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View Full Version : Ryan's Cradle Part II (It's Finished!!)


David Duke
02-03-2006, 6:35 PM
Couple weeks ago I posted the basket for the cradle I'm building for my first grandchild, well heres the finished product. The design is my own and one of my first "original" concepts, hope everyone likes it and any/all comments, good or bad are greatly appreciated.

Both the basket and legs are made of soft maple and are made to knock down for easier storage. I finished with Target Coatings EM8800 Universal Sealer and (6) coats of their USL water based laquer satin finish, I will rud down and wax in a couple of days..

Thanks for looking,
Bernie Weishapl
02-03-2006, 6:41 PM
David that is awesome. Great work. Your design is great and easy storage to me is a plus.
Tom Pritchard
02-03-2006, 7:16 PM
David, that is truely an heirloom cradle! I love the curves you designed into it! From the side, it reminds me of a heart shape. I don't know if you intended that or not, but it sure is fitting! Great job David, my hat's off to you!
Gregg Mason
02-03-2006, 7:51 PM
Looks great. Nice layout of the grain too.
Peter Stahl
02-03-2006, 8:09 PM
Awsome Job David!
Ken Fitzgerald
02-03-2006, 8:12 PM
Simply Superb!
David Duke
02-03-2006, 8:25 PM
.... I love the curves you designed into it! From the side, it reminds me of a heart shape. I don't know if you intended that or not, but it sure is fitting!.....

Tom, the heart resemblance was intentional, however if you look at just one side it kind of looks like the Lochness Monster :eek: :eek: !! I did however get lucky in the location of the stretcher, I had already had the basket made and legs all together before I checked the swing ( I know kinda dumb :o , when I first hung it I was afraid that there wasn't gonna be enough room for swing; turned out there was plenty of room and the basket would only hit the stretcher at the very limit of the swing thereby preventing an "over swing".

Thanks for all the kind words everyone.:) :)
Tom Pritchard
02-03-2006, 8:31 PM
Tom, the heart resemblance was intentional, however if you look at just one side it kind of looks like the Lochness Monster :eek: :eek: !!

If anyone else had said that about your cradle, I would have really given them a piece of my mind!:D :D :D I think it's beautiful, and you will see 100X the flaws that the rest of us will ever see in it! I think that's why great painters and artists go crazy, and we still admire their work hundreds or thousands of years later, they couldn't look past the flaws to see the true beauty they created. Go have a cold one and enjoy the fruit of your labor!
Jim Becker
02-03-2006, 9:36 PM
BEAUTIFUL job, David!
Bruce Page
02-04-2006, 12:10 AM
Very, very nice David! As a fellow grandpa and cradel builder, I know first hand the joy you will feel when you present it! ;)
Mark Singer
02-04-2006, 12:37 AM
David, beautiful! That is woodworking!
Jim Dunn
02-04-2006, 9:28 AM
Yes that really is woodworking!!
How is the cradle pinned to the uprights? Are they bolts covered with wood plugs? Just wondering.

Jim
john mclane
02-04-2006, 9:36 AM
Very nice design. I like the heart look and keeping the wood light for a baby's cradle. Make sure the baby watches out for that heavy machinery in the room:o.
David Duke
02-04-2006, 9:52 AM
Yes that really is woodworking!!
How is the cradle pinned to the uprights? Are they bolts covered with wood plugs? Just wondering.

Jim

Jim, in designing the cradle I was wanting to minimize the amount of hardware showing. I was planning on drilling the pivot point from inside the arched top but couldn't get a right angle drill in there without making the radius larger which I didn't want so I drill through with a 3/8" bit and plugged the outside with a walnut plug. I had a shoulder bolt made that had 1/2"-13 threads on one end and the pin itself to 3/8", I then tapped the inside hole to 1/2" and the pin is then screwed flush into place. If you look at the end view the pin head is visible.
Roger Myers
02-04-2006, 9:56 AM
David.
A piece that will be cherished for generations. Beautiful design and execution!
Roger
Allen Grimes
02-04-2006, 12:20 PM
David,

Wow, I've been waiting for to see this since I loved the basket design so much and I am happy to say that it is much better than I expected.

Its funny that you mentioned that it looked like the loch ness monster when the first thing I thought of was 2 swans looking in at the baby. Your design is both beautiful and very inspiring.

Congrats and thank you.