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Can anyone take a guess at how long and wide the slats are for the headboard and footboard?
Also, as you all know I am a newbie. I know the slats are typically mortise and tennon joints. I was reading in my woodworkign book last night that these were difficult to make. Would I save time and would it be easier to just use a dowel or two instead?
Again, appreciate your help!
one you're looking at.
From what I can see, these are the easiest mortise and tenons you'll ever have the opportunity to do as there is no curve in the top rail of the head or foot board ... and by the time you get finished you will be an expert.
They are not hard to do with a dedicated mortiser or a drill press attachment.
Dowels will only work for any length of time if you use at least three in each slat, and the slat material is thick enough to support dowels, IOW,
3/4" thick with a 1/4" dowel.Dowels are a cheesy solution for slats in Mission style furniture, but that's up to you.
There is another "slat" solution that does not involve cutting either mortise or tenons:
Cut a groove, the same width as the thickness of your slats, in the rails to accept the ends of the slats, and fill in between them with wood strips cut to that groove size.
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I was looking at the verticle "slats" in the middle of the headboard and footboard. I am thinking 1.5 inches and 1/2 inch thick or so.
I have a drill press. Would buy> > headboard and footboard?
That will work. The idea is to dimension your slats so that they fill the space between the stiles/posts/legs, with equal distance between them, in pleasing manner.
The below is my homegrown formula for spacing a given number of same width slats/spindles evenly between two points:
X = (S - (W*N))/(N + 1)
where:
X = spacing in inches S = Space to be filled with slats of a desired width W = Desired width of slat N = Number of slats desired
HINT: plug the above into a spreadsheet to make it _real_ easy during your design stage, and to try different size options.
See last below.
Learn to batch cut identical parts ... one of the most important concepts in woodworking. To do this you generally use a fence, or jig, with STOPS set to the appropriate place to insure all parts are cut/routed/whatever, to the same length/depth.
Sounds like you need a couple of good books on basic woodworking ... it is full time job unto itself trying to teach you the basics over Usenet.
Go to your library, community college, local woodworker's supply, etc. to see what is available.
I kind of doubt you need 3. 2 is enough to keep it from rotating, and they aren't really going to be subject to much stress.
There's also "Beadlock" which is a way of doing loose tenons with just a drill. The tenon stock might be too wide though.
This is how I'd recommend he do it too.
-Leuf
I saw a technique similar to this that I thought was interesting. You cut the groove like you said only 1/4" or 1/2" deeper, then you cut a piece that forms the sides and the bottoms of the mortises. Like a strip with notches ever couple inches where the mortises go. The mortises exactly fit the notches. Then you glue in the strip, and before that glue dries, put in the spindle mortises. What I liked about this was that you didn't have a couple dozen pieces to keep track of and have move around during assembly. You could cut the notches on the table saw just like you would a box joint, with a box joint type jig or something. Looked like a good idea.
brian
Mortices are in the middle (not on the edge) of something. How you plan to do that on a router table? ________________
They drill square holes. Actually, they drill round ones and the hollow chisel surrounding the bit makes it square. ________________
Do what someone suggested...don't use mortices and tennons, use filler blocks.
-- dadiOH ____________________________
dadiOH's dandies v3.06... ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at
One dowel on each end (2), will allow the slat to eventually rotate; two on one end, and one on the other (3), will discourage rotation ... for a while. It's one reason tenons are generally square/rectangular.
This is a bed and, depending upon the age/gender of the occupants, beds, headboards and footboards can be subjected to a lot of stress ... even if they aren't into bondage. ;)
I thought you meant 3 on each end. I dunno why you'd do 2 on one end and one on the other. Set up once and do 2 on each end. Still, I'd rather drop a K bessey on my foot than mess around with that many dowels.
-Leuf
What was said: "Dowels will only work for any length of time if you use at least three in each slat"
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