Handcrafted Colonial Baby Cradle ("French Heritage")
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- Here is a baby cradle I made from a design I purchased online. It is called "Colonial Cradle: French Heritage." It is solid red oak, with all joinery being dowels and mortise and tenon. The only metal hardware are the hooks and eyebolts used for the swinging action. One push will make it swing 250 consecutive swings before coming to a complete stop! It is effortless to push, and utterly silent. The video is in real speed except for the last few seconds where I put it in slow motion. As you can see, the speed of the swinging action, and the amount of lift, is ideal. The cradle, with its curved rockers, can also be lifted off the hooks of the stand and placed on the floor to rock, without the stand.
Tools used:
● pencil (and sharpener)
● tape measure
● ruler
● level
● miter saw
● table saw
● router (not only for rounding the corners, but instead of a band saw, I created a jig to cut the 24 cradle spindles identically with the router, I also created a jig to cut the cradle's "headboard" and "footboard" identically with the router, and I also created a jig to cut the stand's feet identically with the router)
● hand drill (no drill press!) (The secret: I used dowel and tenon centers!)
● palm sander (no band saw!) (The secret: patience!)
● belt sander (for cleaning up the cradle's "headboard" and "footboard" after glue-ups, and with the belt sander on its stand, I rounded many of the curved parts) (Hint: use a dust mask)
● Mouse sander (The Mouse sander has a special curved attachment which was perfect for sanding the rounded corners of the cradle spindles)
● jig saw
● grinder (for sanding dowels flush after gluing)
● coping saw (for the tight corners in the cradle's stretcher and the stand's feet)
● chisel (for the mortise and tenon joint of cradle's stretcher)
● clamps (my favorite are Irwin's quick clamps with 600 lb. strength)
● air compressor (for cleaning up wood after sanding; I also used a microfiber cloth)
● lathe
● bench vise (for bending eyebolts to the required 21 degrees) (The secret: To avoid ruining the threads of the eyebolts, and to avoid the risk of cracking the cradle's "headboard" and "footboard," first screw the eyebolts into some scrap wood, then place wood in vise, then bang eyebolts with heavy hammer, then unscrew now-bent eyebolts, and finally screw them into the finished "headboard" and "footboard" of cradle.)
Finishing:
1 coat of proprietarily mixed stain
5 coats of "General Finishes" water-based, high performance, semi-gloss polyurethane (lightly sanding between coats with 0000 steel wool)
The design of this unique cradle was fashioned after one found in St. Genevieve, Missouri, the first pioneer settlement on the west bank of the Mississippi River.
Starting this project soon. What size mattress fits in the cradle? All the ones I’ve found online are huge. Or was it a custom job? Trying to plan ahead. Thank you.
I ordered a cradle mattress from ababy.com along with the matching sheets.
Priceee plz
Sorry, it's not for sale.
Why? Why? One of the all time MOST PRECIOUS AND SWEETEST BABIES WITH A BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED PIECE OF FINE FURNITURE, ARE YOU EDITING IN ONE OF HISTORY'S SADDEST AND BLUEST TUNES??? I just think this is very very strange. Other than this, a great job!
Hi, You have a nice video here. The most complete woodworking projects that I have ever used was Toms Magic Wood (i found it on google). Without a doubt it contains the most incredible woodworking plans that I have ever tried.
Hey, This is a nice video here. The most comprehensive woodworking plans that I have ever used was Toms Magic Wood (i found it on google). Without a doubt it contains the most incredible woodworking projects that I have ever tried.
Beautiful baby, beautiful cradle and craftsmanship!
What more could one ask for?!!! Love it.
Frank
Mighty fine piece of work right there! And the cradle is awesome work too!
please let me know where you got these plans!!! I have a baby niece and my dad and I would love too build this!!!
+Dennis Ritchie I bought the plans from woodcraft. www.woodcraft.com/product/151658/woodworking-project-paper-plan-to-build-french-colonial-baby-cradle.aspx
Could you please tell me if there's another name is for the metal hardware,I've 'googled' "Hooks',looked in stores,etc.,can't find them anywhere.I've built a cradle using these before, yrs. ago,& making one for my '18th' Great Grandbaby now,but can't find these 'hooks'!
The hardware for this cradle consists of two items.
1) Lag Thread Screw Eye Bolt (Fastenal has these)
2) Single utility coat hat robe wall-mounted stainless hook (or simply type
"4hdw5" in Google).
For stainless, go downwindmarine.com and search for coat hooks.
Hope that helps.
Sorry,Just now able to see this.Thank you very much,he found the hooks for it(for our '18th' Great gandbaby!) We loved that video & cradle,thanks again.
Congratulations!
Thanks. We still use the cradle every day and night, after 8 months. The baby has not outgrown it yet.
chehsed baby cots
Is there any tutorials how to build a cradle like this?
I'm not aware of any tutorial, but there are woodworking plans online, which is all I used. They're great plans. Everything is full-scale, so you only need to cut out the templates, glue them to some plywood, and "trace" the plywood templates with a router. Here are a few tips.
Most people would use a band saw to individually cut each of the slats, but I made a jig and simply “traced” around the jig with my router to make 24 identical slats. The trickiest thing is glueing up all the slats into the rails, as you need to work quickly. An extra set of hands can be helpful. Be sure to wipe up any excess glue with a wet cloth, before it dries. Before gluing up the slats, however, I stacked them all together, pinned between stationary “stops” on my work table, and sanded them all together, on all sides, so they’d all be uniform. I used a Black & Decker “Mouse” sander with the little concave attachment, in order to sand the corners. (That sander will vibrate your hand a lot, but it’s the only one I’m aware of with that unique capability.) Also, don’t forget to do a dry run before any gluing. I used dowel centers to ensure that the slats would line up perfectly with the rail holes. They’re a sure-fire way to make sure that 12 slats will fit into 24 holes (because each slat has a dowel on either end). Here’s how. I first drilled holes in the center of the slat ends, (using an awl to mark each hole). Then I cut a dozen scrap blocks of wood (at the right size, of course) to act as spacers between each slat. It is imperative that the ends of the slats are all lined up before clamping them tight together, which is the next step. To make sure they’re all lined up, simply turn them upside down (so they don’t rock) and press them up against a stop. (It should resemble a bridge.) Put the spacers between them, and clamp them together tight. Once clamped, I turned the mass over, and inserted 12 dowel centers into 12 slat holes. Then I pressed a rail hard against all the points of the dowel centers. (Make sure you place the rails at the right spot over the slats, or else the rails won’t be lined up, and your headboard and footboard will be cockeyed.) This marked the 12 holes for that rail. I repeated the same procedure for the other end of the slats, pressing the other rail against dowel centers on that side. I did the same thing for the other 12 slats, and two rails. I used masking tape to mark which rail aligned with which set of slats, and which side of the slats. THIS IS CRITICAL. Each slat was numbered (so that they’d be in the correct order), and each hole of each slat was marked A or B. I first glued up each set of 12 slats to the two respective rails. Then, when those were dry, I glued the two sets of slats-and-rails-combination to the headboard and footboard. Make sure you use four long clamps to apply equal pressure on the headboard and footboard opposite each rail. When all that was dry, I sanded them. Then I wet it all down with water to raise the grain, and sanded again. As for the posts and leg supports, you need a lathe. Use graph paper to mark out the curvatures of the template. Then use a caliper as you go along, checking and adjusting to make them according to the plans. I sanded everything incrementally (80, 100, 120, 150, 180, 220, 320). I applied one coat of a proprietary stain mixture. Finally, I applied 5 coats of polyurethane, using steel wool in between coats, and compressed air to blow off the residual steel wool particles. When I bought my hooks (from Ebay), the angle was slightly different from the plans. So I put my hooks in a vice and carefully adjusted them to match the hook angle in the plans. If you don’t do that, the cradle won’t fit in the stand. You’ll also need to bend the eyebolts that screw into the cradle. To do this, first screw them into a scrap piece of wood. Then put the wood in a vise, and bang the eyelet part with a 3 lb. hammer to the proper angle. This method protects the threads of the eyebolt. Lastly, apply a little petroleum jelly in the crevice where the hook and eyebolt meet, to make an ultra-smooth, quiet swing. Feel free to ask any questions, and I’ll try to assist.
chehsed Thank you very much sir! :)