Pics! 1/2 way finished with cradle

[Stephen Clem]

:D http://stephenclem.blogspot.com/ :D

Check out the site above to view the pictures and comments about the first half of the cradle project. This is my first "real" woodworking project and I was pretty intimidated when I first looked at the plans. Now, I'm about half done and it's coming along great! It's so rewarding to work on a cradle for my soon to be born baby boy (Houston). It's getting a lot of extra love. I'll post the finished cradle pictures when I'm done (probably two more full weekends). I'd like to thank everyone here for all the great threads; I wouldn't have been able to get this far without the wealth of knowledge at SMC.

Stephen

[Jim Becker]

Looking good, Stephen!

[Neil Lamens]

Excellent job Stephen...........keep it going man!!!!!!!

[Dan Stuewe]

I made the same cradle for our first born. It was my first (and still to date most complex) ww project (she's 8 years old now).

From what I can see yours looks much better than mine. Even with the lack of quality on my part, several other little ones have slept there first few months in ours and I hope to have a grandchild or two dream in it in the future (a looooonnnnngggg ways in the future since our two girls aren't allowed to look at boys for 20 more years!!!)

Congratulations!

[Stephen Clem]

Did you use oak for your as well? I couldn't decide between oak and cherry for the longest time and decided to go with oak because my grandfather-in-law (a lifelong WWer) told me it is easier to work and more forgiving. Since I'm new, it was an easy decision after hearing that. However, since then I've been reading numerous websites and books and am finding all the different wood choices fascinating. Well, I'm going back out to my garag...shop. :cool:

[John Schreiber]

Nice work. Do get it done before Houston arrives. You won't have a moment to think about anything else (except perhaps his mother) for a couple of months (years?) after he is born.

[Dan Stuewe]

Did you use oak for your as well? I couldn't decide between oak and cherry for the longest time and decided to go with oak because my grandfather-in-law (a lifelong WWer) told me it is easier to work and more forgiving. Since I'm new, it was an easy decision after hearing that. However, since then I've been reading numerous websites and books and am finding all the different wood choices fascinating. Well, I'm going back out to my garag...shop. :cool:

We chose oak as well. That was mostly from my wife. She grew up amongst oak trees and in her high school/college woodshop classes she always used oak (yes, you read that right, she did more ww-ing than I did, but i think i've passed her up over the past eight years!). I think the design lends itself to the character of oak. If i had to do it over again i think i'd choose a less country-ish design and do it in cherry. One of the biggest lessons i learned was the choosing of wood for glued up panels. The differences between the pieces i used for the ends is glaring (to me).

Good luck!

[Bruce Page]

Looking good Stephen! I made the same cradle for my third granddaughter a few years ago and my fourth granddaughter is using it now! Grandkid # 5 is due next April so it will get used at least one more time. I was a fun & rewarding project. I didn’t like cutting the raised panels on the TS so I used my router table and a panel bit.
Here’s some pic’s.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=2801

[Nathan Yeager]

Looks great Stephen.

That cradle was my first WW'ing project as well. I liked Bruce's so much that I stole his artistic impression. My daughter Callie loved her cradle for 5 months. She napped in it downstairs every day.

Same first WW'ing project. Your son's name is Houston, I live in Houston. Lots in common!

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=30065

I cut the panel in the same manner as Bruce. I would have been scared to death to cut it like you show in the pic.

[glenn bradley]

That's looking great. Very resourceful use of your tools and shop made jigs.