I'm going to be a father!!! - Page 2 - Woodworking Talk

Gravel7 · 06-24-2009, 05:22 PM

Nice work. That crib looks awesome.
Are all of the slats installed with M&T's?

Sabres78 · 06-24-2009, 10:30 PM

Wow! That looks really great. I love the design. Nice work.

gaviaimmer · 06-25-2009, 08:16 AM

Yes. I cut the slats to just proud of 3/8" and rounded them over on the router table. The mortises were cut with a 3/8" spiral cutter, then the slats were finish sanded to the mortise for a snug fit. The most interesting cuts were the arched top rails front and back. To do those I roughed out the convex side on the table saw using multiple angled cuts and then planned it smooth. The convex cut was done by running the plank nearly sideways across the table saw blade in very fine increments.

Gravel7 · 06-25-2009, 11:36 AM

So the slats don't have a tenon cut into them, the slat itself slides into a mortise?
Yes, I took notice of the arched rails and figured that I wanted to think on that one for a while. I couldn't figure out how it was done. I'm glad you happend to explain that.

gaviaimmer · 06-25-2009, 05:20 PM

I didn't see any point in terminating all of the slat ends with a tenon smaller than the slat itself. The 3/8" slats are cut from a 8/4 piece of material producing what is essentially a quarter sawn grain orientation. This not only looks nice but provides more dimensional stability over the width of the slat. After rough cutting all of the slats they are planed to near final thickness and then sanded to fit snugly into routed rail mortises. I have done three cribs this way with good results. This method is certainly easier than cutting consistent quality shoulders on all those slats and ultimately I think ends up with a better quality result.

Night Mill Bill · 06-25-2009, 09:21 PM

Congratulations!

I wish I had a crib suggestion for you, but that boat design looks nice. Whatever you go with, just make sure you stain it/coat it right, as those little ones generate a lot of fluids!

-Bill

ddockstader · 06-29-2009, 07:36 PM

U-Bild sold a cradle plan - at least they did 36 years ago. They still do (http://www.u-bild.com/projects-childrens/599.htm). I made it for my first. You still need a crib, but a cradle you can put in whatever room you are in and have the baby close to you. If you go that way, I have a couple of suggestions.
1. Make it to last. You'll be amazed. Mine has gone through 3 kids and so far, 4 grand kids.
2. If it has the option to swing or to rock, make it one or the other. Don't make it both. The kids will always roll to one side and it will look like it's falling over. Worse, they can't roll back because it is uphill.
3. Go to a trophy shop and get a 1x3 brass plate. Have the child's name and birth date engraved on it and then glue it to the vertical post. Then you can glue each new plaque below the last. It's better than a family bible. And when it doesn't have kids in it, you can use it for a magazine rack and still show off your handiwork.
Congrats and good luck.

roaminggnome · 07-06-2009, 01:08 PM

Congrats, how did she break you the news? In any clever way?

Sleeper · 07-06-2009, 02:16 PM

Congratulations, I can’t help you with a crib although I did build one once. It’s been a long time and I donated all the stuff I built many years ago.
I did however slightly modify a design for a convertible crib from one of the wood magazines a couple of years ago for my grandson. It was very similar to the one ‘gaviaimmer’ has posted, but unfortunately my daughter gave it away without realizing it was convertible to a small bed.

This is a little off topic, but I would like to tell a small funny story. Just before my grandson turned 2, I decided to buy him a spring horse, because every kid got to have a spring horse.

Well I got a lot of crap from my daughter and my wife that he was too small. So I got him it any way and they were right so I threw together a temporary platform so he could ride it. It was only supposed to be for a couple of months until he got the hang of it. Well it’s been over six months and he rides it every day, but it’s still too big for him. I made it out of some old shelving I had and now I might have to do something like paint it or rebuild it to look nice. I don’t think he cares what it looks like, but the wife hates it.