Building a crib

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229
Location
Vernon, WI
Well ladies n gents, my girlfriend's sister and her husband are pregnant and due in February. I thought a perfect gift for Christmas would be to build them a crib. Angie (my girlfriend) and I have a pretty good idea of the style they would like and I already have some plans drawn up in my head :) But when it comes to the choice of wood, I need some help. I would like it to be a fine, straight grained and dense wood that takes stain well. I would like to stain it pretty dark, kind of like how mahogany turns out, although I believe mahogany is rather expensive. So yes, price is a bit of a concern. Also what would you guys recommend for a finish? Something that's safe for the baby to chew on :) with a little bit of shine to it but nothing too crazy.

Sorry if I sound a bit picky, but ANYthing you guys suggest I will take into great consideration. It's been at least a few years (high school woodwoorking) since I've built anything furniture-wise out of wood. So I'm sure I'll be a bit stratchy at first but we'll see how it goes :) Thanks in advance for anything you can throw at me!
 
Westley, I've seen your work on this site and know you will do a good job. Not sure if you saw this post, but Dewayne Baker has made a crib that is absolutely beautiful.

I'm a turner, so no flat work advice from me except to build it with a child's safety as your number one goal. Slat spacing, finishes, etc. are very important. Take time to study the rules.

Oh, and best wishes.
 
Westley, did you mean a crib (like this), or a cradle (like this)?

If you're making a crib, you might consider making it so it's convertible into a twin bed as the baby grows up.

Here's a crib Jerry Strojny built:

http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2012

And here's one by Chris Mire:

http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3586

Here's a short discussion on crib finishes:

http://www.familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?p=61117

Sounds like a fun project to get your woodworking chops back with. :thumb:
 
I agree on the stain suggestion, but any finish is food safe after it has cured. Shellac is repairable, but it's not as durable as other finishes. I think I'd lean toward something like USL. It's also repairable, but more durable.
 
Well thanks for all of the replies everyone. Vaughn, I was speaking of a crib, not a cradle. But those cradles sure are beautiful. Why do you guys not suggest staining? If that were the case, what wood would you recommend for such a dark color? I'm hoping to find something that has a subtle grain to it. One that doesn't really pop out like oak. Vaughn I will definitely check into that finish when the time gets closer. My uncle has a spray gun so it shouldn't be a problem.
 
Cribs

I have built several cribs both in full size and doll size. I used white ash. I like to have a dark brown chocolatey finish. I make my own stain. I take ordinary black roofing cement and mix it with mineral spirits. Stir it well and let it settle, a lot of thick stuff settles out. I then strain it thru an old t-shirt several times.
It comes out to a dark walnut color. Several coats of poly and it comes out beautiful.
 
Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've been on here. Been doing a lot of 3rd shift work remodeling Mcdonald's in the area for their new mccafe coffee, so I haven't had much time to do anything but work and sleep lol. But enough of the boring talk, I finally ordered some things such as a rodless crib kit from Rockler and the fastener kit for it. I also drew up some rough plans and did some figuring for the wood I need so I will be picking that up tomorrow! My girlfriend's sister wants a white crib so that means I get to spend a little less and buy poplar :) Sorry no pics yet, but maybe I can take some and post them within the next couple of days.
 
hey westly,, you keep callin her your girl friend :huh: i think you better seal the deal before she geta away:D she sounds like a keeper and those are hard to find these days:):thumb: let us in n the white crib when you get it ready..
 
I was a little taken aback by Harry Niemann's description of the stain he uses. Naturally I couldn't resist a friendly comment or 2. If you use tar in the stain and the baby sucks on a rail does that make the child a 'tar baby'? :D
I expect the child won't get dandruff at any rate. :thumb: Actually I'll file the idea away for future reference. I might give that stain a go.
 
Well here are some pics of my progress so far, which isn't much :D but I had some time to work on it this Saturday. First pic is of all of the wood. The second is of the crib hardware. The 3rd and 4th are of what I've cut so far, which are going to be part of the frame system that holds the spindles on the sides of the crib. I won't tell you how I cut those tennons but it wasn't right, let's just say I don't have a tennon jig for the table saw :eek::eek::eek: Hopefully I get some more time this weekend or maybe even this week to work on it. It was really fun to get started on something like this :thumb:
 
hey westly

those pics are pretty transparent i dont even see them:)try going to mange attaments and make sure they are the right size and then do a preveiw to see if there in.
 
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Whoops! Forgot to add the pics... here they are!
 

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from over here!

on this side of the pond you dont need no tenon attachment for your saw you done fine job without it!!!1 the mortise,s look like they might have been done on drill press or maybe handrill if so as long as the tenons fit well your golden westly
 
Thanks, yep gonna have to do the mortises on the drill press then finish them up with a chisel since I don't have a mortiser, although very tempting to go buy one! But I have spent a lot in the last couple of weeks between buying stuff for this crib and other little projects, so I can't fork out for a mortiser right now
 
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