Cradle

As promised, here is a photo of the cradle in progress that I promised for my new grandchild.  I decided to make it from Cherry.  I still haven't decided how I want to finish it.  I would like to leave it alone.  There is plenty of sun shine in LA where it will find its eventual home so it will darken with age naturally and that appeals to me, but since I'm making for my son and his wife, I should probably ask them. 

As I mentioned the design is fairly simple.  I wiped it with mineral spirits so you can see the through mortise and tenon joinery that attaches the rails to the end pieces.  (Disregard the plane marks.  I will sand them away, then finish it off it a card scraper for the sheen.)  I cut the mortises on the drill press with a 3/8 inch forstner bit, and cleaned them up with a chisel.  As you can see, I did not square the ends of the mortises, but rather rounded the ends of the tenons.  That's more an aesthetic decision.  I like the rounded ends.

 I glued up the end pieces with the rails before installing the slats.  I stood and stared at it for some time, then tried it with a dry fit, and it worked fine.    The rails have a 1/4 inch groove cut along the length of the that hold the slats.  The slats themselves were cut from scraps left from the rails and the end pieces.  They should be slightly proud of the 1/4 inch, so one can plane away the saw marks, and adjust for a snug fit (though not too snug or they are difficult to fit into the groove).  I put all the slats in place, then starting in the middle, I put 1 inch spacers between each slap, except at the ends, where a bit of adjustment on the length of the spacer was needed.  The spacers between the slats stand about 1/8 inch proud of the groove, so they add a shadow line.  The spacers themselves are glued in place, with a generous bead of glue along the bottom of each one.  Since the slats are not structural, the hidden squeeze out from the spacers is enough to hold the slats in place.   I will finish the other side with off cuts from the stand.