Crib ?

[Jerry Zelt]

My daughter is going to have our first grandchild. I have decided to build a crib. Any suggestions? Problems encountered? Things to do? Things not to do?

Thanks,

Jerry

[Tyler Howell]

Hi Jerry,
Welcome and congrats.
Alot of postings here on cribs. A couple "show me yours" threads. Try a search.

Only suggestion is build with love and build it to last. It is one of those things you pass from grenetation to generation.
P.S. A lot of work for a real short user period. They grow so fast

[Dan Oliphant]

Welcome to the creek Jerry, as Tyler stated, use the search tool for more than you ever wanted to read on cribs. I did a posting last year on a tripplet crib that was made for my grandkids, take a look at the ration of stinky stuff I received for my design. Might give you some ideas for yours. Good luck and enjoy.

[Bob Flemming]

I've made a couple of cribs in the past year. One for my sons first child and one for a friend who is a first time Grandma. The one piece of advice I was given and it makes sense. Buy the mattress or pad first. I went to a good quality baby furniture store and bought the mattress before I cut the first board.

[Nancy Laird]

One of the woodworking magazines, I believe it is the latest issue of Wood, had an article on building a crib which goes from crib to junior bed to full twin bed. Thus, what you build could conceivably be used from birth to high school graduation. I'll check my back issues tonight and let you know which issue.

Nancy

[Jerry Zelt]

To all:

Thanks for the info. I did search past posts and found quite a few cribs. I have plans and I have a kit I was just wondering if anyone had any issues they came across when they were building theirs that I could avoid.

Jerry

[Alex Berkovsky]

One of the woodworking magazines, I believe it is the latest issue of Wood, had an article on building a crib which goes from crib to junior bed to full twin bed.

Nancy,
It is in the latest issue of Wood Magazine. I think it's an excellent idea... it's a shame to spend so much time buiding a crib only to be used for 2 years or so.

[Bob Stegemann]

Rockler has good set of plans and all the necessary hardware. I've built two of them so far. Good project.
Bob

[John Leech]

I built a crib for our daughter just over three years ago. I used plans for a Greene and Greene style crib that I found in an old Woodworker's Journal issue. It was my most complicated project to date, and I was able to complete it without too much difficulty using their plans. I bought the hardware kit from Rockler and would highly recommend that you purchase a kit before you actually begin construction. If you have any other questions, let me know and I'll try to help you with my limited experience ;-)

Good Luck,
JP

[Dan Gill]

Even if you don't end up building the crib/bed in Wood, it's a good issue to get because it has a sidebar on the safety standards for cribs.

[Lee Schierer]

First, of all welcome to the creek.

Be sure to read all you can about safety before you start to build. Slat spacing, clearance around the mattress, exposed vertical posts or corners, sharp edges, pinch ponits, etc. are all things that you should know about before you cut the first piece of wood.

It is a very good idea to have the mattress before you build as all mattresses are not equal and a proper fit is essential to safety and ease of working the sides. I used the Rockler hardware but not their design.

Sooner or later the child will climb out of the crib so it is essential that there not be any place where they can get caught or hung up. If you can slide your fist through the space between the slots, the gap is too wide. Space on the sides should be no greater than 1/2" larger than the size of the mattress all the way around.

[Jerry Zelt]

To all:

Thanks for all the information. Reading what everyone has written I think I'm on the right track.

Jerry