Cradle

[foamcarver]

I want to make a cradle for my cousin, but I was wondering what would be the best kind of wood to use?

[billp]

Mark,
I've done a few cradles in the past, and my usual approach is to find out what kind of wood the intended recipient may already HAVE in their house. I've used pine, and mahogany, and oak, etc. The cutting files will all be the same, but there really IS no such animal as the "right" kind of wood to use. I've always liked pine with two coats of orange shellac, which I then top coated with a water based polyurethane. Some people leave the shellac as the top coat because when it is cured it is non-toxic, and therefore "baby safe"....

[foamcarver]

Thanks Bill
we'll see you soon

Nikki

[patricktoomey]

Bill's definitely right, there is no "right" wood, there are tons of species that have good properties. I have built quite a bit of baby safe furniture and I have done most of it with hard maple with a Shellac finish. As Bill said, Shellac is non-toxic when cured so the baby can chew on it with no problem. It's also easily repaired. I use the hard maple due to its extreme resistance to wear. The only trouble with hard maple is that it's also extremely resistant to your tooling :-) Nice sharp bits and blades take care of that problem but it does tend to burn or splinter at the edges of cuts when your bits are starting to dull. I have also done some baby furniture parts in Wenge which is even denser and is a beautiful contrasting deep brown (almost black) to the maple's white. I also sometimes use Padauk which is red and also a nice contrast to maple especially if you use an orange shellac on the maple.

[bob_lofthouse]

Does anyone have any cutting files/drawings for a cradle.

I have only six weeks to go until the big day and it would make a nice gift for my wife.

[foamcarver]

Thanks for the wood tips patrick. I really appreciate it. Robert I have a couple files write me an email at nicole@foamcarver.com (mailto:nicole@foamcarver.com) and I will send them to you. They are too big to upload on here.

thanks
nikki