# how can I get this bracket attached inside of this wood panel?



## Jeanine Beaudry (May 13, 2016)

I'm trying to modify my bed frame to make it a few inches shorter (lengthwise) but the way the side panels are attached now look a little bit tricky. the way the bed frame is made the brackets are sunken into the wood as you can see in the picture. how can i make it that same way after cutting off two inches of the wood panels? i don't know if this matters but the reason i want to change the length of the bed frame is so i can turn the bed in my room and have more space


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Use a router and mortise the slot. From there use a chisel to make the corners square. 

To use the router you might clamp some wood to the end of the rail to make a bigger surface area and make a pattern to use a template guide to make a clean straight cut. Since it doesn't really show I normally mark a line and freehand route it out doing it very slow to insure I stay within the lines.


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## bzguy (Jul 11, 2011)

This woman has made one post, I'm guessing she probably doesn't own a router?
I would not even set a router up for that little job, doesn't really lend itself to easy set-up.
It would go faster with just the chisel and a hammer.
Measure the width of the bracket, you can probably buy the chisel same size or close.
Google "mortising with a chisel" for videos & printed instructions.
Good luck.


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## Jeanine Beaudry (May 13, 2016)

I was actually going to hire someone to do the actual woodworking but I still needed to have an idea of exactly what needed to be done so I know specifically what to ask for so Steve's reply does help


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## Jeanine Beaudry (May 13, 2016)

Do you think angle brackets on the bottom of the rail and the inside would work well enough? my friend told me that angle brackets might not bear the load that a bed needs to bear every day and that it might only last a few months before breaking


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*those are common bed rail brackets*

As you stated they are "sunk" into the ends of the wood side rails. This is also called a mortise, a sunken pocket.
You should remove the bracket on one of the ends by unscrewing it and pulling it out. You will see how deep the pocket is and other details. You will need to recreate the identical size pocket in the end of the shorted rail for those brackets to work, and they work very well when done correctly. No other type of bracket will be as good. :smile3:

As suggested, all you'll or your associate will need is a sharp chisel and a special drill bit called a Forstner bit. It should be the same size as the width of the pocket OR just a bit smaller. After drilling a series of holes to the proper depth within the lines that circumscribe the pocket, use the chisel to pare away the small amount of wood on the sides and ends.

The Forstner bit:










The bed rail brackets:









The biggest problem that you will have, OR whoever is making it for you, is making the mortise pocket in the ends of the rails. That's because its "end grain" and won't like to chisel away nicely or cleanly. This You tube video explains how:


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

That type of bed rail is more than sufficient to hold the bed together. It has been used for more than a hundred years and is very common on furniture made in Europe.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Is the mattress still going to fit in the bed if you remove 2 inches in length??


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## sanchez (Feb 18, 2010)

ryan50hrl said:


> Is the mattress still going to fit in the bed if you remove 2 inches in length??


I think it should, but it will be hard to change the sheets afterwards.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I didn't think of that*

I wonder if the OP thought about that as well? Would be OK if it were a water bed, but not one of those memory foam monster, they weigh a ton and are not flexible.

:|


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## Jeanine Beaudry (May 13, 2016)

thank you everyone for all the info! sad to say though that i won't be moving forward with this project. I didn't realized that even if the bed frame is short enough to fit lengthwise in my room it won't end up working out anyways because the windowsill would be in the way of the headboard :/


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