Build a crib for baby on the way

Well, not a car, but a build none-the-less.

Since my wife is due with our first october 11, I figure I'd better get to making this crib thing. Started last weekend and first made this (the front):

I cut channels in the top and bottom boards with a table saw and slid the slats into the channels. I had spacers in-between each slat to keep them consistent. I used dowels to attach the end pieces to the top and bottom piece, then glued and clamped it all together.

Next I made the back:

I was a little smarter about this one since I used the channels instead of the dowels to connect the sides to the top and the middle (dowels are hard to locate without a drill press). The plywood board is enclosed in the channels on four sides. Pic of what I mean by channels:

Finally last night I glued up one of the sides. The other is already cut and will be a copy of this, but I did not have enough clamps to hold it together...

I plan to use dowels to hold the sides to the front and back (and of course glue) with maybe some triangle supports at the bottom. I have some extra cabinet shelf holders, so I will drill a few holes in the sides to have an adjustable bottom, and I will cut a big piece of 3/4 in plywood I have laying around to be the bottom of the crib. I plan to prime and paint the whole thing white (in water based latex, safe-for-chewing paint) before I call it done. We did buy a mattress and I measured it for dimensions before starting this build. It is almost exactly 28x52.

do yourself a favor, the slates have sharp 90* edges. It'll be much easier right now to break that edge than when you have the whole thing together for final sand/ stain.

looks pretty cool though.

-Make the bottom/mattress area height adjustable. This saved my back picking ol 15lbs of happiness when he was younger by placing him closer. Now that he can stand we drop it as he grows so that he cannot fall out.- NM I glanced up and saw that you were doing this already.

yes, I do need to break all the edges down, and the slats will be easier now when I have good access to both sides (without having to get inside the crib myself!).

I don't think its quite visible in the pics, but I also need to trim out the spacers in between the slats still with a flush cut saw as well. They were a little wider than my notch was deep, so they protrude a bit. Would rather that all was finished pretty flush.

What are you using for the final finish? The poly urethane and stains tend to be really smelly and need time to air out before use. Plus a Baby chewing on the top rail shouldn't eat poly eurathane. Consider a natural cutting board finish if you like the natural color of the wood.

Or you could just paint it.

I am likely going to prime and paint it white to finish, using water-based latex stuff. I actually chose cheaper hardwood (poplar) because I was planning to paint, we shall see how it turns out.

The paint should match the rest of the nursery better too, though I am not looking forward to painting this thing twice. (one prime, one paint). ugh.

Don't forget to make bars for the top for when he reached the age where he flips over the rail and takes up independent house exploration. Happens a lot faster than you think it will!

Lots of work, but few updates. Now that my kid is born and is one week old, I figure i'd better get this finished up!

I got the sides done and attached to the back, then glued up and doweled the front to the sides. I also got the 3/4 ply cut to size for the 'bottom':

I added cabinet shelf stays (they are clip in type, so once set cannot go up or down unless you unclip the shelf) at various levels and installed the bottom. I brought it inside (dont want to paint in the super dusty garage, will do it downstairs) and did a test run with the mattress:

Success! Will update once I get it all painted.

yeah, we keep having to lower our bottom what feels like every two weeks...

now when we walk in he's standing up looking out, waiting for us to come get him.

So...it took you longer to make a crib than it took your SO to make a baby? LOL Looks amazing. Now when you make the changing table my suggestion is to make it longer then a standard changing pad. They outgrow that quickly!

pinchvalve wrote: So...it took you longer to make a crib than it took your SO to make a baby? LOL Looks amazing. Now when you make the changing table my suggestion is to make it longer then a standard changing pad. They outgrow that quickly!

Yes, this happened! For a changing table we are just using a long dresser with a pad on top.

I imagine it will be before we know it that he is trying to jump out of this thing too.

Meh, right when they are too long for the changing table they move around so much taht it's just easier and safer to put them on the ground so you can use a leg to hold the kid down...

Mad_Ratel wrote: Meh, right when they are too long for the changing table they move around so much taht it's just easier and safer to put them on the ground so you can use a leg to hold the kid down...

I think I found a picture of you changing a diaper.

interesting technique. I'll have to tell my wife; being new parents and all we haven't learned the 'tricks' yet.

Ok, final update, got the crib finished and in its spot in the nursery. Two coats of primer, one of white paint. Used high quality latex stuff so hopefully its not toxic when it gets chewed on.

one note for anyone building a crib. Make them so they can come apart. They are much bigger than you think, and I had to take the door jambs apart to get this into the baby's room (standard 30 inch door - crib mattress standard size is 28 inches wide, Plus 3/4 wood on both sides makes the crib 29.5 inches in its SMALLEST dimension). Needless to say I didn't plan for that when I started the project, and it sure made me happy that night...

But it is all done and tested now!

Looking good!

ours is chewing on the freezer handle right now. You can hear his teeth on the stainless steel...

Good job man.