I was just waiting for the arrival of our first granddaughter to build a cradle. I’ve had this pent up desire to do this for years, and when the news came of the pending addition, I had to get serious about a design decision. I knew the basic shape that I wanted included a swinging pivot, but it took a while to decide on the rail style. I was either going to turn spindles or go with a mission style. Ultimately I chose the mission style, as the wood I choose was white oak. Instead of mortising the rails I choose to use a groove and filler pieces. The construction was easier and I went with the spacers cut just a bit proud, a simple sanding brought them level with the top and bottom rail.
The final two tests were “mom’s” approval–which was a breeze. As you can see, Maggie is a tougher inspector; perhaps it’s her angle of view?
That last pic is award winning for sure. Little guy luvs his new bed… Very nicely done.
whoops, I mean Maggie… sheeesh…
Very nicely made. I also like your choice of the quarter sawn white oak.
DD
yes, I really enjoyed working with material that stable!
Terrific job. I have built things for kids before and always stress over “kid safe”. Is MDF a safe product? Seems to me I heard it contains formeldahyde.
it passed my daughters test :)
It’s cradle, with open sides, and a matress on top of the 1/4″ MDF base.
I didn’t worry about any fumes (and besides, i coated it with poly).
Very nice! What finish did you use? Was there any concern on off gassing of the finish?
I used General Finishes poly urethane on top of a “harvest gold” gel stain. (not happy with the stain at the time, but it looks ok now).
Great work!! One question: How did you do the pivot mechanism? I need to repair a couple of doll cradles for my daughters and need ideas on how.
The pivot is simply a 1/4″ brass bolt that sits in a t-nut on the end upright!
Beautiful. And the cradle is nice too :)
Beautifully done. Nice choice of wood.
Nice work Brian and Congrats on your granddaughter…
Did you design it yourself or use plans? I have a little one expected as well and have been contemplating making a cradle. either way you did a wonderful job.
I started with a plan… http://www.woodonline.com. “quality-crafted pendant cradle”.
enjoy!
Brian, your cradle looks amazing. I am a father to be and loved the design of this cradle but cannot find it on the site you mentioned. Is there any other link or option that I could use to get these plans? Thanks
Great Job!. Looks really nice!
Very nice job Grandpa.
Good job!!
Absolutely beautiful! And so is the crib. Great work in both areas.