Baby crib

[nospambob]

[Richard Boggs]

Just found out last week that I'm going to be getting a Father's Day present next year! :D Once the state of (happy) shock wore off a bit (not that it's gone completely... from what I hear, it may NEVER go away, just mutate into another form of worry), first thing that popped into my mind was "I need to build a crib!". I'm no expert WW by far, but I'm not a complete newbie either, so given enough time (thus starting now!), I figure I can muddle through it...

I'm looking @ the transitional crib plan from Rockler -- looks pretty nice for what we want. However, I've seen some less-than-glowing comments about that plan on the wreck... any recent experiences? If it's a case of "it's usable, but it's not step-by-step instructions", I can handle it... but if they're pure bunk, might as well try somewhere else. (Suggestions?)

On a related note, I'm also trying to figure out how to finish it once I'm done. SWMBO wants it white, so I'd imagine any kind of veggie/mineral oil finish would be out of the question (but my finishing experience is pretty much restricted to paint & poly, so what do I know?). Sounds like shellac is considered safe -- would this work over a white paint, or should something else be used? And along that vein, do I need to worry about what kind of paint I use? I'd guess something water-based... a satiny finish is desired, not flat and not super-glossy.

Any thoughts/comments/"Better get some sleep while you can!" suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[Richard Boggs]

One other question -- does anyone know if the Rockler plans meets the federal guidelines for crib safety? I'd assume so, but we all know what happens when you do that... and it doesn't specifically state on their website anywhere that it does.

Again, thanks!

[Anthony VanCampen]

If I was Rockler I'd be leary of claiming compliance with crib safety guidelines for a plan. Couple of reasons for that 1) If a plan drawn up today meets the current guidelines, it could be sold for years, and the guidelines change. 2) How many of us follow a plan exactly? There is a possiblity of modifying a compliant plan into a non-complying product.

That said, the current standard is listed at

among other places.

As far as finish is concerned, most paints whether oil or water based should be safe for use on a crib. Best bet is to go to a paint professional Sherwin-Williams, etc and talk to them about appropriate paints. Don't forget that you want a finish that can be easily cleaned so semi-gloss and gloss fininshes will score higher there. I know of one varnish finish that is advertised as food/baby safe the brand name is "Tried and True" all of their finishes are made without heavy metal driers. Another finish to consider is shellac, according to the folks at shellac.com shellac is food and child safe.

Standard disclaimer, I am not associated with any of the vendors or manufacturers mentioned in this e-mail and recieve no remuneration for recommending their services or products.

Tigger

[Rob V]

This a great plan for a crib :

build 3 of them so far (maybe a 4th in the near future - depending on the SWMBO lol) Anyways - the first on I did pretty much to the plan. Once you do it - its real easy to modify. The other 2 I did were sleigh cribs to match the decor the wife wanted.

There is another out there that also includes all the hardware (including the matress holder) I think it was about 70 bux or so.

Anycase - congrats on the new addition. Just an fyi - I have 3 now - ages 1,2 & 4. I have always related having kids to a good defense.

1 kid - you can double team it. 2 kids - you play man on man. 3 or more - you are playing zone. :D

Good luck. Feel free to email me w/ any questions u have about it.

Thanks Rob

You can reply to me at r_b_v at v_e_r_z_e_r_a doht c_o_m

remove _ to get the correct address

[Quadindad2]

I built a cradle for my brothers baby. here's the link:

[jds]

Congratulations,

I've built two cribs for my daughter from Rockler's plans. The plans are reasonably good -- one thing that is not clear is the actual hole placement on the headboard uprights to attach the ends -- the holes need to be situated to give the smallest interior dimension to avoid an excessive gap between the spring edge and the ends. The other caveat is to use the drill bit sizes they call out for the threaded inserts. Using a smaller bit will cause the inserts to split the end grain -- didn't think 1/32" would make that much diffeence but it does! I modified the plans and made mortised and tenoned slats instead of the spindles in the Rockler plans which better suited my taste. Hardware is good (the gate installation is also a little quirky and not well explained but you'll figure it out). The first one I made from soft maple and has held up well for 20 months. The second one I made from cherry. In my case I used polyurethane as the finish -- certainly didn't want to hide the cherry!

The 20 month old grandaughter has managed to leave a teething groove all the way around the crib about a 1 1/2 " below the top of the rails -- a teething cap would have been of little use!

Good luck,

Dave

[John Girouard]

My father and I recently finished building a crib out of ash using the Rockler plans and hardware. I've been meaning to post a picture for a while, so here it is:

thought the plans were very good considering this was my first real project, so I am guessing that Rockler must have updated and/or modified them since nospambob got his. The only thing I found wrong with the plans was that they called for drilling larger holes than necessary for the bed bolts... I'm glad I checked for that before I drilled! The plans also called for drilling different sized holes to accomodate the threaded inserts, even though the inserts are all the same size. I drilled mine all the smaller size, and it worked fine.

I bought the plans with the intention of converting it through all three versions (crib -> toddler/day bed -> double bed), but I may not go to the double bed, as the headboard will have holes in the top of the legs from the bed bolts and impressions from the the endgrain of the crib ends. Also it looks to me like it would be a little flimsy to support an active kid jumping and who knows what else on a double bed.

If I did it again, I would maybe try using a bullnose bit for the edges of the slats rather than a roundover bit. The bearing on the roundover bit rides a little closer to the wood when it is riding on a corner that has already been rounded over, causing the tiniest little offset and a LOT of sanding time. Also, I HIGHLY recommend creating a tiny chamfer on the ends of the slat tenons to ease assembly. Extended open time glue would also be wise.

I finished it with 4 coats of Minwax oil based poly, starting with a heavy thinned coat (2 parts mineral spirits to 1 part poly), then a

2nd coat with the reverse proportions. The top 2 coats were full poly. I sanded to 220 before finishing, used 320 in between coats, and 0000 steel wool after the final coat. Came out surprisingly smooth for such a porous wood. Since I didn't want my boy getting high off the fumes, I let each coat cure before applying the next. 24 hours for the thinned coats, 48 for the full coats seemed to be enough.

Have fun, start early (my little guy was 2 months old before I finished!), and stock up on sleep!

-John

[nospambob]

For context I spent 22+ years TRYING to get Govt contractors to provide procedures shipboard sailors could follow so my history might tend to lean to critical. Had one contractor refuse to provide art for the sailor to get into a radar transmitter with 20 KV potential to do maintenance until I asked if he had a son, yes, would you send him in there without art, I got the NEEDED art. I'm attempting to raise the flag that the steps are SHORT in requirements. I got there and am certain others have as well, caveat emptor still prevails. Point taken! Thanks John.

[john]

The plans I used actually had a diagram for building a tennoning jig for the slats. Phew!

-John