Need to know the name of this screw/joint on a wooden bed

[sknth]

Hi All,

I'm currently trying to disassemble a wooden bed and have run into a roadblock. I've attached a picture I took from my smart phone of the joint and the screw, and I'd like some help with finding out what the name of this screw is, and how I can remove it.

These screws are at all 4 corners of the bed and without removing them, I cannot proceed further with dismantling the bed.

I've attached 2 pictures of the screws to this post.
bed1.png -- Here we can see what the screws look like on the triangle joint at the corner of the bed. 3 of the screws are fine, and one of them is broken. On the circle which is broken, we can see a smaller screw going into the headboard of the bed. What is the name of that screw and how do I get that out?

bed2.png -- This is a picture from another corner of the bed and we can see the 2 screws in the blue circles going into the base of the bed.

Looking forward to your responses!

Thanks
Sreekanth

 

[Nidum]

With so little to go on I can only conjecture .

If they don't simply screw out and are not just very tight then they are possibly some variant of a camlock .

 

[sknth]

With so little to go on I can only conjecture .

If they don't simply screw out and are not just very tight then they are possibly some variant of a camlock .

That circle is the size of the tip of my forefinger and so I'm not able to get it out of there. Any allen wrench type tools that can fit into that circle?

 

[Q_Goest]

It's probably something like this. It requires a 1/4 turn to unlock it, but the thing you turn will stay in. It won't come out. It may have provisions for a flat screwdriver tip as well as a phillips.

 

[sknth]

It's probably something like this. It requires a 1/4 turn to unlock it, but the thing you turn will stay in. It won't come out. It may have provisions for a flat screwdriver tip as well as a phillips.

I think this is what it is. Unfortunately, it looks like the top cylindrical screw is broken in many of the slots. So that will make it a nightmare to remove the narrower, smaller screw that connects to it. Maybe I can try using a plier to pull it out?

 

[jim hardy]

Did the others come out ? Surely you know by now what they are.

You may be able to make yourself a tool
find an old worn out screwdriver and file it into a two-pronged fork .
Then you have what's known as a "spanner"

You might be able to turn it with that, by gently tapping sharpened points into the soft metal.
An email to the folks who manufactured the furniture, containing photos of the broken parts, will probably get a new camlock mailed to you.

 

[billy_joule]

In your second picture you can see a triangle embossed on the upper left camlock.
That triangle needs to point in the direction of the locking screw to unlock.
Then you need to either, pull the cam lock out or leave it there and pull the two mated pieces apart.
The latter is usually easier depending on the assembly.

If a cam lock is fubar from previous attempts and a large Phillips will no longer get any purchase then snap ring pliers ('reverse pliers') can work.
If all else fails you can destroy them in situ, most are cast junk metal and will crumble at the sight of some needle nose vise grips or sim.

 

[Gaz]

Just give it a technical tap (use a hammer ) =)

Is there no access to the smaller screws on the other side maybe you have to unscrew them.

 

[sknth]

Thanks for your replies! I'll definitely try the spanner on the screws which don't have the cylindrical top.

 

[jim hardy]

Is there no access to the smaller screws on the other side maybe you have to unscrew them.

interesting thought..
if one could be precise , he might drill through . A right handed drill from that side would unscrew the fastener, but a fellow would have to hit it almost dead center.
And he'd have to patch the hole afterward.