Advice on wood for baby craddle

[snojcb]

I've decided to build the Heirloom Cradle featured in issue 178 of Wood magazine (Sept 2007). In the article, they used QSRO. I'm not a big fan of the dark grain in RO. So I'm looking for ideas for an alternate, yet attractive, wood species. This will be my first attempt at non-painted furniture, by the way.

I was thinking Cherry.
Anyone have advice on other species I should consider/stay away from?

Thanks,
J. C.

 

[DaveO]

IMO, there really isn't any wood to stay away from. You're not raising a Beaver, so most likely the crib won't get eaten. Generally with woods that have the potential of toxic reactions, it's the dust that affects the person. That said, it would be hard (very expensive) to make a crib out of the most toxic woods anyways.
Any domestic hardwood, Cherry, Walnut, Oak, Maple, Birch, Elm, Hickory, Poplar, etc. would be a fine choice for a crib.
MTCW,
Dave

 

[Dusty Sawyer]

Not sure about any old wood, my little critter couldn't chew her way through anything since the teeth didn't show up for a year or so. But she sure did do some serious gumming on the oak.

Seriously though, that's a really nice project to do and a piece that can be handed down through many generations. There is a very old cradle that has been used by every baby in my wife's family at one time or another and thier names/dates of birth enscribed on the bottom of one of the slats. I've always liked Cherry and I have a new found liking for Walnut.

Best Regards,

David

 

[Joe Scharle]

I've made a couple from poplar years ago, but would use cherry if I had it.

 

[cpowell]

I would build it in cherry.

Chuck

 

[mkepke]

Echoing Dave's thoughts..any domestic - including pine - would be fine and traditional for that sort of work.

You mentioned that you didn't like "the dark grain" in red oak. Were you looking at oak that had been stained ? If oak is given a natural finish, it stays pretty light.

Is congratulations in order ?

-Mark

 

[snojcb]

First off - yes, congratulations would be in order. We just found out that it's going to be a girl and she's due Christmas Day. This will be my third child - all girls. :eusa_doh:

As to the Red Oak, yes, I'm thinking stained RO. I like a "smoother" wood like maple and cherry. I've never been fond of RO or even WO. I feel that RO (especially stained) gives a "country" or "old-time" feel to a piece. If that's what you're shooting for, then RO is great. I tend to steer toward sleek/smoother woods.

 

[Travis Porter]

I third the cherry. If you go that route, I would suggest to try to get boards from the same tree/log for color match as it darkens over time.