Posts: 335
Threads: 0
Joined: Nov 2011
Location: Rochester, MN
02-05-2025, 11:58 AM
(This post was last modified: 02-05-2025, 05:11 PM by BrentDH.)
I posted this design quite a while ago (probably more than a year ago) and got a lot of good advice that I implemented. I am now finally in the process of building it. I am wondering what would be the best mechanism for joining the head board and foot board panel assemblies to the legs/posts.
I built John Teneyck's horizontal router mortiser and am thinking that loose tenons is my best option, but wondering if I am overlooking something that might be better.
The wood is cherry. The legs/posts are 3/4" boards glued into a 3 1/2" square using a lock miter bit. I have machined the leg/post boards but have not glued them up yet so I can still add something to the inside of the post if needed (like maybe a threaded insert or something).
I do not own a Domino.
If I did loose tenons would 1/4" (easiest) be enough or should I go 3/8" (requires an additional set up step and extra pass or buy a new 3/8" bit). Also would you only put loose tenons in the top and bottom rail, or would you put a couple in the outside stiles of the panel assembly?
How would you attach the panel assembly to the posts? Thanks in advance for the advice.
edited with new picture for clarification
Posts: 2,753
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2005
I went the traditional route with the bed I built a couple of years ago: bed bolts. Here is picture showing the stub tenons and holes for the bolts.
![[Image: temp-Imageq-Yf-PVP.avif]](https://i.postimg.cc/rynSfpSF/temp-Imageq-Yf-PVP.avif)
" />
Posts: 1,153
Threads: 0
Joined: Feb 2005
Location: Fort Wayne, IN
I used bed bolts like Phillip did. Makes it possible to break the bed down when you want to movw it. I ran across a neat trick to hide the bolts in the legs.Cut a shallow rectangular mortise in the outside of the leg and drill the hole for the bolt in the bottom of the mortise. Then make a plug to fit in the mortise so it looks like a through tenon. Put a magnet on the bottom of the plug so it is held in by the bolt head.
Cliff
‘The problem with the world is that intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence
Charles Bukowski
Posts: 2,753
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2005
Here is bolt cover I made from ebony: magnet on back of cover holds it on to bolt.
![[Image: temp-Image-IEos-IO.avif]](https://i.postimg.cc/024MK836/temp-Image-IEos-IO.avif)
" />
Posts: 335
Threads: 0
Joined: Nov 2011
Location: Rochester, MN
I must not have been clear enough with my question. I want to hear opinions on connecting the posts to the raised panel assemblies, not to the side rails.
I have made my decision on the side rails to post connection and am using these.
https://www.rockler.com/heavy-duty-wroug...elect-size
Posts: 2,753
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2005
My apologies: here is article from FWW I submitted on exactly that question:
https://www.finewoodworking.com/2022/10/...-headboard
Posts: 335
Threads: 0
Joined: Nov 2011
Location: Rochester, MN
No need to apologize. I should have been more explicit. The side rail to post is a much more common question due to the desire to make it able to be broken down.
I looked at the fine woodworking link and that is a clever solution. I do not really have the cross-grain problem that was being resolved there. In my case I have raised panels with rails and stiles. So the amount of cross-grain interface is only the width of the top and bottom rails. It is not the entire height of the headboard. So now my question is whether loose tenons from those two rails are sufficient.
Posts: 2,753
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2005
(02-05-2025, 05:19 PM)BrentDH Wrote: No need to apologize. I should have been more explicit. The side rail to post is a much more common question due to the desire to make it able to be broken down.
I looked at the fine woodworking link and that is a clever solution. I do not really have the cross-grain problem that was being resolved there. In my case I have raised panels with rails and stiles. So the amount of cross-grain interface is only the width of the top and bottom rails. It is not the entire height of the headboard. So now my question is whether loose tenons from those two rails are sufficient.
Not sure why a simple glue joint would not suffice? Long grain to long grain?
Posts: 13,028
Threads: 0
Joined: Jan 2010
Location: Lewiston, NY
(02-05-2025, 05:08 PM)Philip1231 Wrote: My apologies: here is article from FWW I submitted on exactly that question:
https://www.finewoodworking.com/2022/10/...-headboard
That's a proper solution if using a solid wood panel between the rails, but the OP has floating panels so a more straightforward solution will work. If the headboard/footboard rails are a minimum of 1-1/4" thick, I would use 1/2" loose tenons to join them to the legs. You can glue the outside stiles of the panels to the legs, or screw them to the legs through the dado. The inner stiles can be glued into the dado and/or pinned from the front or back, depending on whether or not you want them to show.
You can buy 1/2" spiral upcut router or CNC bits with a 1/2" shank. A mid-sized router will have no trouble cutting deep mortises with one. Mortises a minimum of 1-1/2" deep will be more than adequate. I have cut them 2-1/2" deep on the horizontal router mortiser when make passage doors.
John
