Colorado Cradle

[jimmyjames]

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.....

 

[kweinert]

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.

 

[kweinert]

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.

 

[kweinert]

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.

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*

 

[kweinert]

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]

 

[kweinert]

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.

 

[kweinert]

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*

 

[Mike1950]

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*

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

 

[Walt]

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

 

[Walt]

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*

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

 

[woodtickgreg]

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

 

[kweinert]

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 :)

 

[kweinert]

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