How to Make a Colonial Style Rope Bed

Make the Components

• 1

  Cut two 84-inch lengths of 2-by-6 boards for side rails. Measure the ends of the rails to make tendons, rectangular male projections that fit into corresponding female recessions called mortises. The tendons should be 3/8-inch wide, the same width as the chisel you will use to cut receiving mortises in the bed posts. They should be in the center of the rail ends, each 3 inches high and 2 inches deep. Use a dovetail saw to make cuts on the top, sides and ends of the rails to make the tendons.

• 2

  Cut two 60-inch lengths of 2-by-6-inch boards for head and foot rails. Measure and cut tendons on the ends of these rails just as you did for the side rails.

• 3

  Cut two 30-inch lengths of 4-by-4-inch boards for legs at the head of the bed and two 24-inch lengths of 4-by-4-inch boards for legs at the foot of the bed.

• 4

  Cut one 60-inch-wide 2-by-6 inch board for a fancy board at the head of the bed that you can paint or decorate. Measure and cut tendons on each end the same size as the tendons on the bed rails.

• 5

  Measure the sides of the head and foot legs to make mortises that will accept the tendons of the rails and fancy board. The bottoms of the rails should be 17-inches from the floor. The top of the fancy board should be 2 inches below the top of the legs. Measure the mortises carefully so they are exactly 3/8-inch-wide, 3-inches high, and located to accept the tendons with a flush fit. Tapping the chisel with the mallet, cut mortises 2 inches deep.

Make the Frame

• 6

  Fit the tendons of the head rail, the fancy board and the side rails into the mortises of the head legs. Fit the tendons of the end rail into the legs at the foot of the bed. Colonial carpenters did not have glue. If your tendons and mortises fit together tightly and are flush, you should have a solid frame.

• 7

  Drill a line of 13 holes 1/2 inch in diameter and spaced 5 inches apart down the middle of the side rails.

• 8

  Drill a line of 5 holes 1/2-inch in diameter and spaced 5 inches apart down the middle of the end rails.

String the Ropes

• 9

  Tie a knot at the end of one length of rope. Run it through a hole at the end of a side rail and wrap it around the rail once so there will be less pressure on the knot.

• 10

  Slip the rope through the first hole on the opposite rail, and tighten it with the straining wrench that looks like a large clothespin with handles on the sides. Put the rope through the slot at the bottom of the wrench and twist the wrench until the rope is taut. Tap an awl into the hole, wedging it against the rope to keep the rope taut.

• 11

  Run the rope down the side of the rail and through the second hole. String the rope back to the original rail. Once again tighten the rope with the straining wrench and keep it taut. Go back and forth between the side rails in this manner until you come to the last hole. Secure the end of the rope with a slip knot.

• 12

  String the rope through a hole at one end of the head rail. Weave the rope over and under the rope that goes back and forth between the side rails. Tighten the rope with the straining wrench at the foot rail. Keep it tight with an awl.

• 13

  Continue stringing the rope between end rails as you did with the side rails, weaving it over and under the rope between the side rails. End it with a slip knot.