I made this crib about 2 years ago for my daughter to be at the time. A labor of love to say the least. (I know Marc can empathize with me here) The whole thing took about a month, but would take MUCH longer now as I used to have nothing but free time (again…Marc).
I spent most of my time designing the crib, there are all kinds of safety regulations that I wanted to stick close to for obvious reasons. I ordered a mattress frame online and decided to make the crib so that it will convert into a toddler bed and full size bed one day. I used bed frame hardware from Rockler on both sides (top and bottom) and also on what will be the foot board.
I used Sapele as my main species and all the construction is mortise and tenon. MAN, that was A LOT of M+Ts!!! I am a HUGE G & G fan and incorporate some aspect of their design in almost all my work. I used a variation of the cloud lift on all sides, which made the slats many sizes. A lot of hand sanding and fitting on this one.
Ebony plugs throughout. I designed a “tree like structure” on the foot board to add some visual interest, which has some exposed ebony dowels holding it in place. This was kind of a happy accident.
In what will be the headboard, I inlayed a tile from Motawi Tileworks, who do absolutely excellent work. I surrounded the tile with a half lapped cocobolo frame to give the appearance of…well, a frame. Glue up I remember having a challenging time keeping all of the slats square as I was clamping and ended up making what I’m sure now was a way too elaborate jig to solve the problem.
Everything was sanded to 220 grit and then a washcoat of shellac with trans tint brown mahogany for color matching was applied. I followed with 5 coats of amber shellac and 2 coats of wax to keep the whole thing non-toxic.
The crib came out beautiful and is admired by all that see it. The only thing more beautiful is what we ended up putting in it!
Thanks everyone!!! I just saw this got posted awhile ago, must have missed it. @David…Andrew B is correct, I got the frame from http://www.productsamerica.com
@RKwoods…the advantage is almost just as you say to Sapele….looks like Mahogany, machines well….costs half as much. Great alternative to genuine mahogany.
Love that Greene & Greene Style and a convertible crib will give you years and years of use.
Good looking crib!!! I’m am jsut now starting on one of my own.
David H.
He probably got it from the same place I got it from when I built a crib for my kids.
http://productsamerica.com/
Beautiful!
A really fine piece of workmanship. The only sad thing about a crib, is that it’s only of use to you for a short time. The good thing is that it can be passed down for generations.
DD
very nice
Very nice clean work. I made toys for my kids.
I would think of putting a mattress in that bad boy or your little one won’t get much sleep
Thomas Kaiser
great design, I love g & g. My first thought was why would you build such an amazing crib that you could only use for a couple of years. I love the fact that this will eventually be a full size bed. I am unfamiliar with sapele. Looks like mahogany in the pics. Is there an advantage to using sapele? Are the characteristics different?
Once again- nice job.
Very cool, and it only took a month. That level of detail is very tedious. Looks like something the Gamble kids would have slept in.
If you give that kid half of the love that went into the crib, she will be one happy rugrat! Nice job, I’m Jealous.
do you mind sharing where you got your bed frame from?
and it looks good!
Very nicely done. I’ve been looking to Greene and Greene latly for some design inspiration too.