More cradle pictures

A neat little defect I worked into the stretcher cap. 

Closeup of the joinery. 

Another "defect" that I worked in.  I had to fill the gap on this know with some superglue.

It was a real pain in the butt to get these spacers fine tuned.  I'm really happy how well it turned out.

The top stile on one of the sides has some beautiful quartersawn grain.  I'm really happy how the finishing regime popped the grain.  

I just went with an unfinished pine bottom.  I did put a layer of poly on it for some protection.  

Long overdue Cradle update

Work has been progressing slowly and steadily for the last couple of weeks.  I've been working on putting a garden in and have been getting some overtime at work so my time has been spread a little thin lately.  Its crazy how busy a person can get with all things yard work when these long, warm spring days show up.  


There's been plenty of sanding going on and some glue-ups.  The end panels are done, with the center panel prefinished.  I just think its easier and you get better results finishing frame and panels this way.  The panel was just a little undersized so I used a simple trick to get it to fit tight.  You just lay out a bead of silicone caulk on some wax paper, and when it dries cut it into small pieces and put them in the grove.  Depending on the fit of the panel you can make the bead of caulk thick or thin.  Another nice thing about this fix is that it keeps the panel from rattling in the frame.  With the ends all glued up it was time to assemble the basket.  Since the whole thing is meant to break-down, the basket is screwed together and the screw holes concealed with plugs.  I'll spare you the details of laying out the holes and getting the sides attached, needless to say it was meticulous and took longer that it probably should have.  

I guess I should probably back up a bit.  Before the basket went together some holes needed to be drilled in the ends for the dowels it will rock on.  I was very nervous about this step.  I was worried these measurements wouldn't be the same and the holes wouldn't line up but I was VERY relieved to find out everything measured perfectly down to the mm.  Alright, now that the basket is assembled, with holes, It was time to get the legs and stretcher assembly finished off.  As it was, the cradle fit between the uprights with about 3/4 inch to spare.  I found some scraps that were 3/8 inch and make the spacers that fit between the upright and the basket.  

Now that it was determined that the stretcher and uprights were all at their final size it was time to make the wedges for the ends of the stretcher.   It was pretty simple. The one tip I'd offer here is to drill the hole for the finger catch before you cut out the wedge on the band saw. 

Another anxious moment was getting the holes drilled into the tops of the uprights for the swinging dowel.  Again I was worried about measurements not matching up but again I was VERY relieved that they both measured identically.  So with the holes all drilled and sanded smooth and a dowel also sanded nice and smooth I faced the moment of truth:  will it rock smoothly?!?!  YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Once it was all together it worked perfectly!!!!!!!!!  A common adage in woodworking is that as you reach final assembly of a piece your dealing with the accumulation of errors that occurred along the way.  This is the idea that a handful of small mistakes can add up and lead to a one big headache.  With this project having many new concepts to me and having two separate assemblies I was very concerned about things not working out.  This is especially poignant with the pivot point for the rocking to work in this case.  When everything worked as it should it was a huge relief for me and a very satisfying feeling as well.  


We're really down to the home stretch now.  Just a few more small construction details and the finishing.  

The cradle has taken shape!

The last session in the shop really came together with some exciting results:

-The end posts are done, complete with mortise for the wedged mortise and tenon joint.  

-The stretcher is almost complete. I still need to put a cap on it that will add some decoration and strengthen the joints.  

-I've been fine tuning the joinery, as I go, with my new shoulder plane.  I'm so happy I finally got one of these planes.  

After getting butterflies in my stomach from looking at this thing held together with clamps I had to take it all apart, again.  I am going to finish the end panels before I fully assemble the frame so I started sanding them.  Its mostly small details left on the construction part but there's still plenty of sanding and finishing to go... Oh and don't forget the roundovers.   I've got some ideas for finish that I hope to try on some scraps this weekend.   I would love it if I could start applying finish next week.  

  

The Cradle is starting to take shape

I finished fine tuning and fitting all the slats for the sides this morning.  Its funny, I spent all that time fitting them in nice and snug and then lining them all up to get the sides dry fit and assembled and now I have to take it all apart to finish sanding, roundover, and possibly finish the slats.  I haven't decided on what, if any, parts I'm going to prefinish before assembly.  For that matter I haven't even decided what I'm going to use for a finish.  Maybe a couple thinned coats of shellac and then varnish?  This will be my first project in cherry so I'm open to suggestions.  

Once I got both sides fit together I couldn't resist putting them in  place.  Nothing is fastened yet, it's just held with a couple of clamps but it was still exciting to see.  My wife was ecstatic to see some progress that moved towards finished form.   

I also spent some time working on the mortises on the legs that will fit into the feet.  I realized I should have cut them to thickness before I cut the curves because now I don't have a square surface to register on the miter fence.  It's not a really big deal, just going to take a little more setup to get things squared up and held tight.  Some of the next steps on the basket assembly will include fine tuning the joinery and trimming any proud ends, putting a radius on the corners of the end panel frames, fastening the sides to the ends, and putting a slight roundover on all the edges.  I'll also need to get the legs and feet put together and build the lower stretcher.   A couple more good sessions on this baby and I'll be on to finish sanding.  

   

Slow and steady

Progress on the cradle continues... slowly and steadily.  I know I said I was going to post some pictures of the process of cutting out the side supports, but I guess I lied.  I was so excited when the router bit came and was under the gun before work, I just plum forgot to snap any pics.  You'll just have to trust me that it worked great and they turned out great.  See for yourselves.  My wife laughed at me, but I find the sweeping curve and that hip at the top very pleasing, and dare I say sexy.?.?  Hopefully once the whole thing is assembled they won't be overtaken or out of place with any other elements.  

My current task is getting the sides done.  It is a very slow and painstaking process.  I had to cut about 50 little pieces to fill the grove between the slats.  It would seem like one size should fit all but unfortunately that's not the case.  My router table setup leaves a little to be desired when it comes to repeatability of a cut after an adjustment.  It's a combination of the insert plate and the lack of precision between the motor and the base.  One of my next purchases really should be an aluminum plate with a router lift.  With that said, I did get the pieces all fit and glued.  I made an effort to match grain pattern to make them inconspicuous but I could only do so much.  At this point I need to get all the slats cut to length and fit in the rails.  I'll have to decide if there is any particular arrangement that will give a pleasing look.  I have a feeling that they'll just be random.  Once I have these sides done it'll be time to start some dry assembly.  

Cradle? Oh yeah I'm building a cradle.

It's has been quite awhile since I last posted an update on the cradle for our brewing baby.  I was stalling on some parts until I could use a good band saw and milling the lumber for the workbench pretty much tied up the shop for awhile.  The bench top is all milled and on hold for now and I finally got a chance to visit a fellow woodworkers shop for a little tool time.  I got the feet cut and sanded and the curves on the end support cut out.  I only did 1 of 4 cuts on the supports but I have a good plan for the rest that will make them identical.  Using a flush-trim/pattern bit in the router I will use the already finished support as a template.  I'll cut one side of the second support, flip it over and use it to cut out the second side of the first support.  It sounds more complicated than it will be.  I'll post some pics once I get underway with it.  I had to order a a longer bit so it'll be a few days.  

I also spent quite a bit of time on the end panels.  It was a little stressful but I got the chamfers all cut,  the curved one was the scariest.  I was worried about it being wavy because neither the jig nor panel was sanded smooth.  It just came to me one day to use one to sand the other and vice versa.  I stuck some sand paper to the curved edge of the panel and sanded the jig.  Once the jig was nice and smooth (and free of the waves that a spindle sanded will leave when you're new at it) I used it to sand the panels. Another nice thing about this method is that the curves end up being identical.  Here's the jig i used per the specs in the plans.

As I said, I was really nervous about this but It couldn't have worked better.  Everything slid smoothly and I just snuck up on the thickness.  Doing the other 3 sides was a breeze after this.  The next, and time consuming, step was to fit the panels nicely into the frames.  I had to lots of fine tuning with my smoothing plane and sandpaper on the bevels but all is well.  I'm very happy I decided to go with the raised panels for then ends.  They look so much better than a solid panel.  

Besides the end supports, the next step is more work on the sides.  I have to cut all the little filler pieces to go in the groves between the slats.  

Cradle sides

Once I ran out of work on the workbench I turned to the cradle.  Friday night I finished cleaning up the rest of the mortises and cut the grooves for the side slats.  I was originally considering using the dado blade for the grooves but I quickly decided that was a bad idea.  Instead I used a slot cutter on the router table, which worked perfect.  I just bumped the sliding fence in to give zero clearance and went to town.  The first pass I took was without the fence moved in close and there was some tearout so I'm really happy I made this nice fence awhile back.  

Today I worked on getting the slats evenly spaced in the groove.  It took a little math and some trial and error but I got them worked out.  There's just under an inch between them.  I cut a few little pieces to fill in the groove between the slats to show my wife what the finished product looks like.  I'm going to have to figure out a good way to cut those little plugs because there are lots of them to be done.  

Cradle update

I've had a little trouble concentrating on the cradle since I got the wood for the bench legs... But I forced myself to get some work done on the priority project.  It wasn't hard to switch gears since I was just going from cleaning out big mortises to small mortises.  I started on the side rails.  I got the mortises all laid out and roughed our at the drill press.  Then it was just a matter of cleaning up the sides with the chisels.  I got 2 finished and 2 to go.  I have to be careful with working on the stiles and tenons until I get the end assemblies finished up.  The frames are pretty much done and should change dimensions but I would feel better having them done before I move on to the next step that relies on their measurements.  

Tonight I finished cleaning up the mortises.  They should all be awfully damn close in size.  I made them all 1/4" wide and my chisel fits in perfectly with hardly any wiggle room.  That will make the tenons much easier to make.  I also got the feet and legs drawn on so it's time to get things bandsawn.  

Some Hand Plane Carnage

After a weekend of playing in the snow and starting a new job I finally got back into the shop this weekend.  I got a few more pieces roughed out and ready for the spindle sander.  I went and picked up what should be the last piece of lumber for the project.  Its for the legs which should be the last piece that I have to rough out.  I found a different source for lumber recently and it's about half the price I was paying before.  Along with that nice price it also takes quite a bit more work to get it to finished quality, a few twists and warps and such.  Since this piece for the legs is too big for my 6" jointer I had to get after it with my hand planes.  I started with the 27 1/2 woodie that I recently got fully refurbished.  Then I used the #5 Bailey and finished up with a #6 jointer. I think it should be flat enough on one side to get it through the power planer.