Hello,
I am builging a relatively large cradle out of Padauk. I boutght a set of plans but am modifying them as I go along (probably dangerous). The type of cradle is one with a basket suspended between to vertical posts where the baske arms pivot at the top of the vertical posts (picture a basket inside of a U. I am wondering how to make the pivot part whether I can simply pivot on some 1″ round padauk stock inside of a 1″ diameter hole or whether this will bind up or not be strong enough. Any ideas/thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Matt
Replies
Hi Matt I built a cradle for my Sister a long time ago like you described and my solution was to create a teardrop shaped piece that looked like the lobe on a camshaft. It worked perfectly, Sis said that all you had to do was give the cradle a nudge and it would go for a good while. To make the Lobe I started with a blank that was 1 1/4" x 1 3/4" and worked it down until they were 1 1/4 x1 1/2" and both equal at the pointed end I then drilled a hole with a 1" forstner bit and cut a dowel to fit them tightly. It took a bit more to balance the cradle after I glued the dowel into the lobe but it turned out nicely. Just be sure that you don't glue the dowel into the cradle until you have the pivot point and mark the position so you don't misalign it Good luck Joe
UHMW plastic is a great bearing. Its that white stuff you use when making jigs and fixtures
Rockler sells a Roto-Hinge for this purpose. I built one earlier this year and used a Roto-Hinge. You get two hinges in a pack and you will need a 3/4" Forstner bit.
Matt - I've built two cradles and used 1" dowels for both. One was in cherry and the other in mahogany. I turned the dowels out of matching stock. I did put two 1" inside diameter brass washers between the posts and the bed on each side to keep the bed from scraping the sides when rocked.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy
PlaneWood
When I built my niece's cradle last year, I used a 1" dowel glued into the cradle and slightly oversized brass bushings epoxied into the uprights the cradle hangs from. I think it looks nicer than UHMW or a hinge, swings nicely, and allows everything to be just slid apart to break the assembly down for transport (the uprights were connected by a wedged stringer). I have access to a machine shop, so I had the bushings turned from bar stock.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled