Building a Cradle for a Newborn

A cradle just isn't used long enough to be necessary...You have baby carriers/car seat and cribs and strollers...

Link...

However if you are set on building a cradle...You might have to skip some of the fancier design features...

http://www.thewoodcrafter.net/proj/p16.php

I made a cradle similar to the woodcrafter model - but much plainer. Think more of just the box - 12" wide pine boards for the sides, no fancy scroll work or raised head area. Only tools used were a hand saw, plane, drill, and screw driver. Five kids used it. My wife thought it was great - put it beside the bed, she could reach over and give it a rock.

When the grand kids came along I thought it would get passed down - but it wasn't fancy enough - they ended up in car chairs, commercial beds with monitors, etc. Times and expectations change.

Sorry to hear that! Unless one has a fully equipped shop, it is quite hard to compete with manufactured stuff. I will be more than happy if I manage to build something my daughter wants to keep beacuse it is functional or practical. Should she also consider it´s also beautiful, and wothwhile to keep, the better

I got a crane for sale if you make out of metal

All joking aside, here in the US we have woodworking supply outlets that you can get most anything you need for the project. Here's a link of a google search I did for woodworking material supply stores in Buenos Aires, looks like there's quite a few around there. Just make sure yours slats or dowels are spaced no more than 3 inches (US) or 7.62 cm or less safety.

Grandraiations, have fun and post some pictures of your finished project(s)

I once made two toy boxes for my grand kids from wooden dowels and 1x4 lumber. They looked something like this, but plainer. (I don't have any pictures, this was years ago)

Vertical dowels all around, even the bottom. You could make the bottom dowels, or solid, and put a mattress in it.

I drilled the 1x4's to accept the dowels and glued everything together.

It's an idea.

Thanks DJ ! Still in the phase of analizing pros and cons of different models in mind!

Make it so the car seat you will buy also fits into the cradle and the stroller, for simplicity, and not having to lift baby out each time.

Who said it has to be all wood and/or metal. you should be able to come up with an interesting combination of wood and fabrics, or metal and fabrics....makes it easy to clean, and lighter weight is also good.

Right! .... also thinking of using thin strips of wood epoxied together (laminate). Amazing stuff can be done in composites!

I would check to make sure that the exposure to epoxy is safe for a baby. (Yes, I am a mom....and grandmother.)

The cradle can be passed down in your family and held dear for many years to come! I commend you for putting forth this effort...well spent!

Thanks for your concern!

Cured Epoxy is completely harmless, as a matter of fact, there a a lot of Medical DEvices (some are even to be implanted) which are made out of this resin.

Just a note of support.

Early in my career, the lab I worked in made implantable pressure sensors to measure the internal cranial fluid pressure of babies with an ailment I do not remember.

These were cast from a two part epoxy in a silicone rubber mold and cured at high temperature in a pressure vessel.

I'm sure you are capable of selecting a proper formulation.

Thanks Lyn for the compliment! :-)

In the old days, when I worked as a fulltime neurosurgeon, we implanted many of such devices, which only were sold by a couple of companies. Amazing!

Ask yourself if you want baby to be near any fumes out-gassing long term from epoxy, or varnish. I would not. I would make the thing clean and simple and use no paint with harmful/hazardous compounds or elements in it. No paint is better than even the "greenest" paint, IMHO. This little life deserves a chance to be asthma free, and healthy all his days. That is why I would prefer some hardwoods (pine also emits vapor components, but not generally thought of as harmful), and natural cloth materials as wool, mohair, or cotton.

I used yellow shellac when I built the cradle 40 years ago. It was then considered non toxic after it dries (alcohol evaporates leaving the resin), and gave a warm colour to the pine. I don't know the current status for toxicity. Shellac does not stand up to alcohol based drinks or to long exposure to water.

(oops - babies shouldn't be "drinking" anyways)

Is it fair to copy someone else´s design? I have found a super cradle / cot!

As long as no copyright or patent is on it. Otherwise, if the plans are on the internet, it's open game

Congratulations by the way.

Thanks!

Dang it, sorry Doc, I just seen the link for woodworking material supply stores in Buenos Aires didn't post, so here it is again

Built one about 30+ years ago. 5 pieces of 1/2" plywood. Ends are also the rockers with heart cutouts toward top. one piece for the bottom and two identical slightly sloping sides with step-down top edge about in center. wood glue and brads for fastening then stained and urethane finish. After child is older works great for a doll cradle. Simple to make with hand tools. (I thought it turned out great-used scrap pieces of plywood and had stain and finish on hand so cost was just my time)

One design caveat: be sure you space openings (like between dowels or slats) so they're too narrow for your grandchild to stick her/his head through and choke. I know the US Government has standards. Probably easiest to measure a crib in a store though.

Not a cradle, but a neat project and may be used longer.How about a combo rocking horse, desk and high chair? This may be for when a little older and the high chair would need a strap that goes between their legs to keep them from sliding out from under the horizontal bar.

Rocking Horse High Chair Desk

That will be my next project!

Thanks!

As the project I have in mind will require investing a lot of time, it does not much sense to build a craddle, as it only will be used for some months to end it´s days in a corner in the garage, under a pile of unused stuff.

Therefore I went on looking for some nice stuff in the internet, and found a piece of furniture very cleverly designed, that has a lot of uses during the first years of the baby:

It is basically a cradle with a seat (to still the baby).

When the baby grows it is turned upside - down to be used as a cot.

I will copy improve this design by adding a shelf (and a box below) to the footrest board, in order to be able to change the baby´s diapers in a standing position (not the baby, the mother), having the needed stuff (baby towels, diapers, powder, etc) at hand. Will also place a pole on the headrest for hanging toys and / or a mosquito-net to it.