Cradle for an expecting parents

[bmyers]

I got a request from some friends of ours to make a cradle. They are due in a few days, I must get it shipped!

It's basic pine, glued and screwed. No fancy joinery. The plans didn't call for it and neither did expedience. I did use milk paint from milkpaint.com, bayberry green. The flower was done with a spirocraft from milescraft and a core box bit, painted with some hobby paint gold. The milk paint was very easy to work with and is kid-safe. The gold buttons to cover the screw holes (wife's idea) are not pound in yet as it needs to be shipped to Ga. disassembled. I stuck them in there for the photo.

I hope it survives the humidty change from Phoenix,Az to Atlanta,Ga.

It's made for a "standard" cradle mattress size of 18" x 36".






thanks for looking,
Bill

[GeekMom]

Very nice, Bill. I like the stud detail around the edges - makes it look rustic.

[mater]

Very nice work Bill. It looks great.

[Pappy]

Nice work, Bill!

[Ken Massingale]

Another nice piece Bill.
k

[Wood_workur]

nice. Simple lines, but still very good looking.

[John Hunter]

Very nice.

[lrogers]

Very nice Bill. I'm sure it will became a treasured family heirloom.

[radhak]

a beautiful piece of work, bill.

a question pops up : i was mentioning something along the same lines (building and gifting a cradle / bassinet) to a friend/couple also expecting, and he asked me - how do you ensure that whatever you make is 'safe, strong, and follows federal childcare regulations ?'

frankly, the fact that he asked me that before i was done with my proposal made me back-track with some inane "...you are right, purchasing one might be safer..."

but it did set me thinking - is there some way of calculating the strength of any such furniture? (i am assuming strength was his sole worry). and is there any such 'federal guideline / regulation' that i might have crossed?

- radhak

[Ken Weaver]

Nice Bill - they'll love it.

[bmyers]

a beautiful piece of work, bill.

a question pops up : i was mentioning something along the same lines (building and gifting a cradle / bassinet) to a friend/couple also expecting, and he asked me - how do you ensure that whatever you make is 'safe, strong, and follows federal childcare regulations ?'

frankly, the fact that he asked me that before i was done with my proposal made me back-track with some inane "...you are right, purchasing one might be safer..."

but it did set me thinking - is there some way of calculating the strength of any such furniture? (i am assuming strength was his sole worry). and is there any such 'federal guideline / regulation' that i might have crossed?

- radhak

Valid question. First, these are some close friends of ours or else I wouldn't even be making it for them! Next, I selected plans from a book about childrens furniture and toys. They will have put more time and effort into a cradle plan that is safe and within regulations (if any) on it's construction than I. It's a recent publication so I'm not worried about an outdated/unsafe design.

I have no concerns whatsoever that this will be strong enough. I'm pretty sure I could sit in it, thats 180 lbs. If you're newborn weighs more than that I'd be worried about feeding it not were its gonna sleep.

I used materials known to be child safe (once dry).. The cradle mattress will be up to regulations as that will be store bought.

Lastly, I wouldn't hesitate to put my own child in it. That's the final test for me above all federal, state, and local laws. Concern for the saftey my children or someone elses it paramount when I making kid related stuff. Due diligence in construction and materials is a must.

Now, would this be the first child of your friends? Seems first time expecting parents worry about a great many thing when they should be trying to sleep BEFORE the baby is born. It doesn't happen after..


Bill

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Finish is the only thing you would have to worry about regarding federal regulation and even there the regluations apply to the makers of the finishes not you the end user. From a product liability stand point, you are would even be fine given the nature of the transaction, as there is little to zero deligence owed by you to the party other than intentional acts. Federal or most likely state, regulation of child care is mostly related to care of others children v. your own. Amazingly you have little legal requirement for your own children. Still, even if it was used in a day care situation the negligence would fall back on the end user for failure to use federally recognized safety certified crib. Unless of course you were grossly negligent and used water as the adhesive to hold it together! LOL!
That's the legal part. From the "real life" side of things, ie your and the parents concern for the safety of the children, I am sure that 3/4" pine put together with screws is plenty safe. Some people just act retarded when it comes to child safety. First time parents ask this question? Couldn't the parent just stack 150 lbs of concrete block in the darn thing and see it is sturdy?

Hey, bmyers, I love the finish. You did a great job using a finiky finish on a very finiky wood! I really like it. I wouldn't worry about humidity given the size of the project and fact that you used screws and no glue. Should be enough room for a small project to move a little. Again, great job!