How to Build a Crib
You've discovered you're about to become a parent and you want to get ready. On your list is a crib. Would you like to make one? It's easier than you think. Read this eHow to learn more. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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1
Choose the wood you would like to use for making the crib. You can choose anything from pine to mahogany.
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2
Cut the 8/4 (2 inch thick or 1 ¾ inch thick after shrinkage) boards into six 54 inch length boards. Four will become the legs, and two will become the rails for the front and back.
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3
Rip the boards down to 10 to 11 inch widths and 1 ¼ inches. Glue the panels together and use clamps to hold them in place until the glue sets.
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4
Create a pattern from graph paper for the shape of the legs. For a sleigh bed crib, this shape will resemble the front and back curves of a sleigh. Once you have a pattern for the legs, trace the shape onto a piece of ½ inch thick plywood or MDF. Cut the shape out with jig saw and sand any rough edges.
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5
Place the plywood or MDF leg pattern on the board for the leg, and trace around the pattern. Roughly cut the leg shape with a jig saw. Do this for all of the legs. Secure the pattern piece with double-sided carpet tape, then do the final cut with a router table and a flush trim bit.
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6
Make the side boards by cutting the boards to 51 ½ inch lengths. Create a pattern for the curve into the top of the side boards out of ½ inch plywood or MDF. Make the curve by bending a thin strip of wood, and holding the curve in place with nails driven into the plywood. Cut the curve with a jig saw, then trace it onto the side board pieces, and shape the top of the side boards.
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7
Trim thirty slats for each side. Each slat needs to be 1 ½ inches wide. Cut tenons (trimming back the ends of the slats so it appears that the slats now have shoulders) into the top and bottom of the slats with a router. Mark mortis lines (where the mortises, or holes where the slats fit) will be) on the 51 ½ inch side rails so that the slats will be 2 inches apart.
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8
Use a mortiser to cut the mortises into the side rails. Be sure to lower the mortiser carefully as you use the machine, and that the wood is securely braced against the stand. You want the mortises to be straight and true so that the slats do not fit at an angle. Dry fit the slats into the mortises, then glue and clamp the slats and side pieces together.
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9
Create the end panels of the crib out of ½ inch plywood or luan. Make rail brackets and drill holes and use T-nuts by which you will raise or lower the mattress as needed. Connect the legs to the rails of the crib with inset brackets. Make the inset for the bracket with the mortiser (see Step 8), or a hand-held laminate trimmer. Create a frame for the end panels, and glue and clamp them in place. The adjustment holes will be on the upright frame of the end panels.
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10
Make rails upon which the box spring and mattress will rest. The end of the rails should have bolts that fit into the adjustment holes.
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11
Sand and finish the crib with the stain of your choice. Assemble the crib in the nursery.
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