Headboard Assembly Advice Requested

[DerbyDad03]

I'm moving along on my bed build and now need to assemble the headboard. I could really use some confidence building advice.

The bed will be similar to this, but I'm sure that my headboard is being built differently. I believe that they used solid 4x4's for the uprights and mortised the horizontal slats into them.

All of the wood I bought on Craigslist is 1 11/64" thick, therefore I will be sandwiching the horizontal boards between 2 vertical boards so that the uprights will essentially be ~3 1/2" x 3 1/2".

The bottom of the uprights, below the horizontals, will simply be a sandwich of 3 vertical pieces, similar to how I made the foot board legs.

The other difference is that my horizontal boards are narrower, so I will need 5, maybe 6, horizontals instead of the 3 that they used.

That is a lot of moving parts for me to keep square during the glue up. My current plan is to use biscuits to make one big panel out of the horizontals and then glue the uprights to the front and back of the panel. I also plan to use 2 screws on each end of the horizontals, from the back to the front of the uprights. I would then plug the screw holes with matching wood.

OK, now that I've gotten that plan out of my head and in writing, it suddenly doesn't sound so hard. :-) In any case, I'm open to suggestions, words of encouragement, etc. Does anything in my plan sound any alarms?

Thanks!

[Leon]

I can t really suggest anything but I am currently working on a foot board and head board for a customer.

You can look here and use the right on the right side of the screen to see the progress. If you have any specific questions let me know.

[DerbyDad03]

Uh...yeah...I've been following your project. It's just a tad above my pay grade. ;-)

[dadiOH]

Yeah. That's a pretty fair amount of wood for it to be glued and screwed to the uprights. I'm thinking, of course , about the seasonal expansion and contraction of the wood.

If it were me, I'd probably make the uprights with a deep dado to accept the ends of the horizontal boards, afix the horizontals to the uprighrs with only screws through small vertical slots in the ends of the horizontals. I'd stop the slots an inch or so from where the top edge of the top horizontal and bottom edge of the bottom horizontal will be and notch the respective corners of the horizontals so they meet the edges of the uprights. The panel can then move without you even knowing it :)

In short, the panel needs to float.

[DerbyDad03]

I'm gonna need some help here...

What will prevent the head board from racking if the panel is "loose" in the dado?

(BTW I didn't mention it, but my daughter wants the end grain of every other horizontal to show. For the boards that don't show end grain, I was going to use side grain filler strips. I did this with a "ladder end" bunk bed that I built years ago and she likes the alternating look.)

Why do you mention just the top and bottom boards? Aren't you suggesting slots in all the horizontal boards?

Are you still in favor of using biscuits to create a panel? If so, would you edge glue the horizontals or just glue the biscuits and let the rest of the wood float.

You've lost me there. What is the point of "notching the corners"? What corners are you referring too?

[Leon]

I'm Confused at what yu are calling "uprights".

[DerbyDad03]

I'm not sure what else to call them. The front legs? The headboard posts?

If you look at the headboard in this image, you'll see 3 horizontal slats and 2 vertical "uprights", one on each side. The bed rails protrude perpendicularly from what I am calling the uprights.

As I said in my OP, they used solid 4x4's as the uprights. I don't have

4x4's available so...

On my headboard, those uprights will be a sandwich comprised of 2 vertical boards and the ends of the horizontal boards. I can take a picture when I get home, but a side view would be something like this:

S = Side grain of vertical boards E = End grain of horizontal boards R = Bed Rail

S S SES SES SES SES SES SES SSSRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR SSS SSS SSS SSS

[dadiOH]

The fact that the ends of the panel boards are tight against the bottom of the groove and the screws.

Alternately, you could use two rails across your stiles (posts), groove all around and insert panel. Just like a door.

If the boards are glued up into a panel, you don't need a screw in each board end, just enough to hold it firmly in the groove. Three each side would be plenty...one in the center (no slot needed) and one each near top and bottom.

I see no need for biscuits, just another step and the only purpose would be to align the boards so the faces are flush. "Flush" and "rustic" don't need to go together. There would be zero reason to use biscuits and glue just them.

You would have two verticals, each with a deep groove. The panel would fit within the groove,. It looks better IMO to visually "stop" the groove. Just like you would do a shelf in a bookcase.

[Leon]

Either works. ;~)

When you sandwich will you allow enough room for the horizontal panel to expand and contract which climate change?

I did not have 4x4's either. I ran a rabbet along two sides of the post to lock the other sides together to form a 3.5x3.5 post.

In my set up I am using Domino's and screwing through the hollow legs into the edge of the center panel. then I will plug the holes, stain and varnish.

[DerbyDad03]

OK, thanks. I think I've got it all, although I'll need to think about your suggestions. As I mentioned, my daughter wants to see alternating end grain like this:

I think that precludes the use of a vertical groove and leaves me with my plain white bread sandwich plan.

However, I think that the floating panel can still be incorporated into the plan. Thanks again.

[DerbyDad03]

...snip...

I will now. :-)

[Leon]

;~) Back at'cha!

[J. Clarke]

My gut reaction when there are a lot of parts that have to be aligned and they are not self aligning is to rig some sort of a jig.

[DerbyDad03]

Already thought of that. ;-)

I don't think I'll need much more than 3 fences clamped to my assembly table. One for a side, one for the bottom and the 3rd for the other side - not necessarily as an alignment tool but more of a "if this side doesn't just line up on it's own, then something else is off."