# Colorado Cradle



## kweinert (Aug 29, 2012)

My SO just recently found out that she's going to be a grandmother again and her son and daughter-in-law asked me if I could build a cradle for them.

It was confusing at first because Ken sent me a picture of an Eddie Bauer cradle that had a couple of features they like: it glides (as opposed to rocking) and it has a shelf underneath. They told me they had it at Babies-R-Us so I went looking. Not to duplicate, just to see what it looked like, get some general size ideas.

After visiting 2 of the stores locally, it turns out they didn't have them - Ken and JoAnna had seen a couple different ones that each had one of the features they were looking for and happened to see this picture while they were looking for something to show me.

They have one constraint, the place to put this. In their bedroom there's plenty of room to put it, but it will have to be parallel to the bed. This would make getting things off the shelf a bit difficult so I took that into consideration.

I'll really work on getting a sketch up this weekend (done the old fashioned way, the use of sketchup still eludes me) but I'll mention a couple of items to try to give the idea.

I started with a standard bassinet mattress/pad as the base measurement (15" x 30"), I'm going to use pivot hinges to create a glider motion, and the shelf underneath is going to use full length drawer slides so the shelf will be a drawer that can be slid out from the end to make all the items readily available.

I'm anticipating that the ends of the frame will be a double-H configuration with a single rail on the long sides for stability and a place to mount the drawer. The cradle itself will have solid ends using cabinet door technique to enclose the panel. I'm still debating whether or not I feel that I have enough skill to duplicate spindles for the long sides of the cradle or if I'll use slats instead.

They liked the ambrosia maple and I liked it because I know where to get some stock that is wide enough for the panels I need, but there was some really pretty curly cherry there as well.

I have a parts list made out, just need to determine how to lay it out on the wood so I know how much I need to get. I've ordered the hardware (at least the pivot hinges and the drawer slides) and I'm still trying to make up my mind on the joinery.

It'll be a couple of days before I update this because I won't have any pictures until the sketch is completed and the wood picked up. I also won't be posting every day as my shop time is a bit limited, but I plan on making steady progress so you shouldn't have to wait *too *long between updates.

Any time any of you want to jump in with advice I'm willing to listen.


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## woodtickgreg (Aug 29, 2012)

Subscribed, I love works in progress. Fun to watch, post lots of pics along the way.


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## kweinert (Aug 29, 2012)

*Colorado Cradle: Bill of Materials*


```
BdFt    Measurement               #      Purpose
2.50	 2 1/2 X 36 X 3/4		4	legs
1.45	 2 1/2 x 21 x 3/4		4	end cross pieces
1.15	 2 1/2 x 33 x 3/4		2	side braces
1.25	 6     x 15 x 3/4		2	drawer ends
2.75	 6     x 33 x 3/4		2	drawer sides
3.44	16     x 31 x 1/4		2	cradle/drawer bottoms
2.15	 2 1/2 x 31 x 3/4		4	cradle sides
1.11	 2 1/2 x 16 x 3/4		4	cradle end stiles
1.46	 2 1/2 x 21 x 3/4		4	cradle end rails
2.44	16     x 22 x 1/4		2	cradle end panels
1.11	 1     x 16 x 1/2	   20	slates/spindles
0.44	 1     x 16 x 3/4        4	pivot arms
```

The end panels, cradle bottom, and drawer bottom I computed by
presuming I could resaw a single 4/4 and get both pieces. The slats
will end up being more like 3/8, but the same assumption was made
there - resawing in half.

This is a total of 21.25 board feet, 23.5 board feet when adding for
waste.

Here are some local prices. I've only checked one place so far, have two other hardwood dealers here in the Denver area that I need to investigate prices on.

Ambrosia maple 4.99
Figured cherry 7.25
Walnut 8.29
Cherry 5.49
Curly maple 5.10
Sapele 6.48

The figured cherry is *really* pretty wood, probably my favorite of
the above listed woods.

The next challenge is going to be figuring out how to lay out the
pieces on the wood. Since it's not dimensional lumber it's going to
depend on the pieces I pick up.

(Just a side note: I sure wish BBCode had a way to do tables)

Ken


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## woodtickgreg (Aug 29, 2012)

Ken, one piece of advice, get some extra material for the oops factor at the time you buy your lumber so the color and grain matches if you have an oops. Most magazines I have read about calculating bd ft for a project recomend 20% to 30% extra. Hey if you don't have an oops you can always make a cool cherry box or something.


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## kweinert (Aug 29, 2012)

woodtickgreg said:


> Ken, one piece of advice, get some extra material for the oops factor at the time you buy your lumber so the color and grain matches if you have an oops. Most magazines I have read about calculating bd ft for a project recomend 20% to 30% extra. Hey if you don't have an oops you can always make a cool cherry box or something.



OK, I'll add some extra. The 10% figure probably came from doing stuff around the house, you know - tile or hardwood floor, something that's regular in nature and harder (but not impossible - see signature) to screw up.


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## kweinert (Sep 2, 2012)

No plans yet, but Ken and I went down and picked out the wood.

I had originally picked up a piece of Ambrosia Maple but then they got in something I liked more, so I borrowed him and his pickup to go take a look.

4/4 Curly Cherry:

[attachment=9937]

[attachment=9938]

Shown with a bit of water on it. One of the pieces is wide enough that I can resaw it to bookmatch the cradle ends.

Now it's a matter of laying out all the pieces. I picked up just a touch over 25 bd ft so I should have enough extra to get everything I need.


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## woodtickgreg (Sep 2, 2012)

Oooh, me likey cherry too! It ages beautifully, when you are all done sanding, just before you put the finish on, put it out in the sun for a few hours, it will darken beautifully.


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## kweinert (Sep 4, 2012)

I got the plans drawn up yesterday. These wouldn't be suitable for publication anywhere, but it does serve to document what I plan to do. I couldn't post until this morning because my scanner at home will only do 8 1/2 x 11 and I drew this on 11x14 paper.

[attachment=10122]

In case the notes are difficult to read:

Design based on a standard 15x30 mattress
Scale: 1 1/2" = 1'
Top view does not show slats
Glider movement
Bottom front open for drawer movement
Back has two cross pieces, front only one
Drawer runs on 28" full extension runners
Cradle ends bookmatched 'cabinet door' construction
Bottom of cradle and bottom of top cross pieces are coincident


The one modification I can see happening is to shorten the legs and add a bottom 'foot' in order to provide a wider stance. I also need to research to find the widest gap that's legal for the cradle sides so the slat layout might need to be redesigned.


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## Kevin (Sep 4, 2012)

*RE: Colorado Cradle: Bill of Materials*



kweinert said:


> ... I sure wish BBCode had a way to do tables...



The easiest way would be to just take a screenshot and upload as an image.

:i_dunno:


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## kweinert (Sep 24, 2012)

Well, I had some issues this weekend. While I've cut the legs and the side pieces for the prototype, I decided it made sense to get the ends of the cradle built before continuing on with the remainder of the framework.

Since the pieces are all 'handed' and 'faced' - that is, orientation matters - I'm glad I decided to try this in pine before getting to the good wood. Mostly it went OK, but I managed to cut 8 pieces for the bottom of the frame in order to get 2 good ones. It was a combination of incorrect setup of the router bits, routing the wrong side, etc, etc, etc. I also learned that flat pieces is more than just a good idea :)

It turned out fairly well. Here are a couple of pictures of the cradle in clamps, nothing glued yet. I still have to cut the slots for the slats in the side and the mortise and tenon joints on the end.


[attachment=11180]

[attachment=11181]

Ken


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## kweinert (Oct 29, 2012)

Been a while since I've done an update and this one will be pretty short.

I got the last of the hardware in last week and was glad of it. The order status had it on backorder without any real indication when it would ship.

Also got a tenon jig built and got the cradle mortise and tenons cut yesterday. I got measurements of the pieces now that I know they go together properly and will be laying out the slat locations for the sides. I'm not sure that I'll actually cut all of those, but I will lay them out on the rails so I'm sure they'll fit and look correct.

Next I'll be sorting out how to put the bottom in. I had originally thought of grooving (like you would for a drawer bottom) but I'm not sure how successful I'd be with a stopped groove. I can't groove all the way across the end or it will show. I might cut support pieces so I can just set the bottom piece on them. Thoughts?

After that I'll be gluing up the cradle and starting to assemble the end supports and the drawer.


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## Mike1950 (Oct 29, 2012)

I think you could do a stopped groove-but having the bottom replaceable is probably a good idea- most of the babies I have been around are good at 2 things noise-lots of that and Number 2- well it entails the other end. Accidents happen and it is always the same, messy. Cradle could be refreshed with new bottom when the new bottom needs the cradle- if ya catch my drift.


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## kweinert (Nov 17, 2012)

OK, had some time this weekend, finally, to get some work done on this. After spending the last 3 weeks (including weekends) working 10-12 hours a day to get the software out the door it was nice to be able to get back to this project.

[attachment=13580]

I cheated in a couple of ways here: I only cut the mortises on one side for the slats. And then I went out and bought 1/4" plywood for the slats.

I learned that I'm going to need a better fence (or better method) for cutting the mortises. I have a benchtop drillpress and i used a 1/4" Forstner bit to drill them out and then used a chisel to clean up. There was a bit too much variability in the alignment of the holes that I'll have to be careful of.

I went the quick and easy route on the slats and used the oscillating sander to round the edges, but I'll be picking up a 1/8" roundover bit and do that work on the router table for the real thing.

[attachment=13581]

I added the runner along the bottom of the lower rails for the piece of plywood the mattress will sit on. I'm thinking baltic birch plywood for the real article, although a piece of cherry would probably look better.

It's nice to see it finally take shape. Now I have to build the ends, check out the mechanism for it to swing and see if I can really support the drawer idea or if that's going to throw the balance too far out.


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## woodtickgreg (Nov 17, 2012)

Kenn, a method that I have used that has worked well for me with multiple mortices like you are doing, is I use a plunge router with a guide fence, just clamp the part you are morticing to a wide board for a flat surface to hold the router on for stability, then you only have to chisel the corners. cut the mortices first then size the tenons to fit the mortices. I like mission style or craftsman style furniture and there's tons of mortice and tenons in them, that's how I learned an easier and faster way to cut a bunch of mortices.


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## kweinert (Nov 17, 2012)

woodtickgreg said:


> Kenn, a method that I have used that has worked well for me with multiple mortices like you are doing, is I use a plunge router with a guide fence, just clamp the part you are morticing to a wide board for a flat surface to hold the router on for stability, then you only have to chisel the corners. cut the mortices first then size the tenons to fit the mortices. I like mission style or craftsman style furniture and there's tons of mortice and tenons in them, that's how I learned an easier and faster way to cut a bunch of mortices.



Do you use an upcut spiral bit for that? I suspect it wouldn't matter a lot as these are only 1/2" deep. I am curious what kind of bit you use, though.

Thanks.


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## woodtickgreg (Nov 17, 2012)

kweinert said:


> woodtickgreg said:
> 
> 
> > Kenn, a method that I have used that has worked well for me with multiple mortices like you are doing, is I use a plunge router with a guide fence, just clamp the part you are morticing to a wide board for a flat surface to hold the router on for stability, then you only have to chisel the corners. cut the mortices first then size the tenons to fit the mortices. I like mission style or craftsman style furniture and there's tons of mortice and tenons in them, that's how I learned an easier and faster way to cut a bunch of mortices.
> ...


Depending on the depth like you said, I have used both an upcut or a straight cut with multiple passes.


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## kweinert (Nov 18, 2012)

I've been thinking about a way to make this rock 'on command' so to speak and ran across this mechanism:

Cardan Gear

Anyone ever seen anything like this? And yes, I realize that the motor will have to be a real low RPM to avoid shaken baby syndrome :)

Anyone with any experience or thoughts in this direction is welcome to throw in their $0.02 worth. Even to say it's a bad idea.

Ken


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## kweinert (Jan 21, 2013)

So, it's been a while since I posted. Work, weather, and Christmas projects got in the way, but I've made some pretty good progress recently.

Here's the 3 boards laying out prior to laying out the pieces:

[attachment=16812]

Next I laid out all the pieces and got some help cutting out the strips. The ends were fine to cut out, but I learned that a 11 to 12" 4/4 cherry board that's 8 to 10' long is *a lot* heavier than the pine I used for the prototype. This was a lesson that I learned without having to actually try it, so no danger involved. Now I realize why people that do this all the time have outfeed tables or runners.

[attachment=16813]

The wider piece on the right is for the drawer to go underneath. I'm thinking that I might resaw that down for a thinner drawer edge - but on the other hand having more weight on the bottom could add some stability as well. 

This morning I cut the strips to length.

[attachment=16814]

Now it's out to the shop to hit up the jointer to get the pieces square and to width, then the drum sander to get them all the same thickness. It's times like these that a planer would come in handy :)

I cut the top and bottom rails for the cradle from continuous strips so that, as much as possible, the grain will wrap around the cradle and the top and bottom rails were cut next to each other so there should be some continuity there as well. I don't know how noticeable that will be, but it seemed like the right thing to do.

I'll do the jointing to get to width and transfer the piece identity and orientation to the sides before I get to the sanding. There are enough pieces there that I don't want to try to reassemble the order of them all. I'm fairly good at puzzles but that doesn't mean I want to add to the difficulty if i don't have to.


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## Kevin (Jan 21, 2013)

Tune that miter saw up you shouldn't be getting burn marks like that. Keep on chooglin can't wait to see it finished. When is this bundle of joy expected to hit the deck a runnin?


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## Mike1950 (Jan 21, 2013)

Planer is faster but on the really figured wood I do all the final on sander. I hate to send it thru the planer the last time and have it come out the end all chipped out. :dash2::dash2::dash2::dash2::dash2:


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## jimmyjames (Jan 21, 2013)

Cool, for a minute i thought that was gonna be the finished.product with the plywood slats etc.... i need to stop just looking at pictures and read the thread :) pretty neat building something for a brand new life, i should have built my daughters crib but time wasnt on my side.....


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## kweinert (Jan 21, 2013)

Kevin said:


> Tune that miter saw up you shouldn't be getting burn marks like that. Keep on chooglin can't wait to see it finished. When is this bundle of joy expected to hit the deck a runnin?



If I'd've been smart I would have used the miter saw. Not used to having one around (it's not mine, but available - just didn't think of it) so i used my circular saw. Everything is cut a little long now anyhow, so I'll keep the miter saw in mind when I do the final trim. Probably easier than the table saw I was planning on using.

She'll be here in April.


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## kweinert (Jan 21, 2013)

Mike1950 said:


> Planer is faster but on the really figured wood I do all the final on sander. I hate to send it thru the planer the last time and have it come out the end all chipped out. :dash2::dash2::dash2::dash2::dash2:



Yeah, if I had a planer I'd definitely be doing the majority of the sizing/smoothing on that and then finishing on the sander.

Speaking of sander - anyone have any idea how to get get pitch bands off the paper? I'm presuming that's what it is, getting a buildup on parts of the paper which clearly puts nice streaks in the wood.

Another reason for doing the rough work on the planer and only the finish on the sander - less chance of getting the buildup.


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## kweinert (Jan 21, 2013)

kweinert said:


> Mike1950 said:
> 
> 
> > Planer is faster but on the really figured wood I do all the final on sander. I hate to send it thru the planer the last time and have it come out the end all chipped out. :dash2::dash2::dash2::dash2::dash2:
> ...



Today is not my day, I guess.

So, did some reading on the pitch buildup, saw what I was trying to do wasn't right and made a couple of changes. Dropped to a much coarser grit and sped up the feed table.

This worked fine for one pass through the stack of parts. Run it through, turn over, run again. 

About 1/2 way through the stack the second time through, the smell of burning wood became very strong. The end of the sandpaper tore off so it was no longer contained and it doubled up.

There is one thing I *really* dislike about this Ryobi sander - the hook for the second end is a bitch to get to. It's the end closest to the machine, the hardest to get to, and you have to pull back against a spring to both open the clip and to pull the clip towards the opening in the drum. That's how it gets tension. It works, it's just a real pain to do.

And now that the paper tore, of course, it's not useful anymore.

I'll cut a new piece when I get home tomorrow. It's starting to get cold out there again and I'm out of propane.

*sigh*


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## kweinert (Jan 30, 2013)

Got out to the shop today because my sandpaper came in.

A quick aside: i finally found a user's manual for my Ryobi drum sander and found the actual specifications for cutting the strip of sandpaper. Turns out that I was doing everything correct except the cutting of the strip. 

Because I measured from strip to strip they eventually got just a bit too short to grip properly and that's why they kept coming off. Of course, by the time I discovered that I was down to my last strip and that got too loaded for me to finish the sanding I needed.

I finally found the best price for rolled paper at SuperGrit and ordered a 50yd roll (at $1.10/yard for 220) and it got here today.

So I was able to finish up the pre-assembly sanding and got the faces re-identified. Next up will be the cutting to actual width (after I get new jointer blades so i can create a reference edge.)

I have here a couple of shots of what the grain looks like now that it's sanded down smooth.

[attachment=17537]

[attachment=17538]

And here's the stack that will turn into a cradle:

[attachment=17540]


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## kweinert (Feb 17, 2013)

So I've been getting busy on it and Friday night got all the shellac on it, then went to finish cutting the rails for the cradle ends. One went together perfectly, the other was just not lining up - it was offset about 3/32" or so.

I finally figured out that one of the stiles wasn't cut straight. Not sure how I did that, but luckily I had some extra stock that I've been using for setup and finishing testing. 

In the process of figuring out if I had a piece big enough to replace the stile I found out something interesting.

Somehow I only had three of the cradle rails. i have no idea how that happened, I must have cut something too short when I was doing the initial cutting and I think that's the piece that I just recut the new stile from (it was too short for the cradle rail.)

Luckily I still have some of the original wood left over so I spend the morning cutting, sanding, and putting shellac back on the new rail.

Now I'm out to switch out my bandsaw blade and try doing some resawing for the slats. I need to end up with 1/4" strips after they've been through the sander.


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## kweinert (Mar 10, 2013)

Here's a tale of the classic "Measure Twice, Cut Once"

We'll call it "Remember Once, Cut 14 Times"

I needed 14 slats for the sides of the cradle. Before cutting the slats I measured the width of the slats and the distance between them. 1 3/4 wide, 2 1/4 between them.

Then I promptly cut 7 pieces of 3/4 stock 1 1/4 inches wide.

I then resawed the stock to make 14 slats.

Which I then ran through the router to round over the edges.

Which I then put the shellac sealer on.

And the base coat of stain to even them out.

And then 3 coats of Merlot to get the right color.

Then I remeasured the prototype and started cutting the mortises that these slats will fit in and thought I should double check to ensure I was cutting them deep enough so that the cradle rails will fit into the end pieces.

And found that my mortises are 1/2" wider than the slats.

Now I'll be recutting slats. I can't just make the mortises the same distance apart and just cut them shorter - then the opening is too large and unsafe for a baby.

And I wasn't smart enough to just cut one mortise before checking.

:dash2::dash2::dash2::dash2::dash2:

Maybe there's a reason I have so far earned my living writing programs.

*sigh*


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## Mike1950 (Mar 10, 2013)

kweinert said:


> Here's a tale of the classic "Measure Twice, Cut Once"
> 
> We'll call it "Remember Once, Cut 14 Times"
> 
> ...



The only difference between you and someone that makes no mistakes- is you are honest......................


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## Walt (Mar 10, 2013)

I have had a similar request for a cradle. Since I have a bunch of cherry, that is probably what I will use. Not sure of the design yet though. I think I am going to go with an old fashioned design with rockers and probably spindles alternating with lats for the sides and ends. If I feel energetic, I may even do some holly inlays on the side rails, ends and lats. 

I can not start working on it until June or so (too many other projects and craft fairs til then): so, do not expect any pictures real soon.

This is gunna make me a Great Grandfather for the third time! I am hoping the oldest great grandkids will get busy and make me a Great Great Granpa, then I will definately qualify as an ol' dog (I'm adicted to trees).....lol

Walt


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## Walt (Mar 10, 2013)

kweinert said:


> Here's a tale of the classic "Measure Twice, Cut Once"
> 
> We'll call it "Remember Once, Cut 14 Times"
> 
> ...



You could shim the lats with some pieces of 1/4" stock and if ya use a contrasting wood, everyone will think, "How Cool!"

Walt


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## woodtickgreg (Mar 10, 2013)

If you aint makin mistakes you aint learnin. I'm learnin a lot.


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## kweinert (Mar 10, 2013)

Walt said:


> You could shim the slats with some pieces of 1/4" stock and if ya use a contrasting wood, everyone will think, "How Cool!"
> 
> Walt



Not a bad idea, but just not practical for this cradle - it's all the Merlot dye/stain on it, the contrast isn't what they're looking for.

If this wasn't a bespoke cradle then it's something that I'd probably think about doing - making the mistake look like part of the design. 

Definitely good advice, some I'll hold on to for the next time I manage to educate myself :)


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## kweinert (May 7, 2013)

So I ended up making the slats from poplar and with the Merlot dye on them it's hard to tell the difference. I'll post up some more pictures later this week, but it's finally done and I have a picture of the tenant using it :)

[attachment=24509]

The fit and finish aren't what I'd like, but so far everyone who isn't a woodworker really likes it :)

I used glider hinges so the cradle part rocks back and forth.

Ken


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