After looking at some toddler beds on the internet I figured I could build something better than what I was seeing for about the same cost.
I bought the wood from Timber Woodworking in Mesa, AZ. They had rustic cherry there that was really mostly free of knots and was priced about half as much as the clear cherry was going for. Great stuff!
All of my joints were done using a DowelMax doweling jig. This worked out fast and easy.
I’m only a few projects deep in my woodworking career, so I wanted to keep the design simple. For the curves on the top rails, I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted or how to do the layout. I used some of Marc’s tips and started with some things I did know. I knew I wanted to start the rail 2 inches wide and end it 3 inches wide. I then decided where the curves would start. After that it was easy to try a few ways to hook the 2 ends together with the little curve in the middle.
The finish is simply 2 coats of clear shellac to bring out the figure in the wood topped off with 3 coats of gloss lacquer. I do not have a sprayer and have had bad luck with brushing lacquer, so I opted for a can of Deft spray lacquer. I have to say that I really like the finish I got with this product.
Very nice! I have been searching for something just like this. Would you be interested in commissioning a similar piece for my son?
Thanks everyone for the positive comments. My boy just turned 3 so he’s aware I made the bed for him. He says, “You made it with your tools”. Thanks to Marc as well. This site gave me a lot of inspiration.
Very nice work, and a great design. This would be perfect for my grandson.
I love this! We would love to have one of these. Too bad they are not for sale anywhere. Nice work.
This is very nice. I would like to build one for my newborn grandson. So if you could include some basic dimensions that would be great. Or I could just look on the internet for some and just go off your pics.
That is a really nice bed, Mike. Hard to believe you are new to woodworking!
Very nice! Perhaps I’ll think about doing something like this when I have kids!
It looks great! Well done! I did a revamp of my son’s 50 year old cot a year back. It was very rewarding!