Time to get to work

Getting started

As I said before, the plan is to patch the holes with insert nuts and replace the screws with bolts. For good measure, I coated the insert nuts with some wood glue and tapped them in with a block of wood and a rubber mallet. I turns out I only needed three insert nuts. The rest of the screws were fine.
    

Once the nuts were in place I reattached the rail, but before I could put the slats back on I had to straighten the braces that run under the rails. Quick work with some pliers and they're as good as new and slip right into place.

Finishing up

Once the braces were back in place, all I had to do was tighen all the screws and bolts. Then I was just a simple matter of laying down the slats and the mattress. As you can see with these before and after pics, a little work really made a difference.