Bunk beds. Taking them apart

[alexransome]

Hi

I'd like to make some bunk beds for my kids. The issue I have is that when they are made up and then the kids want to have their own rooms then they beds will have to come apart in order to move the second bed out.

I had planned to make the joins of the posts and planks using mortise and tendon joints and then secure them further by using a angle support on the inside face of the join.

The angle support would just screw into the post and plank and therefore un screw when it's time to break the bed down. But would the mortise and tennon joint also come apart, with some persuasion and then go back together okay.

Thanks for any suggestions or comments.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I had planned to make the joins of the posts and planks using mortise and tendon joints and then secure them further by using a angle support on the inside face of the join.

...would the mortise and tennon joint also come apart, with some persuasion and then go back together okay.

If done properly and glued, then no. If you want KD you need to think in terms of making something which splits horizontally, e.g. 2-part legs with a locating dowel and a fish platwor two to secure until splitting is required

 

[Nigel_Cro]

Years ago, when our girls were much younger and the house much smaller we had bunk beds. The bunk beds split really easily into two singles when required.

The bed legs of the upper bunk located on the legs/posts of the bottom bed purely on a stainless rod.

Whether this would now comply with 'Elf 'n' Safety I have no clue but it worked fine for a dozen years or so with kids up to early teens.

 

[ladylola]

I've made a couple of beds for re-enactment which by their very nature have to be knock down. I've made a double bed with the head board and footboard assembled ( tenoned and dowelled ) and the side rails mortised into the legs and secured with tusk tenons , through tenons with a wedge. I've also done the same idea but used a dowel through the joint too. Works fine but is less practical for what we want. Another smaller single low bed method was to permanently fix the legs to the long rails with the shorter head and foot rails loosely tenoned into the legs and the bed held together by tensioned cords.
In all cases I've not used metalwork and never had a problem. That's not to say plates or angles are a bad idea , probably more of a belt and braces option.
One other more outside the box idea is to make the bunk bed up permanently , glued and tenoned , and then when the kids want their own rooms saw through the legs to create two single beds.