Furniture and Furnishings - Need help with brass bed disassembly

I have an old brass bed that I need to restore. I first need to tighten all of the pieces back up, but cannot figure out how to get to the fasteners. The horizontal tubes are connected to the vertical end tubes by hidden fittings. The fittings are located inside the tubes under the endcaps and I can't even figure out how to remove the big end caps to see what kind of fasteners are being used. Any help would be appreciated.

vetteboi, Welcome to the DIY Forums.
I don't want to have you destroy the bed. Normally the endcaps are just pressed in. Some have little half-round extentions on the cap. Yours being antique, not sure if thats how they did it then. May just be pressed in. Try pulling up and twisting at the same time (using your hand).
If you have access to a digital camera, you could post pictures here by going through a photo hosting site such as Photobucket. Then provide a link here in your post and we can take a look at it. The closer the better. Good luck and reply back using the reply button at the bottom of this post.

Hi vetteboi

Good advice from majakdragon
I am familier with antique brass beds, and if you can't see a set screw, they were most likely pressed in originally
However, it's not like that was the only standard way to do it back then
And it may have been modified over the years
Pictures would be helpful before offering any other suggestions, as each case can be different with these beds
Also restoration can destroy the value of the antique
I'm not saying don't do it, just that I would like to see it before offering advice on it
It's just that it's not a cut and dry type of thing with antique bedsteads
If you can't do the picture thing, and majakdragon's twist and pull doesn't work, just let us know and we'll work something out

I would like to thank you both for your quick replies. I have taken some photos of the problem I was trying to describe. I'm not sure if the bed is an antique, but it is at least 30 years old.

http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/88IMG_5834.JPG

The ball on top of the vertical tube unscrews, but the decorative portion underneath the ball does not come off with the ball. I cannot figure out how to get it off without damaging the finish. When the ball is removed, there appears to be a piece of threaded rod showing, but the ball does not screw onto that, there are threads formed in the decorative piece.

http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/88IMG_5833.JPG

http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/88IMG_5832-med.JPG

These two pictures show the major problem with this bed. Both the lower horizontal tube and upper horizontal tube exhibit this problem where the fastener inside the vertical tube has come loose, and the horizontal tube can be pulled away from the vertical tube. I cannot figure out how to access the interior of the vertical tube to determine what kind of fastener I am dealing with.

Hope these pictures help with my description of the problem I am facing. I can take more if clarification is needed.

Thanks again for your help and suggestions. :)

The ball is not meant to be unscrewed
Actually, I'm suprised you didn't lose the threaded rod into the tube when you unscrewed it
The entire finial is meant to come off as one unit
It should be pressed on, or rather into the tube
It could be tough, but it's best to remove it w/o tools if at all possible
There should be the same type of deal on the bottom
If you can't find a set screw it should be pressed on/in
Removing the decorative foot and top finial should allow you access to the hardware inside the tubes

If you find you need to use tools to try and pry them off, be very careful, as the tubes could scratch and dent easily

The ball is not meant to be unscrewed
Actually, I'm suprised you didn't lose the threaded rod into the tube when you unscrewed it
The entire finial is meant to come off as one unit
It should be pressed on, or rather into the tube
It could be tough, but it's best to remove it w/o tools if at all possible
There should be the same type of deal on the bottom
If you can't find a set screw it should be pressed on/in
Removing the decorative foot and top finial should allow you access to the hardware inside the tubes

If you find you need to use tools to try and pry them off, be very careful, as the tubes could scratch and dent easily


The ball unscrews from the finial, and it appears the finial is attached to the tube with a treaded rod.

I am definately hesitant to use tools to apply force to the finial to try to remove it. I was thinking of trying a strap wrench on it, but will have to purchase one first.

Thanks again for your help.

The ball unscrews from the finial...

What I mean is, the disassembly procedure does not involve removing the ball from the finial
When the bedstead was put together, the ball was already attached to the rest of the finial, so it stays on during disassembly

...and it appears the finial is attached to the tube with a treaded rod.

Now that's odd
Are you sure?
That would mean I'm incorrect about the press on/in, and removing the ball
That would mean there is a thing that looks like this *, inside the tube that has threads or a nut in it
That would explain why you didn't loose the threaded rod when you removed the ball...
It's also possible the threaded rod is tack-welded in there
Unfortunately that would also mean access to the hardware you need to tighten (farther down the tube) would be blocked by the * if you did remove the finial

You'll want to confirm that's how it's attached
If that is the case, the ball removal is the correct disassmbly procedure
The rest of the finial may be held on by the ball, threads on the finial, or may also be pressed in

I would take a Dremel or hacksaw and cut a slot in the tip of the rod, essentially turning it into a flat head screw
See if the rod can be turned
I wouldn't remove it just yet, but try a test and see if that helps in the removal of the rest of the finial
If it cannot be rotated then it's probably tack welded, and we'll have to try another way

Now that's odd

I don't mean that your bedstead is unique, it's just not as common to assemble them this way
:)

I managed to take some more photos of the area I was talking about. I couldn't get the light right last night and it's not great today, but it is better.

http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/88IMG_5836.JPG

Here is the ball on the finial. You can see the line where it threads onto the finial.


http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/88IMG_5837-med.JPG

This picture shows how the ball is attached to the finial.


http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/88IMG_5841.JPG

This picture shows the portion that I believe to be a threaded rod in the finial. I could not get the flash to hit the rod or get the camera to focus on it very well, but it is highlighted.

Thanks again for your help

This picture shows how the ball is attached to the finial.

Wow, that's not what I expected at all
It's been a long time since I've seen one like that

This picture shows the portion that I believe to be a threaded rod in the finial.
I could see why you would think that
I can't remember off-hand
It's not a real common method of finial attachment, I've only seen it a few times
I'd have to play with it a bit to be sure
Well, actually what I'd do next is get out the strap wrench and try and twist it off

Sorry for the bogus directions, I really wasn't expecting it to look like that

I will have to purchase a strap wrench this weekend. Will let you know what I come up with. :)