Widening A Rope Bed To Queen Size - Pocono Primitives

3/29/2009 - Widening A Rope Bed For A Queen Size Mattress

This was a project requested by Donna for one of our spare bedrooms. We have done this a few times before and we generally like to find an inexpensive rope bed ($50 - $100) that is constructed in such a way that it is relatively easy to widen a few inches. Some of the changes are not reversible so this is another reason to select a rope bed that has no great value. The bed we used is mostly pine with some poplar. The bed was 53" wide which made it a good candidate to widen to the 60" queen size width. The picture below is how the bed looked when we purchased it.

The first step was to disassemble the headboard and footboard. The wooden pegs that secured the rope bed turned legs to the headboard and footboard were drilled out and the pieces separated. Next was the right time to address a couple problems in the headboard before making any changes. There was a split in the headboard on the left side (see image above) and the stiles that hold the center panel needed to be reglued. The crack and the stiles were glued and clamped and set aside to dry. NOTE: if you do this, do not glue the center panel - it should be free to move.

The next step was to extend the ends of the footboard 3-1/2" on each side. On the panel portion of the footboard this was done by adding a 3-1/2" section of wood secured by two dowels that extend all the way through the new piece and a couple inches into the footboard. I used old wood of similar type to that in the headboard - the pieces were then glued and clamped and set aside to dry (see the next three images).

The next step was to extend the horizontal turned part of the footboard. This was done by turning a piece on a lathe that would look like the end of the turned piece of the footboard but would be 3-1/2" longer.

I left a 2-1/2" long by 1" dowel end on one end of the turnings. The ends of the original turned piece were cut off and 1" holes were drilled into the ends to accept the turned pieces. These pieces were glued and clamped and set aside to dry. The image below shows the old turning and the new pieces - the cut was made right where the old and new piece in the center are touching.

The next step was to extend the headboard. This was actually easier because the headboard would be to the wall so part of the modification could be done on the back side. Strips were added to the back of the headboard that extended an additional 3-1/2" past the existing ends on each side (see image below).

Then, pieces were added to the front, glued, clamped and allowed to dry (see below).

Then, after the pieces were dry, a bevel cut was made to remove part of the back strip to allow the end to mate with the turned post (see below).

All that remained was to assemble the headboard and footboard. The horizontal piece with the pegs (see note in image below) was made from the original rails. The image below shows the rear of the headboard after it was touched up with a brown wash to blend in the new strips that were added.

The next image is of the fronts of the headboard and footboard after Donna touched them up with a brown wash to blend in the modifications.

Donna then finished the bed with a red wash and dark paste wax (see next three images).

The rails which had to be 80" long were made from 3-1/2" by 3-1/2" fir (regular untreated 4X4 post) from the local building supply store. The bed was assembled in the shop to make sure everything fit before moving it to the house (see below).

The final product in the spare room.