This design of bed is where the old saying, "Sleep Tight!" comes from. You always hoped the ropes were tight so you didn't sag down to the floor. :) Sleep Tight and don't let the Bed Bugs bite!
For added warmth and insulation, straw "ticks" or mattresses would be added on top of the rope beds. Basically, a canvas bag the size of the bedframe, filled with dried straw or grass. The Little House on the Prairie books go into detail about how the Ingalls would use dried grass to refill the ticks with when they moved to a new homestead and hadn't gotten a crop of wheat or corn in for straw yet, or if they needed the straw to feed the animals. Then, when the straw compacted down too much, the filling could be dumped out into the compost pile, and refilled with new filling to freshen it up and make the mattress soft again. Eventually, as people hunted over the years, they would save the down feathers from geese and such to refill the mattresses, which was softer than straw. The main reason we moved away from rope beds to wood slat beds and then metal ones is because mice and rodents would chew through the ropes and make nests in the straw mattresses if the people didn't keep an eye out during their weekly cleaning to make sure that the ropes were tight and undamaged and the mattresses were fluffed.
I have an original 1800 century curly maple with acorn posts and the original bolts are still with it.I just restored it and put the ropes in it. Great piece of history .Enjoyed your work and expertise.
Great rope bed! I made one a few years back for camping and I like it better than any cot or hammock i have slept on. I like the channel. Thanks for posting your videos as they are very inspiring.
The skills you demonstrate are lost arts that are no longer taught. Glad to hear that you will be making more videos. Great job on the bed! Thanks so much for sharing. May your endeavors teach future generations lost skills.
Thanks for posting and sharing. Glad that your content is appreciated by your growing audience 👍. Very nice to see rope bad and joinery holding it together.
Hi Jerry, another great video thank you. I believe in the early 1800's in Europe , women would save the feathers from the chickens they had plucked to eat and made a feather mattress which was often presented to a newly married couple as a wedding gift. Terry. U.K.
I just happened upon your channel and I have to say… WOW! Im loving it! Great content, instructional and really fun to watch too! Lord bless you for taking us on this journey with you Jerry!
@@logcabinlifestyle Its nice to have friends like that. You seem like a rely nice guy and that's hard to find these days. I love doing carpenter, plumbing and electrical work and looks like you take pride in all your work, and I like that.
I'm so glad I found your channel. I would much rather live with less and be grateful. I have no vehicle now because I sold it. My groceries get delivered and I'm so happy. I love that bed. Curious about that rope is it like clothes line rope?
I can promise you, you will need to tighten the ropes from the start. Stretch them so they are as tight as wires. In no time - even possibly over night - they will stretch a lot. Tensioning those beds was a regular exercise, and they used a fork or a hand windlass and tapered peg to tap into the holes to hold the tension while you went to the other side and repeat until everything was tight. Sometime a simple lever was wedged under the excess rope to tension it. Eventually, the rope stretched as far as it would go. I use a typical moving blanket as the liner, as it has a bit of quilted loft to it. Not being authentic, so I have a 5" memory foam mattress 36x72. Our $3000 top mattress on our modern bed is very nice, but I must say that the rope bunk I made for my pickup camping is pretty close. I keep it in the rec room and it's my daily "nap slab." I'm planning a second one with foldable legs to make it easier to take camping when I leave the pickup at home and use the old Jeep Grand Cherokee. Tie that puppy to the roof rack and go. So much better than ANY cot, and will fit into a medium tent or under a tarp.
I'm hooked on your channel. I watched the video about the pot belly stove then saw the videos about the fire place build and immediately subscribed. I love what you're doing by preserving the past and actually living in it. I just finished the video about the rope bed , it's great. I also really like the quilt that your mom made , it's awesome. Made of shirts and blue jeans , very cool. Keep up the great work and I look forward to your next video.
if you want to you could easily make this into a four Poster bed with Longer Posts and a castel joint on the top. would keep you warmer at night with drapes around the bed
I just found your channel this afternoon and have been hooked! What a great channel you've got going here. You seem like a really authentic guy with great values. Thank you for the content!
This was great! I think the corner posts would look really good with a chamfered edge and you should try your hand at making a sheep wool mattress as well. Thanks for the video.
Nice channel Jerry. In colonial times rope beds were invented to hold the mattress off the floor. The mattress was a bag stuffed with straw, raw cleaned cotton, down, or wool. So, make yourself a large bag to stuff, using canvas or heavy linen. Sewn together with one side left open that can be closed with buttons, or lacing. I hear the straw ones are really comfy, but be sure to use straw cut about 8" long, not hay, and add cedar chips to the straw to get rid of any bugs from it before stuffing your mattress bag. I have only slept on them stuffed with cotton. They are very heavy, but the comfiest bed I ever slept on. You could also just get a futon mattress. Pillows were generally stuffed with any of the above except straw. Rope beds were the first Murphy beds. For warmth, curtains were hung around the bed posts, as you see in old movies, to close at night. The ropes tend to need tightening regularly and the straw will need to be replaced about every 6 months. If you have enough, I would go with the wool and use linen sheets. It really all depends on what fits your life. Have lots of fun with this. You have done a great job. I love your cabin!
A small fid might make threading the rope easier. Otherwise, another excellent video. I wish I had a property to emulate some of what I've seen you do.
If you get the rope wet soak it in water first when you pull it tight it'll stretch when it dries it'll become even tighter just putting that out there
They use to make mattress by stuffing a cloth that was hand sewed with straw. and after a while the ropes losses up and you would have to titan them. God Bless
That is such a neat bed! The only thing with using wool as insulation… would be carpet beetles! I spin wool into yarn, and a few years ago, I had an infestation of three different types of carpet beetles! It was awful! They are very destructive! Hoping you never have them!
Enjoying your vids,that bed is nice you did a fne job. looks very comfortable, better than I expected. if the ropes needed more tightening you may be able to make wedges to go at all the loops for the tightening. Thanks for taking the time.
Howdy Brother- I made a corded bed for the first cabin I built. With the timber’s marked with Roman numerals I wonder if it was cut out in a different location and moved piece by piece to the location it was built. Buildings were cut out and shipped to different areas and assembled. The Roman numerals were easy to make with a chisel. Glad to see your channel growing. Take care and God bless
Did you chamfer the inner parts of the holes? I read or heard somewhere that you need to chamfer the sharp edges off or it will shred the ropes. Also, could you put out a list of cuts and /or diagram of the dovetail cuts, etc. I am not a carpenter and do not understand the verbal instructions. I would like to make a twin sized one. Thank you for another great video!
Would it make much difference to the structure's safety and stability if your reverserved the length of 4 side posts so that the length of the posts are longer underneath the side structures carrying the ropes?
What you call a quilt looks like what my mom called a comforter. Its not actually quilted. The back, lining and quilt top are tacked together with either embroidery thread or yarn. Beautiful heirlooms! : )
Hey Jerry! This is a great project for me and the kids. I could guess at dimensions etc but would rather ask before I do - what size posts did you use?
Do you think PARACORD would work for this? ... I wonder if it might stretch less. Also ... I wonder it it may work to put the holes closer together in the middle of the bed, where most of our body mass is, for better support; ... just an idea!
Extremely well made and admirable work! BUT please try to find good second hand leather furniture for your living room (which you can repair and lubricate) which makes the rustic to be of high class! Remove the quilts and buy some better "clean" looking covers if you need such! In my opinion you don't need such quilts, its an old outdated thing that makes your fantastic house look a bit "shabby";)
No, no. You don’t understand me. I’m not that guy that needs to be like everyone else, and I’m definitely not “high class”! I do as your opinion but I’ll take $100 second hand store cloth furniture. I’m not a leather guy.
I think you will want to put cardboard down over the rope if you spend any time on that bed. The rope will leave lines on your body. And probably some kind of mattress over that to be super comfy.
Thank you!! Perfect timing too.im doing all my jointery for my floor an top plate beam all step dovetail an since I'm making all my furniature as well for my cabin once I'm finished,this is perfect thank you so much! Godbless.i will try an attach photos of mine!! Love to talk,I'm doing the exact same thing an the exact same ways you are.love to share some knowledge back an fourth.love to be in contact somehow.im not good at this,will try an add photo or 2 as I said.
I’ve heard the numbers referred to as marriage marks. Just for the very purpose you mentioned. In todays world you would have to call them Cohabiting or significant other or civil Union marks.
@@logcabinlifestyle You wouldn’t have been able to accomplish all you have without…… education doesn’t equate to intelligence . Your much wiser and smarter than you give yourself credit for. I attended college and work in a professional environment and trust me many of these educated individuals I wouldn’t allow them to wash my truck.
