Hacker help: How do I cut the bed legs?

Jules Yap·
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nyvoll bed frame 0173459 PE327658 S4 729367
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nyvoll bed frame 0173459 PE327658 S4 729367

Materials: Nyvoll bed frame

Description: Our new mattress is much taller than our old one and now my feet don’t even touch the ground when I’m sitting on the edge of our Nyvoll.

I’d like to saw 6 inches (15cm) off the legs but I’m not sure if a simple hand saw is the right tool. Will the veneer split? Will the core crumble?

The product homepage is here.

nyvoll bed frame 0168684 PE322384 S4 730942

Product description
Bed frame:
Main parts/ Headboard: Particleboard, Foil
Leg/ Leg, headboard: Fiberboard, Foil, ABS plastic

Thank you in advance!

~ Scott, Vancouver, Canada

Photos: IKEA.com

Jules Yap
Latest posts by Jules Yap (see all)

26 Responses

  1. I removed the slats and placed the box Springs onto the floor added a bed skirt then the matress and wham! Looks great! No one would even know. Bonus is no more spiders or cobwebs and dust or lost, forgotten items beneath the bed!

    Reply

  2. Can you just take the slats out and put your box spring directly on the floor? You could get a bed skirt to hide it and it would sit lower. Otherwise I like the buying a slimmer box spring idea. Or, if you haven’t already, how about lowering the slats?

    Reply

  3. Before you do anything so definite as sawing the legs, DO check the height of the bed rails, and ajust them down if you can !

    Reply

    1. This!

      You might find as you grow older that a low bed is harder to get in and out from (I noticed myself at around 35)! Moving down just the rails, will allow you to just move them back up when you find you need a higher bed.

      Reply

  5. Stop don’t do any of the about things. First rent a miter saw from a rental place or home depot. Make sure it has a fine tooth blade. Remove the legs and measure off the distance on one leg. Wrap with tape and place the leg into the miter saw and bring the blade down to the leg at the cutting point. Once you have everything where you want it, place a block of wood (2×4) with a C clamp at the end of the leg. This is called a jig. It will insure that all the legs are cut to the same size. Using a miter saw will also insure that legs are cut at 90 degrees. This will insure a flat footed bed and not one which will rock. If your legs come down on a angle, you will have to figure out that angle and adjust the miter saw to match.

    Reply

  6. I wouldn’t cut the legs. Unless you make the cut pretty perfect (Home Depot and similar stores don’t do precision cuts — they won’t guarantee a perfect cut), you could be affecting the structural integrity of the frame. I have the Nyvoll bed and, as other have mentioned, your first task should be to check that the bed is set up for the lowest mattress setting. There’s a difference of at least 3-4″ right there. If you use a boxspring, you can easily swap it out and just use the slats. If you are committed to using a boxspring, I would look into purchasing a half size box spring, which could save you 4-6″. If you’re already on the lowest setting and using slats instead of a boxspring and the bed is STILL too high, I’d suggest selling the frame on Craigslist and using the cash you get to offset purchasing a new Ikea bed frame that sits lower to the ground.

    Reply

  7. Even if you follow all the tips above I would suggest you practice cut 1 inch off at least one of the legs. That way if you make a mistake there is plenty of room to have another go.

    Reply

  8. Masking tape several layers, very tightly.
    Clamp on a metal straightedge.
    Score each side several times with a sharp razor.
    Cut slightly below the scored cut line.
    Sand the last few hundredths off to level.

    Reply

  9. Why not just throw the bedframe out and put your mattress on the floor that way you can roll off the bed onto the floor and scoot out of the house.

    Reply

  11. I would just drill four holes in your floor to lower your bed this way you don’t have to cut the legs!

    Reply

  12. I would put masking tape on the legs before I started cutting. Sometimes it helps keep the veneer from chipping.

    Reply

  13. If you do decide to cut them, and you don’t have the power tools people have suggested and don’t care to spend that much. Home Depot sells a plastic molded miter box and saw set for a reasonable price. Not sure of the thickness of the legs or the capacity of the miter box, but it’ll be cheaper, easier, and cleaner than trying to square a circular saw if you’ve never used one. (and if you want the cleanest cut, grab a japanese syle pull saw, and definitely wrap in blue tape.)

    Reply

  14. Circular saw/table saw or if by hand go for one that designed for laminate flooring to minimise splintering. Cut a 1mm longer than needed so you can sand & seal ends to hide cut as best as possible & reduce signs of splintering if any there.
    I did it to the IKEA loft bed due to low ceiling height & worked well.

    Reply

  15. Are you already using slats instead of a boxspring? Because if not, that might take care of your problems with no sawing required.

    Reply

  16. A circular or table saw with a particleboard blade would be best. A hand saw will probably work, but it will be hard to get level and equal cuts. If you use a hand saw, wrap frog tape or painters tape around the leg at the cutting point to prevent chipping.

    Reply

  18. We have the same bed, the SULTAN HAGAVIK (25cm) and the SULTAN TAFJORD Mattress topper (7cm) and our feet don’t touch the ground either.
    I was thinking of cutting the legs too when wejust bought it but then my wife said:’Later, when we are older and our backs aren’t that good anymore you’ll be happy to slide out of bed. Even when you have backpain now you’ll be happy to slide out’
    The wife is always right so the legs never got cut and I don’t mind anymore (as long as you never mention cutting legs again that is 😉

    Reply

    1. I agree that not cutting them is a better choice. It’s not that you will often need to have your feet hit the ground when you’re sitting on the side of the bed, so it’s not really a bother. Much more likely to need the lift to be able to get up without much of a struggle, so suggest you keep those legs. You won’t regret it, while if you do cut them, you might wish you hadn’t done it!

      Reply

  19. On IKEA bed frames there are two different heights that the mattress can sit on. Maybe it’s on the higher adjustment right now. Check it out.

    Otherwise, what’s the big deal about how high off the floor the mattress is? A lot of people’s mattresses are quite a bit higher than the average IKEA bed, which only uses the top mattress. Many beds use box springs and mattresses which make for a tall bed.

    Reply

  20. Best to disassemble and cut. Use a circular saw with a fine tooth blade made for cutting plywood/veneer. Also never hurts to wrap the veneer with Masking Tape prior to marking and cutting. Tape will help prevent chipping. Not sure about the legs internal construction. If the legs are hollow like a Lack table, you may need to add wood to the hollow interior to beef it up. You can always use wood glue, liquid nail or add a couple finishing nails on the side that faces the wall or under the bed to secure the inserted wood.

    Reply

  22. Circular saw, nothing else!
    Dismount the bed (mandatory), lay the 4 feet side by side on the workmate, level them FROM THE BOTTOM, mark the first one an use a metal ruler to cut them all straight at once.
    If you are not sure and have a DIY store which offers wood-sawing, just bring the 4 feet to the store and they’ll do it in one cut.

    Trust me, I cut down my bunk bed 14cm square poles and could not even use my own saw…

    Reply

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