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So a good friend of mine is having a baby and she asked if I'd build a cradle for her. Of course! After some deliberation about different cradle designs, she picked a cradle from wood magazine. I got to decide on the wood type. I have wanted to use wormy chestnut for awhile, so this gave me a great excuse to buy a bunch.
The cradle was a relatively easy build (especially having plans from Wood). The slats though required an unfortunate amount of sanding. The other difficulty I had with the cradle is that the wormy chestnut is well, wormy. I had to take several creative liberties in order to work around the various voids and splits in the wood.
Finished with 2 coats of Minwax natural stain and 3 coats of satin wipe on poly followed by a coat of wax.

I have to ship the cradle out to my friend; this involved building a very large crate and some creative packing with bubble wrap! Hope it will arrive intact!

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They are lucky to have you as a friend! Great job on the cradle, Rob. That wormy chestnut is sweet.
 

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excellent choices.
 

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Very nice build on this cradle, and the wood selection is outstanding. You are lucky to have found this wormy chestnut, it is hard to come by in my neck of the woods. Last and only time I was able to get some, it was reclaimed and cost plenty.
Your friend is lucky to get this, and I'm sure it will greatly appreciated.
 

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Nice cradle. We're expecting our first grandchild in September. You might have given me an idea.
 

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Thanks guys! I'm pleased with the way that this turned out; I don't have any children (or plan to in the near future!) but I'm sad to send this away.
The wormy chestnut was from a guy on Ebay; I think I paid ~$7/bf. Not cheap, but I love the look of the wood.
 

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So much character in the material and he design. Amazing work Rob!
 

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You do good work. That should be an heirloom handed down over the generations. Dollies like them too.

The only cradle I ever built was for one of my children, forty years ago. No plans, not great tools. Made it from fir, screws, and glue. It still lives, but is relegated to putting my grandchildren's dolls to sleep. It rocked, and was very useful for cranky babies. I remember trying to sleep with one leg over the side of the bed, rocking the cradle with my foot.
 

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Nice job on the cradle it looks really good, great choice on the wood too. I am finishing up one just like it for my first Great Grandson who is due in a couple of weeks. I did make a few changes on the plans and it seems to be coming out ok. Oh, and nice job on the crate too. :)
 

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Very nice work and cool wood too.
 

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Gorgeous!
 
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