Shaker cherry cradle

Charles Griffith, member

16 users recommend

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Cradle is made of solid cherry, finished with mixture of tung oil, boiled linseed oil and varnish. Corners are a compound angle of 11 degrees, joined by handcut dovetails. Edges of sides and rockers were rounded with a spokeshave. Rocker assembly is joined by tapered peg through protruding tenon. Can easily be disassembled for transport. I've made four of these, this one for our first grandchild. Design adapted from various Shaker photos and David Smith's country furniture book. Settings for miter gauge and saw blade tilt were made using the very handy wood block technique from Steve Brown in FWW #158, Sep/Oct 2002. Thank you Steve.

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Shaker Step Stool

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Side table and mirror in classic cherry

Comments (9)

Chuck_Griffith writes: Hi Rudyo,
The mattress was made for the cradle. Just a piece of fairly firm foam rubber with a slip case made of mattress ticking. My wife did the sewing, a fairly simple job with a machine. "Disassemble" means that the rocker assembly comes off. That would be the two rockers and the trestle that fits between them. The rockers attach to the cradle with two screws running into each rocker from the inside bottom of the cradle.
Posted: 3:46 pm on October 26th

rudyo writes: Stunning design and workmanship!

What size mattress is this made for? I would prefer to use a "standard" cradle mattress, but I am not finding too many very narrow sizes. What did you use?

Also you mention "disassemble". I assume you mean to take the rockers off? It doesn't look like you take the box apart.
How do the rockers attach to the box, or does it just sit on it?

Great job!
Posted: 2:16 am on October 13th

JasonCKing writes: Absolutely stunning! Such a simple, clean design with amazing but complex joinery. I have been wanting to build a tray with angled dovetails for quite some time but am a bit intimidated. Aside from the problems of dovetail layout, I've heard there is an issue with the inside corners opening up due to the complex geometry (meet at > 90 deg?) How did you overcome this?
Posted: 11:37 am on May 10th

kaaskop writes: isn't it too low for the old grandfather and mother?
Just a question about the ideal height.

kees
Posted: 6:45 am on September 9th

Chuck_Griffith writes: Dear Yankeewoodworker,
I've bought wood from Lou Irion, too. Finding his place among the cornfields isn't easy. The cornice of the tiger maple dresser I posted 4/17 came from him. The cherry cradle is finished as follows: two coats of Minwax Antique Oil Finish, hand-rubbed, to start. I use this at first because it's a good penetrator that brings out the character of the wood. I follow that with three or four coats of Sam Maloof Oil/Poly finish (a mixture of tung oil, boiled linseed oil and varnish) rubbed on with 0000 steel wool followed by rubbing with a soft cloth (piece of old T-shirt.) This provides some build, a soft gloss and a sense of depth. You can buy this finish at lots of places. Just Google "Sam Maloof finish" and you'll get some choices. As for color, before applying any finish I let cherry pieces sit in direct sunlight for several hours, sometimes two or three days worth. Cherry darkens naturally in UV rays. This technique can make a big difference.
Posted: 2:25 pm on May 8th

yankeewoodworker writes: Very nice piece! I especially like the cherry, always been drawn to its color and figure. I get my favorite stock from Lou Irion in Pa. He has a wide variety of wonderful cherry and maple. I plan to make a copy of this soon- little one, hopefully, here in september. That said, any insight into the finish would be appreciated, esp. the mix and how long it takes to dry completely.

On a different note I read with great empathy your response to the Whitney show back in 1986. I went to the show and was instantly entranced despite at that time having no woodworking experience. I have two copies of that catalog; use the dog-eared one to lend out to friends and the nicer one for me to find the inspiration when it's lacking. Works every time: ha, for me it's the handle on the serving spoon.
Posted: 11:19 pm on May 5th

feuerfest_01 writes: Simple, beautiful, and elegant design and lines. Very nice!
Posted: 5:20 am on April 8th

Chuck_Griffith writes: Thanks, Tom. It's amazing how quickly a baby can grow too big for one of these. In my granddaughter's case it took about seven months. Now it's full of dolls, which is fine. On the other hand, I made a cradle for a friend whose daughter was still crawling into it for naps when she was four. Warmed my heart.
Posted: 2:11 pm on March 31st

TomG writes: Sweet! You should be proud of this, and I am sure that 100 years from now it will be much loved. What a fantastic job - great design and loving workmanship.
Posted: 2:03 pm on March 31st

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