Many clients or potential clients fear how much work it will take to assemble their wooden furniture once they have purchased it. Hopefully this article will help clarify some of the questions that naturally arise.
While assembly instructions vary among wood furniture manufacturers, there are also many similarities. Below is an overview that should give you a better idea of ​​what is involved:

Chests of drawers, chests of drawers, bedside tables and cabinets

Most rustic items such as dressers, chests of drawers, nightstands, and cabinets require very little assembly. As a general rule, we disassemble doors and drawer handles to avoid damage during transport, as they tend to protrude and are in danger.

There are holes in the drawer or door fronts, and the screws are included, so for these items it’s simply a matter of placing the wooden furniture handle over the holes, inserting the screws through the door or drawer into the hole and tighten them. .

Amish Low Post Log Beds

Most Amish makers like to assemble headboards to log beds. Sometimes we ask that you do not remove the four corner legs for ease of shipping as beds can be a bit large and making them smaller helps save on shipping cost.

Every Amish furniture maker I know of uses Gorilla Glue, which is an incredibly strong glue. Once the headboard is glued on, you better forget trying to take it apart. I know people who have tried to take them apart and instead broke a piece of the bed.

So, as a general rule, Amish headboards and footboards come fully assembled. At a minimum, the part of the ladder that crosses between the two posts is already assembled and glued. If the posts are not joined, you must connect the two parts of the horizontal bed ladder (headboard and footboard) at the four corner posts.
Amish beds are generally 100% wood.

That means the mattress and box spring are supported by a wooden frame. As a general rule, two logs run down the side of each bed, at the base of the box springs. These logs plug into the headboard and footboard at each end. The bottom of these two logs have holes drilled for three “cross logs” that cross and support the bed. The middle cross log, on most Amish beds, has a small piece of log that goes down to the ground to offer a greater degree of support.

So there you have it. If you’ve never seen an Amish bed frame before, you might have to look at those logs for a minute to find out. But once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty straightforward. You’ll want a screwdriver, as you’ll want to put some 2 ½-inch wood screws near where the log ends, or “chucks” as they’re called, plug them into the designated holes.

This secures the entire frame and, along with the large amount of Guerilla glue already administered by the Amish, makes it even stronger. A rubber mallet is also quite useful at times, to hit a cranky piece of wood instead. But you can use a normal hammer, if you protect the wood by putting a book or something in the middle.

Low Post Log Beds with Metal Frames

Assembling low log beds with metal frames is even easier. Stair parts usually come pre-assembled, so all you have to do is attach the “chucks” to the four corner posts and drive the provided wood screws to secure them. Most of our metal frame beds have pre-installed lag bolts in the headboard and footboard logs. Simply take the metal frame and hook it over each lag bolt, then tighten the nuts to secure the bed.

Log beds with metal frames are very sturdy and probably a bit easier to assemble than 100% log beds. They also take up a little less room to the sides as they don’t have the side log rails on the side. You can get decorative log side rails to clip over your metal bed frame, if you mind showing off your bed frame. You can also cover the metal frame of the bed with a skirt, and it won’t show when the bed is made anyway.

Assembly of canopy log beds

Assembling a canopy log bed is a bit more challenging than the others, simply because of the height and size of the logs. This is definitely a two-person job – I know some pretty mechanical guys who have tried to do one by themselves and actually had quite a good time. No matter how skilled you are, you need someone to fill one position while you work another! Other than that, it really isn’t too difficult.

There are simply logs to plug into both the top and bottom, and in fact it wouldn’t hurt to have a couple of people to help hold the parts while you tighten the screws.

Yes I can do it…

I’m not known for being a mechanic or handyman, but with the help of my 11 year old son I put together a low post log bed with a metal frame in less than half an hour. So if you have mechanical problems, it’s really not that bad.

But if a log bed is what you’ve always hoped for but you’re really overwhelmed by the idea of ​​putting it together, why not make some chocolate chip cookies for one of your screwdriver friends and let them give you a hand? However, IMHO putting together a log bed isn’t nearly as difficult as other assembly projects I’ve tackled. So get out your screwdriver and go for it!