# Slotting the end of a bed rail for brackets



## woodnthings

I had to remake a bed rail for and older 1936 bed. The attachment brackets were slotted in to the ends probably with a 6" dia saw blade. Well of course I double stacked a pair of 5 3/8"blades in my 18v Dewalt battery saw, stood the board on end clamped to my TS and tried to saw the slot from a ladder. NICE TRY :thumbdown: Got any other ideas after the cuts went sideways? Let's just bandsaw a slot all the way through and fill in the edges later. NICE TRY :thumbdown: The cut weren't perfectly vertical, shoulda used a new blade. Any other ideas? OK I'll use a jig on the table saw, clean out the slots, and fill it all in with a spline, then use the TS blade which is the right width for the brackets. One cut should do it.:thumbsup: I'll post that picture when I get that far. If I were going to make a lot of these I'd have to 
come up with yet another idea that doesn't require filling in and cutting all the way through....hmmm?


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## Sleeper

That’s a nice looking jig you got there. Is it aluminum and did you weld that yourself? 

I picked up two scraps of 10” angle iron about 12” long and approximately 3/8” thick to use as a mortise fence for my drill press. After I got it all set up, I discovered that they weren’t square and I had to use shims. I took them around to some local machine shops to grind them square, but nobody had the equipment big enough to do the job. :thumbdown:


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## woodnthings

*It's origin is unclear!*

It is aluminum and welded but not by me. I worked as a clay model maker for General Motors for 30 years, so how I came to acquire it is not clear. It is a handy gizmo for assuring right angles in assembly and worked as a "anti-tip" plate for this proceedure. A similiar one could be made of wood since the triangle brace will keep it true to 90 degrees and take the stresses rather than the joint. A few pair might be nice in different sizes....good starter project for somone maybe? :blink:
A piece of 1/8th" steel angle, 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" , bent to form a 90 degree corner by removing a 45 degree triangle then folding, then a triangle brace could be fastened with a couple of bolts, so there is no welding required. This would also make a clamping surface when assembling cabinets or boxes. Maybe I'll make a few....in between moving my shop equipment, wiring the new area for lighting, painting the 70 ft run of my house on the south side this summer and finishing 2 bathrooms, 2 closets, splitting wood for the winter and the list goes on. I even manage to do stuff that's not on "The List".
Sometimes you have to go South to go North, like wiring the shop so I can see what I'm doing so I can make the things needed on "The List" :yes: bill


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## Sleeper

Wow! I thought I was busy.:laughing:


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## FDSolutionsllc

*Bed rails*

I'm not sure I can explain this correctly, (a picture would be so much better) but here goes. We took a Circular saw and mounted the saw to the end (edge) of a 6' long work bench. We positioned the saw so the blade extended over the top of the table (blade fully extended) approximately 3/8" high, in order to cut into the center of a 3/4" board. Run a straight edge down the length of the table as a guide, ending near the bottom of the saw blade. Our rails were 6" wide so we positioned the straight edge so the cut would leave 1/8" uncut at the top and bottom of the rails. Just slide the rail down the straight edge and into the saw blade, makes an almost perfect size cut for the steel hooks. Nothing to fill in, and a lot easier than trying to balance a board in the air over the top of the table saw. Worked like a charm. We make several hundred using this method. We haven't made that style bed in years, but if you're interested I can dig the table out of storage and take a picture.


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## woodnthings

*That's a great way to make the slots*

If I need to make any more rails...who knows?... I'll make up that jig. It would work either laying the board flat on the bench or standing the board on edge. I think which ever is easier to set up the circular saw would be the best. Food for thought thanks,:thumbsup: bill


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## jraksdhs

*im confused....*

Why not use a plunge router with a 1/8" straight bit. Maybe i dont understand clearly what your trying to do. I've made stopped mortises on ends of boards before. 



woodnthings said:


> I had to remake a bed rail for and older 1936 bed. The attachment brackets were slotted in to the ends probably with a 6" dia saw blade. Well of course I double stacked a pair of 5 3/8"blades in my 18v Dewalt battery saw, stood the board on end clamped to my TS and tried to saw the slot from a ladder. NICE TRY :thumbdown: Got any other ideas after the cuts went sideways? Let's just bandsaw a slot all the way through and fill in the edges later. NICE TRY :thumbdown: The cut weren't perfectly vertical, shoulda used a new blade. Any other ideas? OK I'll use a jig on the table saw, clean out the slots, and fill it all in with a spline, then use the TS blade which is the right width for the brackets. One cut should do it.:thumbsup: I'll post that picture when I get that far. If I were going to make a lot of these I'd have to
> come up with yet another idea that doesn't require filling in and cutting all the way through....hmmm?


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## woodnthings

*The slot is about 1 9/16th" deep*

I don't think a 1/8" router bit wood stand up to the forces if you could find one that long. These bed rails have the metal plates with hooks that insert and clamp to the headboard and footboards. Thanks, bill


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## cabinetman

Bill...you gotta learn how to use a handsaw. :yes:


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## woodnthings

*Now there's an idea!*

I even have a few! :thumbsup:...wonder where they are?  Maybe I could use one of them to make the table mounted circ saw jig. :laughing:
You guys (cabinetman) are alright! Not always right, but mostly. :yes: 

Oh wait! I found them! I'm not quite sure how they work? do you push on them or pull? Some haven't even been used yet, but there are no owner's manuals or instructions.:no: :blink: bill


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## ScottyB

woodnthings said:


> Oh wait! I found them! I'm not quite sure how they work? do you push on them or pull? Some haven't even been used yet, but there are no owner's manuals or instructions.:no: :blink: bill


So do you use 2 saws at once to make dado cuts?:laughing:


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## woodnthings

*Finished at last*

Matching the stain on the original bed frame was the hardest part of the project, sort of a mix and match process with min wax stains. Somewhere in the history of this bed some &^%$(*& decided to drill holes through the side to hold the bed slat shelf and used stove bolts and washers as the fasteners! The original side rail also had a 3/4" curve end to end, so it was not a difficult choice to replace it, in spite of objections about time and trouble from the owner. I kinda like a challenge anyway and it was a real "woodworking project" instead of the overhead lighting and electrical work I've been doing for a week. That project is about 1/2 finished, the EMT is up but the wires need to be pulled and switches installed...dreading...:thumbdown: bill


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## rrich

Bill,
Clever solution. However from a safety perspective, it terrifies me. (Remember I'm anal retentive when it comes to safety issues.)

As Mike suggested, hand saw first came to my mind. Then I thought Band Saw???


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## woodnthings

*Safety was an important factor here*

Actually, using the "jig" was one of the less terrifying operations I've done on the TS. The set up couldn't move side to side or front to back because of the supports. It just went through like a charm, even on the pull back through the running blade, not something I ever do. Proper proceedure would have been to turn off the saw, wait and then pull back the set-up over the stopped blade. :yes: bill


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## rrich

Bill,
After posting I was thinking... 

Glue is stronger than wood.

A lap joint, six inches to eight inches with a gap for the hardware.


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## woodnthings

*Rich, stop by when you're out this way*

I'll let you use the jig! :laughing: Then you'll see what I'm talkin' 'bout Willis!
Really this took all of 5 minutes to set up and less than 1 minute to cut the slots on each end. The only part I don't like is that the slots go through. If I were to make a bunch of these I would follow the advice posted by FDsolutionsllc and mount a small diameter circular saw on the bench with a guide rail. Sometimes the easy solution to a problem is tp turn it 90 degrees or inside out, or 180 degrees as this post suggests go horizontal, rather than vertical with the work. Hold the saw, move the work instead of vice versa, which was what I first thought of. :yes: bill


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## Pirate

If an 8" blade would work without coming out the edges, my old Shopsmith 10ER would do the job. Set up as a drill press, but with the saw blade still on the spindle. Set a fence, and feed into blade.
Not sure, where to get a 6" blade with a 5/8 arbor hole. Also not sure how hard it would be to drill the hole out. Maybe on a cheap crapy steel blade!


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## woodnthings

*Job is all done thanks*

An 8" blade would not work. I'd still have the issue of supporting the stock which I did solve with the jig. :thumbsup: bill


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## Charlie C

Why not try a biscuit cutter?


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## woodnthings

*Charlie this thread is very old, but*

To answer you question the depth of cut need to be about 1 1/4", not possible with a biscuit or plate jointer. :no: bill


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## rbarco

*I need a machine to make the 2 holes and 1 saw cut to bed rails, can you help?*

I need a machine to make the 2 holes and 1 saw cut to bed rails, can you help?


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## rbarco

Hi, I need a machine to make the 2 holes and 1 saw cut to bed rail ends, please help?


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## woodnthings

*Probably not*

The method I used here was described as "risky" but I had no problems and would do it again.
Biscuits and routers won't work because of the narrow slot and the depth needed.
The other method described by mounting a cricular saw (post no. 5) on a plate off the end of the bench and using a straight edge guide to move the end of the bed rail into the exposed blade seemed fine to me also. A smaller diameter saw will allow a slaot that does not go all the way across the rail, like a gaint biscuit cutter.
Depending on the type of metal connector, new or old antique like mine the approach will be different. That's about all I can offer.  bill


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## JohnBros

Hey - Like that Jig, I am doing some now and tried to do a similar Jig with wood but the slots were still not straight. I am using a radial Arm saw - Sort of do the same thing you do but have the Side locked down to the radial arm table with some wood and clamps. Does pretty good as long as the wood is nice and straight. I know those guys in the shops have a jig like yours though - nice work


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