To of my very dear close friends have just told me that they are going to be getting married and having a baby and that they think that they might like to have me preform the handfasting. They are two of the most wonderful and loving people I have ever met and I have met few people with as real and true a loving connection, they will make wonderful parents. They are both in college and are working at a movie theater to pay the bills, they have no health insurance and aren’t recieving help from anyone. I want to do something really special for them to show them how much they mean to me and how much I support them. I’ve decided that for my sculpture final since it has to be a piece made of wood I would make a cradle for them, a really beautiful, artisticly engaging, baby safe, cradle. Now here’s my problem. I have no idea what sorts of wood, solvents and sealers are safe to use on a baby’s cradle since they’ll be in close proximity for extended periods of time with skin contact and since baby’s put everything in their mouths. In addition to that I would really like to know if anyone knows of any books about cradle design and crafting?
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Replies
All modern clear finishes are baby safe after they are well cured--a month or two. All solvents will have evaporated, and the resins and dryers will all be bound together.
According to my sources there is nothing like lead based paint where there is a lot of lead in the pigment that would be "available" if chewed on.
Shellac is always recommended because it is used in certain pharmaceutical products but that FDA approval doesn't imply that other finishes would be toxic. I love shellac, but it is very sensitive to ammonia which is contained in urine, and also used in lots of cleaning materials. Its increasingly hard to generalize about waterborne finishes, but on average they are more succeptible to household chemicals than oil based varnish.
Personally, I would use a good alkyd varnish which will provide excellent long-term protection, and be easier to rub out than polyurethane varnish.
You'll get lots of responses about "safe oils" -- Behlens Salad Bowl finish, walnut oil, mineral oil, etc.
But it is true that any oil -- even something like Watco oil -- is completely safe once it is fully cured, which takes about 30 days.
Nice gesture on your part. Good luck with the project.
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"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
My biggest worry is that not only do I have to worry about the baby putting the wood in his mouth but I don't want something thats going to irritate the skin. I also need to know what kinds of woods are safe, like the TA for my class was saying that cedar would probably be out because of its natural insecticides.
It is of course, up to the parents what they put in the crib, and things have certainly changed since I was a baby, almost 40 years ago. My mom was told to drink beer to stimulate milk production...That being said, we (my wife and I) have been through all these classes and first hand experiences twice in the last two years. The test for spindles or slats on crib cradle sides uses a beverage can as a measuring device. If you can pass a beverage can standing upright, through the slats, the opening is too big. Also, the AAPM does not recommend anything in the crib or cradle other than a tight fitting sheet over the mattress. This includes pillows, stuffed toys, blankets (especially blankets) and even the crib bumpers. They are all currently out. Once the baby can rollover (essentially prevent itself from smothering) it is okay to introduce some of those items.I agree with some of the other posters that they (the new parents) might not get to use the cradle for very long, but that is a great project with a lot of carving potential. You could probably get pretty creative carving a toy box, and it would be used and kept forever. You might play on the state theme since it is unisex, affords lots of carving ideas and will have a history behind it as the child grows and passes it along.Whatever you do, I applaud you for your thoughtfulness and your friends will certainly appreciate and cherish your gift. I hope you don't mind my unsolicited advice...I realize you only asked about finishes and woods. But that is my two cents worth. Good luck.
I built a cradle for my first grandchild. I got the blueprints and hardware from - I was thinking Rockler but I don't see them now. It was an awful lot of turning but you could also buy the spindles. A cradle doesn't last very long before they grow out of it. You might get more bang for your buck in a crib. At any rate with all the padding I doubt the baby is into the chewing stage before it grows out of it.
I'm with tinkerer - my 2 boys were out of the cradle I built in less than 3 months each. A crib would be far more useful - but not as romantic to design, so perhaps not what you want for your sculpture final.
Your primary concern should not be species or finish - as others have said, once cured any problems are unlikely. And I don't know many moms who will put a naked baby in a wood cradle - this thing will have pillows, blankets etc, and the baby will be wearing pajamas.
The design safety issue you need to take seriously is spacing between slats - the gap must not allow baby to stick their head through and possibly strangle. Google CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) for dimension guidelines.
Also, although this is somewhat controversial, excessively soft mattresses, pillows, etc. have been implicated in SIDS (crib death). I used a thin, firm foam "mattress" when I built my cradle, and our kids didn't get pillows till their necks were strong enough, and they were mature enough, to easily get their face out of the bedding if they were sleeping on their stomachs. They'll want to talk to their pediatrician about when that will be.
-Lou
You may also want to purchase the mattress before building the cradle or crib. This way, you can build it to fit tightly around the mattress so the little nipper can't get any body parts worked down between it and the wood frame.
the wood turner site has a page on toxic woods. Especially because of turned rattles.)
If you google it you should find something.
Also, I dont' remember if it was FW or one of the other (good but inferior) woodworking mags... ;-) but somebody, in their gallery, had a craddle within the last few months which was stunning.
I'll look tonight when I get home.
Let me say that the time when a baby is in a cradle, they do not chew, grab or do anything in a cradle but sleep. Don't ask me how I know that. That said, Steve is correct that all interior finishes manufactured since the mid 1970's are required to be non-toxic when fully cured. As long as you stay away from some very expensive, foreign woods, you will be fine. Again, you will be coating the wood with a finish that will protect the baby from touching the wood directly.
Now, cribs and playpens are something else.
I've built a cradle. Bought some plans, from Rockler maybe, and used them for things like height, slat spacing,etc, to make sure that I followed the conventional wisdom on that safety/ergonomic stuff. I purchased a mattress to determine interior dimensions (they're bigger than you would think). From there, I pretty much designed everything myself.
I made it out of Paduak and used shellac to finish. Paduak is certainly not the 'safest' choice for a non-irratating wood (although I'm pretty confident it won't be a problem). More conservative choices would include woods like maple and cherry. I would pick the wood based on what you want the piece to look like and then just double check to make sure its safe.
All finishes are probably safe once they cure but I felt more comfortable (maybe irrationally) with shellac.
Good luck.
Matt
I also built a cradle for my first grandson, the previous posts contain all the baby safe ideas I would pass along to you except the basics. Make sure you design it to be sturdy and steady. The last thing you want is an elegant design that tips over, or breaks when someone rocks the cradle.
Completely unsolicited:
If you have not yet finished the design stage... I saw a desk by designer Art Carpenter which I always thought would lend itself to a beautiful craddle.
It is called the sea shell (or shell?) desk.
There is a picture of it here:
http://www.cchapline.com/bcg.html
(I just googled- wood desk furniture "art carpenter")
If I may speak as a parent, grand-parent and woodworker, let me say that the cradle is greatly over-rated. We inherited a nice 100 year old suspended type, and found it to be of very limited use. It is quickly out-grown. As it tilts, the baby winds up stuck in a corner. It eventually makes a good place to store magazines already read, but really takes up too much room, and unless one has a large house becomes a problem. "What can we do with that cradle that uncle Joe made?"
Tom
FWIW- my 9 month old naps in the craddle his grandfather (my deceased FIL) made for my niece. (She is 18 now) My son is the 6th grandchild to use it.Grandpa Pete built a crate to fit it and the craddle is shipped as needed.
I believe Maple is one of the safest woods and commonly used for toys and cribs. Avoid spalted Maple, though.
http://www.cs.rochester.edu/u/roche/rec.wood.misc/wood.toxic
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