Expert: Jamie Yocono - 5/23/2008

Question
Hi Jamie. I'm getting married on June 21st and I'm building a four poster white oak bed as a wedding gift for my bride. I have the bottom frame of the bed completed (the head board, foot board, side rails)... now I'm ready to attach my post which will go up to a curtain frame above the bed. My problem is that I'm unsure of the best way to attach these posts to the head and foot board post in a way that will keep everything straight and still allow me to easily remove them for transporting the bed. I was thinking about using holes in the top of the head and foot board posts and the bottom of the posts going up to the curtin frame with a dowel holding the the posts together... I'm just not sure how to keep the holes perfectly straight so that it all lines up right. What would you recommend? This is my first big wood project and I'm very excited to get it finished but I've hit this "snag" and not sure what to do next... my June 21st deadline is fast approching and I still have to get it stained... PLEASE HELP ME

Answer
Hi Gabriel,

I am not quite sure I understand what you're asking. Well, I think I understand, but I have a question. Usually on a four poster bed, the posts at the four corners go all the way up to the top, meaning they're 6' tall or whatever that dimension is. So are you telling me that you made a bed with low posts (I'm guessing 30-36" tall) and then another four posts that sit on top of that, taking it to it's final (taller) height... is that correct?

Hmmmmm...... that's a problem.

I think you're right that drilling a long hole into one of the pieces, and then connecting the two sections with wooden dowels, is going to be tough.  Even I wouldn't try that! But mostly because of the wooden dowel, which isn't that strong. You need metal. All the way.

I have a couple of suggestions, it sort of depends on the tools you have, and your skills.

One suggestion would be a hanger bolt.

A hanger bolt is an odd connector, it has two different ends, for two different functions.  I was trying to describe it, but was having trouble, so I went to Van Dykes (http://www.vandykes.com)  a woodworking and restoration company, and here's how they described it: Extremely handy fastener with a lag screw thread on one end and standard bolt thread on the other. Especially good for attaching feet or legs to tables and for any other wood products requiring easy assembly & disassembly.

What I would probably do is pre-drill into the bottom post and screw the lag end into it. It's a little tricky to do, but basically, you'll need two nuts that are threaded all the way onto the bolt threaded end. Use a wrench, it's pretty easy to do if you know the trick with the two nuts.

After it's in place, take the nuts off, and you'll have a machine bolt (basically a threaded rod) sticking up out of the corner posts.  All you'll really have to do is figure out a what to add some sort of a threaded insert into the bottom of the upper part, and then screw the pieces together.

Gabriel, I don't feel like this is a great method, but since you've already made the four posts of the bed in two parts, there aren't many solutions to fix this. The hanger bolt and a threaded insert isn't perfect, but it will work. I suggest a drilling guide or a drill press in order to get a perfectly plumb hole drilled in the two pieces. Even so, after they're assembled, you may need to tweak them with a plane or sander in order to get them to match better.

Another thing to think about - depending on the type of threaded insert you use, it can possibly come out when screwing the pieces together. A T-nut will pull away from the wood, unless you figure out a way to install it on the back side of the piece, so that it can't come out. That could be very hard to do.

You might try finding one of those inserts that thread into place, but they're really not much stronger than a T-nut. Better, but just a little.

I were doing it, I would buy one of those self feeding long drill bits and do my best to drill a plumb hole down the center. It's not going to be easy, but with a long hole, you could a full length threaded rod, with nuts on each end.  I recommend 3/8 or 1/2 rod, you can buy it in 6' pieces at the hardware store.  That stuff works miracles, and using a mechanical fastener the whole way is a pretty strong connection. Add washers and nuts on each end and it's very strong. Drilling is the hard part, but if you have a drill guide, or someone to eyeball your position while you're drilling and you should be OK.

Those are the only two suggestions I can come up with, but with either, the basic idea is that you're connecting the pieces with metal, rather than dowels.  If you can't figure out how to use either the hanger bolt or the threaded rod, write back and ask some specific questions and I'll try to help more.

Good luck on the upcoming wedding, and on finishing this bed!

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com
My woodworking blog: www.wooditis.blogspot.com