In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve had somewhat of a rocker theme this week. And we are finishing off with this great project from Mike. Not only is the project beautiful, but it went toward a very good cause. Given hard times such as these, I’m sure this baby cradle really meant a lot to its recipients.
A young lady in our office is expecting her first child. Her husband recently lost his job and he is trying desperately to become re-employed. I decided they needed something from the shop for the special package they are about to receive. I remembered the pendulum cradle from a previous issue of Woodcraft and decided to give it a try. I was fortunately given about 300 bf of cherry last year. This stuff had been stored for the past 40 years under a local business. Dirty doesn’t describe the rough cut cherry. The first cut revealed a beautiful red cherry. Exactly what you dream of when you see a cherry piece. Most of the boards are 4-6 inches wide. Some are quartersawn…who knew. Unfortunately, you don’t know whats under the dirt and grime until the planer kicks up. I followed the plan for the base for the dimensions of the cradle but decided against the pendulum. I opted for rockers instead. I freehanded the rockers copying the arc from the top. I realized at that point … what if you don’t want it to rock ? Well, wheel chocks keep a car from rolling. I picked what I felt was the optimum point and cut two triangles but with a small curve to match the rocker. Voila, rocker chocks. To make the placement exact, I drilled 3/8 holes in the chock and the rocker. The chocks snap themselves into the correct position and the rocker doesn’t rock. For storage, I drilled a hole in each chock and mounted a peg on the inside of the rocker. The finish is sanding sealer, 3 coats of a wiping gel polyurethane. The label list the poly as “safe when cured”. The spindles unfortunately (or fortunately ) were purchased at $15 for 10. I needed 28. If I had attempted to turn 28, well, the design element would have been…interesting.
I am in the process of building a small crib out of oak. The oak is both solid and plywood. When finished this crib will be a gift. Is there a certain type of finish that should go on the crib? Because there will be a newborn baby in it, I would not want to put something on it that may cause any reaction to the baby. Thanks!
Hey Rob. Most experts agree that any standard film finish is non toxic and perfectly safe once cured. But if you are really concerned and you have your doubts, you can always use shellac. Food-grade shellac is used in the pharmaceutical and candy industries routinely.
I found some 100 year old Red Tide Cypress in an old warehouse in New Orleans, about 18 years ago. When the boards were planed, sanded, and finished, the grain showed some amazing dark patterns that were unexpected and exquisite. I didn’t have to deal with dirt. The boards were so wide (20″ +)that nothing had to be joined to put together the cradle I designed. I decided not to put in rockers, just for stability (so it was a crib/cradle?), so the Headboard and footboard extend 3.5′ to the ground. Don’t have pictures digitized, but I carved hearts in the top (sappy sentimental) and curves, for the head and footboards. Of course it is thick, porous and soft wood, so everything is large in scale, not fine, refined work… and I did not use rails.
My son and daughter were both in it until they could roll over (not many months) and then I wondered if I had been smart to build this large wooden “elephant”… As soon as my daughter could walk, I put her dolls and stuffed animals in it, and she and her friends used it as a cradle and got in it themselves as a bed! She used it for play until she became a teen… now it is in the basement… perhaps for grandkids to use… when my daughter babysat, the little kids would love to crawl into it and it was strong enough to support them… and stable. Nice walk down memory lane, and… if you have the space the cradle might not just be for infancy!
I don’t think Marc would be so subtle as that. He’d more likely post a vid wearing an “I’M SUPERDAD” t-shirt…
This one did raise two questions for me, though: a.) Running filthy boards through a planer. I’m recycling some oak excavated from the undercroft of a local church (to be made into a cross for Good Friday at the same church) and it spent years covered in sand. Even after a round with 40-grit on the belt sander and a shot of compressed air, the pores still glisten as if there’s silicates stuck in the wood. Should I just resign myself to the fact that my planer blades will be trashed after flattening this stuff?
Last one is something that I learned and is offered as food for thought to anyone contemplating a gift for parents-to-be: Babies outgrow small cradles in a matter of weeks. For something they’ll get a lot of mileage out of, you really need to go for a full crib.
A young lady in our office is expecting her first child. Her husband recently lost his job and he is trying desperately to become re-employed. I decided they needed something from the shop for the special package they are about to receive. I remembered the pendulum cradle from a previous issue of Woodcraft and decided to give it a try. I was fortunately given about 300 bf of cherry last year. This stuff had been stored for the past 40 years under a local business. Dirty doesn’t describe the rough cut cherry. The first cut revealed a beautiful red cherry. Exactly what you dream of when you see a cherry piece. Most of the boards are 4-6 inches wide. Some are quartersawn…who knew. Unfortunately, you don’t know whats under the dirt and grime until the planer kicks up. I followed the plan for the base for the dimensions of the cradle but decided against the pendulum. I opted for rockers instead. I freehanded the rockers copying the arc from the top. I realized at that point … what if you don’t want it to rock ? Well, wheel chocks keep a car from rolling. I picked what I felt was the optimum point and cut two triangles but with a small curve to match the rocker. Voila, rocker chocks. To make the placement exact, I drilled 3/8 holes in the chock and the rocker. The chocks snap themselves into the correct position and the rocker doesn’t rock. For storage, I drilled a hole in each chock and mounted a peg on the inside of the rocker. The finish is sanding sealer, 3 coats of a wiping gel polyurethane. The label list the poly as “safe when cured”. The spindles unfortunately (or fortunately ) were purchased at $15 for 10. I needed 28. If I had attempted to turn 28, well, the design element would have been…interesting.
I am in the process of building a small crib out of oak. The oak is both solid and plywood. When finished this crib will be a gift. Is there a certain type of finish that should go on the crib? Because there will be a newborn baby in it, I would not want to put something on it that may cause any reaction to the baby. Thanks!
Hey Rob. Most experts agree that any standard film finish is non toxic and perfectly safe once cured. But if you are really concerned and you have your doubts, you can always use shellac. Food-grade shellac is used in the pharmaceutical and candy industries routinely.
I would love to have the plans for this or know which issue it was in so i can order it from Woodcraft. Any infor would be great.
Very Nice. I love the cherry.
I found some 100 year old Red Tide Cypress in an old warehouse in New Orleans, about 18 years ago. When the boards were planed, sanded, and finished, the grain showed some amazing dark patterns that were unexpected and exquisite. I didn’t have to deal with dirt. The boards were so wide (20″ +)that nothing had to be joined to put together the cradle I designed. I decided not to put in rockers, just for stability (so it was a crib/cradle?), so the Headboard and footboard extend 3.5′ to the ground. Don’t have pictures digitized, but I carved hearts in the top (sappy sentimental) and curves, for the head and footboards. Of course it is thick, porous and soft wood, so everything is large in scale, not fine, refined work… and I did not use rails.
My son and daughter were both in it until they could roll over (not many months) and then I wondered if I had been smart to build this large wooden “elephant”… As soon as my daughter could walk, I put her dolls and stuffed animals in it, and she and her friends used it as a cradle and got in it themselves as a bed! She used it for play until she became a teen… now it is in the basement… perhaps for grandkids to use… when my daughter babysat, the little kids would love to crawl into it and it was strong enough to support them… and stable. Nice walk down memory lane, and… if you have the space the cradle might not just be for infancy!
I don’t think Marc would be so subtle as that. He’d more likely post a vid wearing an “I’M SUPERDAD” t-shirt…
This one did raise two questions for me, though: a.) Running filthy boards through a planer. I’m recycling some oak excavated from the undercroft of a local church (to be made into a cross for Good Friday at the same church) and it spent years covered in sand. Even after a round with 40-grit on the belt sander and a shot of compressed air, the pores still glisten as if there’s silicates stuck in the wood. Should I just resign myself to the fact that my planer blades will be trashed after flattening this stuff?
Last one is something that I learned and is offered as food for thought to anyone contemplating a gift for parents-to-be: Babies outgrow small cradles in a matter of weeks. For something they’ll get a lot of mileage out of, you really need to go for a full crib.
Beautiful cradle, Mike.
Lots of kid projects lately, Marc.
Anything you care to tell us? :)
Yes. People are sending me lots of pictures of childrens’ projects. There, I said it! :)