I received an email from a complete stranger asking if I could help source some replacement knockdown hardware for a “Scandinavian bed.” She has 4 of the 8 sets she needs to put it back together but couldn’t find replacements anywhere. The store she bought it from over a decade ago moved and threw out all their paperwork and older hardware (boo on them!).
This is the picture she sent me. She said in her email: “The longest piece is 1 3/4 inches long, the threaded portion of which is 1/4″ diameter. The wide, ribbed piece is stamped “BREV N B38420″ on the top. That piece has a threaded hole, 3/8″ in diameter, drilled through its bottom. The short, stubby threaded piece, also 3/8″ diameter, fits that hole.”
I swear I’ve seen hardware like this before, but having searched Rockler, Lee Valley, McMaster, Hafele, and a host of other websites I am at a loss. So I figured I’d throw this out to some of the most knowledgeable blog readers in the world and ask you guys. If I can’t find a source she wants me to make replacements, but I’d really rather not as the cost will be quite high even at my low shop rate (and I’m pretty busy so she’ll have to wait a while).
As far as I can tell the dowel screws into some other part of the bedframe. Then the dowel end sticks into the cross hole of the short plug (which is located in the other frame member) and the conical set screw threads through the top of the short plug and locates in the countersink, which pulls the frame together, one side being more tapered than the other.
Anyone have an idea where to source this sort of hardware? Or have a hardware problem of your own you would like solved?
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8 Responses to Reader Question: Odd Knockdown Hardware
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Well, I can’t say I’ve seen it anywhere, but a machine shop should be able to replicate it — at a cost of probably more than the bed.
Yeah, she approached me to see if I’d make them but I figure that given the amount of setup time for each operation they would be quite a bit more than it would be worth.
We used to have replacement K-D hardware at the Home Depot I worked at when I was in college up in Duluth, MN… For what it’s worth, the stuff we had was all Ø1/4″ but sold in metric lengths. This specific type doesn’t jump out at me, but there might be something that would work, or could be modified to work (I was always good at those creative solutions – customers loved it).
I’m not local to HD anymore so I can’t go look :-/ We had it in the same aisle as the nuts and bolts, near the picture hanging stuff.
Given that it’s for a “Scandinavian bed”, I’d find the closest IKEA and ask there. This is very much like some of the hardware used to assemble their flatpack stuff. If there’s no IKEA close, hit ikea.com and look for a customer service number.
Just a shot in the dark but having 4 of the 8 sets required sounds to me like it only takes 4 sets. Could it be that there are 8 places the hardware can attach to allow for adjustability, but only 4 are needed to complete the piece?
I’ve seen stuff like this in my Ikea furniture. I’m seconding Ikea as a source.
These fittings are commonly used by Italian office furniture manufacturers we deal with. You might try your local Hafele supplier.
http://www.haefele.com/index_en.asp
We may have some in stock . I’ll have a look tomorrow
Nick,
What you have is a very old connector which is known generically among RTA connectors suppliers as a “Semi-Concealed Cross Dowel”. They were made by Huwil, Titus and a few other companies, but was replaced by the bolt and cam system which you see in use today.
That said, I was shocked to see that Titus still offers their old version of this product as their “Contract fix” system. You can see this on their site: http://www.titusplus.com/en
Good luck, Scott
Scott Markwood, Training Coordinator
Häfele America Co.