Old Iron Bed question

I have this new to me antique bed. Very cool, very heavy. I'm trying to get it assembled but 2 of the four joints aren't fitting together well. Does anyone have any advice or know what this type of joint/fitting is called?

thanks so much!

 

Hi! It looks to me like the paint is new and keeping the joint from going home. You might try getting a block of wood, placing on top of joint and tapping with a hammer to drive it home.

 

Thanks James. the paint is new! I've tried sanding/filing it off where the joint comes together. that seemed to make progress but not enough. I've hit it with a rubber mallet and tried putting a little grease in the joint to coax it. but it's refused to move past the picture I posted...where it has about a half inch to go.

I will try the hammer/block of wood combo

 

Yeah and, THAT is a problem. You are going to have to get more aggressive with the interior of the joint, a rasp might work. The problem with to much hammering is, you risk chipping the paint outside of joint, I'd try a rasp if wood block/hammer thingy doesn't work

 

I also dont want to file the joint too much and have it not hold.
and I'm not sure which part of the joint is catching and keeping it from being flush. bc like I said, I went at it for a while, took a lot of paint off, and made zero progress of closing the gap. very frustrating.

 

Yeah, i hear you. I see the female close up of joint but not the male part, does male part have a "stop" at bottom? or maybe joint is not supposed to go flush?

 

Or, maybe flip bed rail end over end, you have it upside down?

 

its not upsided down. it wouldnt fit at all that way. there's no stop on the male

i've tried switching sides but the outcome is the same.

 

Hmmmm, you got me! Any problem with joint not being flush? Wait awhile, maybe others will be along to post. Have a glass of wine, RELAX! Sometimes these things will work out by themselves if you are patient & don't force it.

 

Have you tried this site?
https://www.cathousebeds.com/tag/side-rails/

 

If you have a heat gun, heat the rail end up (Don't blister the paint) - the heat will expand the end maybe enough to tap it over the post (use the wooden block as stated or a hard plastic mallet)

 

That cathouse site said on their blog that often these rails are not supposed to go "flush".

 

These were not made to fit all the way down, and getting it flush is NOT necessary. The joint as you have it should be fine. Bear in mind, that the weight of the bedding (boxspring and mattress) plus occupants will further push and lock it in. I wouldn't whale on it with a hammer - too much chance of damage. Once it is in place, and you have put the bedding on it, check to see whether it seems unstable by grabbing the footboard and trying to shake it. I doubt it will be, but if it IS unstable, you could remove the paint from inside the joint (using paint remover) which will get as tight a fit as it has had for the last 100 years. But I really don't think it should be necessary.

 

interesting. I assumed they would fit flush as one does an another is only maybe 1/4in away. but your right about gravity being on my side. I will give it a shot. thanks

 

Here's my 6ft plus son's bed, stable as could be through his teen years and still. This is the original rail (only headboard was painted):

 

Goood point - it's a tapered fit so once it goes in and stops that's a "lock"! It was made originally to have a perfect fit but over the years with rust and paint it will not go down all the way.