[Ansteorra] OT: Bedding dilemma

[Stefan li Rous]

On May 16, 2007, at 11:58 AM, Morgan Blackdragon wrote: .
>
> My lady and I are sick of air mattresses and would like to move to
> something a bit more dependable. What is the best bedding in terms of
> set up / break down, amount of truck space it would take up, etc.

Air Mattresses can last. In almost eighteen years in the SCA, I'm  
only on my second. But then I buy the rubberized cloth ones rather  
than just the vinyl ones, although sometimes these do have one or  
more sides of vinyl. Part of the trick is to put the air mattress on  
something like a rope or platform bed where it is less likely to get  
punctured than when put down on the ground.
>
> I have heard suggestions on rope beds but I've also heard that the
> ropes will stretch and take a lot of maintenance. I have been looking
> at platform beds but I am trying to work out an easy (and cheaper) way
> to make one myself instead of buying it from a store.

Both can be made. Master Cariadoc did find a late period diagram of a  
rope bed which solves most of the problems of the rope beds. The  
ropes are strung diagonally and the rope frame is held inside the  
larger bed frame and a rope is wound round both frames allowing you  
to pull the rope to tighten the bed, using the multiple windings as a  
pulley to greatly reduce the force required. You can find diagrams  
and sources for this bed in the beds-msg file in the Florilegium.  
Also it is strung in such a way that it only has to be loosened to  
take the bed apart. You don't have to restring the bed each time.
>
> We'll most likely be using a futon mattress so I am mainly looking for
> bed frame ideas. What do you use currently, what have you used in the
> past, what sort of problems or praises have you come across? Do you
> make or have have a good bed frame that you'd like to sell? Any
> information, either on the list or directly to me, would be greatly
> appreciated.

The problem with the futon mattress is that they don't compress and  
therefor take up a LOT of room in the car or truck.

I started out with a double rope bed and eventually moved to a  
platform bed using bed hardware which I bought from a mundane  
woodworking shop in Austin.

For lots of more details and descriptions of beds, both period and  
SCA, check out this file in the HOME, SWEET HOME section of the  
Florilegium:
beds-msg         (143K)  1/10/01    Medieval and SCA beds. rope and  
slat beds.

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****