble the bed and check that the rails sit level and the slats are square.

Wood movement and species

A rail joint sits across the grain of the post, so the post moves in width while the rail does not. A tight bolt through a post will not crack it if it has a little slop; leave the holes 1 mm (1/32 in) over-size. Use dense hardwood posts and rails: White oak, Hard maple, Black walnut and Black cherry hold the screws and bolts best. Plates in softwood bed frames (Eastern white pine) tend to loosen; use more screws.

Common mistakes

• Plates not flush, so the rail will not seat.
• Hooks facing the wrong way.
• Bolt holes drilled out of line with the nut.
• Plates too small for a heavy bed.

Related

• Cross dowel and bolt: the hidden fixing used with bed bolts.
• Threaded insert: a nut in the wood for removable joints.
• Corner brace: a bracket that adds rigidity to the frame.
• Wood screw: the usual fixing for the plates.