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Broken bed post question???

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Broken bed post question???

#1

Broken bed post question???

Barry Irby

My friends family was moving him into an extended care facility and broke the ball off the foot-board of his bed. It's his long time bed and he cherishes it. Walnut bed with turned posts. The part that broke off is not exactly a cannon ball, being shaped more like and avocado but it broke where the post was turned down to about an inch in diameter. Broke raggedly, but pretty much straight across.

I plan to repair it by drilling both pieces and install a dowel, maybe a steel rod. The bed was made years ago by a company like Sutters. It was never a cheap bed.

The surprising thing to me was the post that broke had the pith in it. First I was surprised they used a piece with the pith and there were related shrinkage cracks. Second, do you think it would have broken if it had not been juvenile wood right where it broke?

Re: Broken bed post question???

#2

Re: Broken bed post question???

Pete in Holland MI

The plinth wood probably didn't help the structure.

Your plan with a dowel & glue should be OK. I'd use as beefy of dowel as you can, and make sure it is a hardwood, not a soft wood. Cannon balls are often used as handles.

Also, trying to find the exact center to drill the hole will be a challenge in the field. Suggest drilling the cannonball best you can, and glue in the dowel. Wait to dry. Adjust the mating surfaces to the bed post so they fit well. Drill the bed post bigger than the dowel so the cannonball can be adjusted to find center. Mix up some clear epoxy to partially fill the hole. Force the cannonball dowel into the epoxy to displace it and fill the hole, holding it on center with the post till it starts to set.

Clean up the soft epoxy. Fill any remaining gaps with colored-to-match furniture crayons.

Re: Broken bed post question???

#3

Thanks, good ideas....

Barry Irby

They tell me the bed can be completely disassembled and the post removed. If so, I will take it to my shop. I have a floor model drill press and hope the post will fit under the chuck. If wo, it will make drilling the post easier. I will make up some sort of "chuck" to hold and steady the cannon ball to drill it. I was assuming I would have to oversize one of the holes to get and exact alignment and was planning on epoxy.

Hoping this goes well. My friend is aging out and his wife has passed. This was their marriage bed and is a comfort to him. Doing my best to make it as good as new.

Re: Broken bed post question???

#4

Re: Thanks, good ideas....

Keith Newton

I without knowing how long the ball is, I would suggest that you drill the ball first all the way out the bottom. Then fit it back up where it matches, then use it as a drill guide for drilling back the other way. Otherwise, I don’t suppose I need to tell you how hard it will be to hit it just right.

Also, I would drill oversized, and use a piece of all-thread instead of a wooden dowel.

Re: Broken bed post question???

#5

Re: Thanks, good ideas....

Barry Irby

I am thinking All thread is the ticket. Otherwise I have wood surrounded by sketchy wood.

If I can get the post under my drill press, I think I can drill the hole near enough to the vertical axis to make it work. I may Chuck the ball in the lathe and drill it that way, but my first thought was to glue it in place and then drill from the top down and patch the hole.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Re: Broken bed post question???

#6

Re: Keith's alignment

Henry (Raleigh NC)

I like Keith's alignment idea (drill ball all the way through, use that to align to post), and although I would not have thought of it, if it were my task, that is the way I would do it.

Great ideas here.

Henry

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