If you’ve ever thought about, or have actually tried building your own bed frame, inevitably one of the questions that comes up is “how do I attach the side rails to the headboard and footboard?” Bed frames are large and cumbersome, and obviously have to be moved around the house in separate pieces. So you can’t use typical wood joinery to connect the side rails to the headboard and footboard, otherwise you’ll never get them apart again.
So what can you do? What are your options? Well I’ll cover a few of the more popular options below; and most of these options are easier than you think!

Pocket hole screws

The most common method these days is probably using a Kreg jig to make simple pocket holes. This involves drilling several holes at a preset angle into the end of the rail so that pocket hole screws can then be driven through those holes and into the headboard posts.

This is definitely an easy and common solution, and I’m ok with the idea of using pocket hole screws in a lot of applications – this just doesn’t happen to be one of them. Why? Well because since you are screwing into wood with a metal screw, every time you insert and then remove that screw you are weakening the wood which is supposed to be holding it in place. Over time, the joint can give way and become loose and even fail – particularly if you move the bed more than once. Instead, I’d recommend using any one of the below methods that uses metal on metal connections.

Bolts (there are several options using bolts)

Simple bolts, with washer and nut

The first option for using bolts is to simply use a washer and nut on the other side. Well, you might ask if you are putting the nut into the end of the side rail how do you get to the other side? Simple, you drill a hole not quite all the way through your side rail using a forstner bit.

Forstner bits are designed to create holes with flat bottoms, so it’s ideal in this application. If you are drilling into a 3/4″ thick side rail, simply ensure to not drill down farther than 5/8″ with the tip of the bit (since it protrudes past the face). Then drill an intersecting hole through the headboard post and into the center of the end of the side rail slightly larger in diameter than your bolts. The hole from the forstner bit should allow you to slip on the washer and nut, and tighten the bolt down as needed.

Barrel nuts and furniture bolts

Barrel nuts and furniture bolts are what you might be used to seeing if you’ve ever put together any Ikea furniture. The concept is fairly simple, but it will require a fair amount of precision in execution. The way these work is that the furniture bolt goes through pre-drilled holes in your post and the end of your side rail, and is held in place by going through the barrel nut which has been inserted into the rail.

How these work is you’ll drill a hole through your headboard post of a slightly larger diameter than your furniture bolt. This hole then has to align with a matching hole drilled directly into the end of your side rail. This is the easy part. Now, you have to drill a hole from the side of your side rail that intersects exactly with the hole you drilled through the end. This intersecting hole should be the exact diameter of the outside of the barrel nut – but be careful to not drill all the way through your side rail!

Bed Rail Brackets

A much more traditional method for attaching side rails to a headboard or footboard is to use standard bed rail brackets. Bed rail brackets have been around for years and years, and if installed properly, you should never have a failure – no matter how many times you assemble and disassemble your bed frame.

The downside of the standard bed rail brackets is that they require you to create a mortise in both the end of your side rail to accept the hardware, and another mortise in the post itself to allow the hooks of the hardware on the rail to go through the slots on the hardware on your post. The need for mortises makes these by far the most “difficult” way to attach your side rails to a headboard or footboard; but they are also my clear favorite.

No Mortise Bed Rail Hardware

Like the idea of good old fashion bed rail brackets but don’t want to mess with mortises? Well, there’s one more solution for connecting your side rails to a headboard or footboard that may be for you. That’s the use no mortise bed rail hardware. These brackets are almost the exact same concept as the brackets above, except one simply screws onto the inside of your side rail, while the other one (with protruding knobs) screws onto the face of your headboard/footboard post. When installing these you obviously have to ensure they are lined up properly, and that the bracket on your side rail is mounted flush to the end of the rail; but it only requires four screws per bracket to attach them so they are quick, cheap, and easy method for the beginning to average DIYer to attach side rails to a headboard or footboard.

As I always, I hope you found this post useful. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments section below and we’ll be happy to answer them as best we can!

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