So, I'm going to be a grandpa! It's about time.

But that means I need to make something of wood and have it done by
early August!

I'm thinking of a crib that will convert into a bed and when I search
for one, the Rockler "3-in-1 Transitional Bed Plan" seems to dominate.
It looks doable and, with some modifications, like something I'd like
to make for my grandchild. But are there other, better designs out
there?

Anyone else make any woodworking projects for a grandbaby that you'd
like to share, especially ones that are practical from day one through
the child's life? Let me know any suggestions you might have, please .
.. . .

-Don (gonna be "Gramps" for the first time)

--
"We have enough youth; let's start looking for the Fountain of Sense." --Anon

Instead of a "universal" bed, what about a toy/blanket/whatever chest
+ bench?

These designs run the gamut from the pedestrian to the sublime:

http://www.woodworkersworkshop.com/c...iles/index.htm

http://www.leeswoodprojects.com/toy_box.html

http://www.rona.ca/webapp/wcs/stores...1216&langId=-1

http://www.hoistman.com/HoistMan/Toychest.html

http://www.truevalue.com/content/pro...&con_id=108 8

alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking - toy chest - Jack Caruso
(Cinderella inlay done with natural wood colors).

John


On Tue, 08 Jan 2008 18:32:19 -0600, Don Fearn
wrote:

So, I'm going to be a grandpa! It's about time.

But that means I need to make something of wood and have it done by
early August!

I'm thinking of a crib that will convert into a bed and when I search
for one, the Rockler "3-in-1 Transitional Bed Plan" seems to dominate.
It looks doable and, with some modifications, like something I'd like
to make for my grandchild. But are there other, better designs out
there?

Anyone else make any woodworking projects for a grandbaby that you'd
like to share, especially ones that are practical from day one through
the child's life? Let me know any suggestions you might have, please .
. . .

-Don (gonna be "Gramps" for the first time)

I'm on the same boat. I've looked at Rockler's 3-in-1 and like the
concept but the design seems a little cheesy. There's a similar (but
better, in my opinion) design that was featured in WOOD magazine last
year with a matching changing table. The bed is in Issue 173, Nov.
2006, the matching changing table is in Issue 174, Dec./Jan.
2006/2007. On thing I did was went to Babies R Us (and other baby
furniture stores) and had a look at the 3-in-1's to get a sense of
size/design/matching items. The WOOD design is pretty much in line
with most of what's sold and can be easily modified to suit your
children's decor/tastes.

Congratulations and best of luck!

:-)

Don Fearn wrote:
So, I'm going to be a grandpa! It's about time.

But that means I need to make something of wood and have it done by
early August!

I'm thinking of a crib that will convert into a bed and when I search
for one, the Rockler "3-in-1 Transitional Bed Plan" seems to dominate.
It looks doable and, with some modifications, like something I'd like
to make for my grandchild. But are there other, better designs out
there?

Anyone else make any woodworking projects for a grandbaby that you'd
like to share, especially ones that are practical from day one through
the child's life? Let me know any suggestions you might have, please .
. . .

-Don (gonna be "Gramps" for the first time)

Since you're in design stages, it's handy too, for something like that,
to check product recall lists for like items; they might help avoid a
gotcha or two in the final product. Worked for me at least, even gave
me a couple of better ideas than my own.

Don Fearn wrote:
So, I'm going to be a grandpa! It's about time.

But that means I need to make something of wood and have it done by
early August!

I'm thinking of a crib that will convert into a bed and when I
search
for one, the Rockler "3-in-1 Transitional Bed Plan" seems to
dominate.
It looks doable and, with some modifications, like something I'd
like
to make for my grandchild. But are there other, better designs out
there?

Any crib/youth bed unit will have a relatively short service life
unless it gets passed along.

Think I'd consider a dresser, chest or similar case goods piece.

Lew

On Jan 9, 9:46 am, "Lew Hodgett" wrote:
Don Fearn wrote:
So, I'm going to be a grandpa! It's about time.

But that means I need to make something of wood and have it done by
early August!

I'm thinking of a crib that will convert into a bed and when I
search
for one, the Rockler "3-in-1 Transitional Bed Plan" seems to
dominate.
It looks doable and, with some modifications, like something I'd
like
to make for my grandchild. But are there other, better designs out
there?

Any crib/youth bed unit will have a relatively short service life
unless it gets passed along.

Think I'd consider a dresser, chest or similar case goods piece.

Lew

Agreed -- even with 4 kids, the number of sleep hours spent in a
cradle is small; glad I built one since it's got family history
(butternut milled on my grandpa's farm by dad and uncle in the 60's,
sat in hay mow until the 90's, then turned into a cradle ). As much
as I hate forced heirloomism, I think I'll have grand children
residing there in the (DISTANT!!!) future.

I wouldn't build a toddler/youth bed since toddlers and youth tend to
be really hard on furniture. You don't want to cry when the kid gets
hold of the book of stamps and or permanent markers and decorates the
head board.

Changing table convertable to dresser may be a good one. Or for the
really ambitious, a rocking chair sized to fit the momma.

On Jan 8, 6:32*pm, Don Fearn wrote:
So, I'm going to be a grandpa! It's about time.

But that means I need to make something of wood and have it done by
early August!

I'm thinking of a crib that will convert into a bed and when I search
for one, the Rockler "3-in-1 Transitional Bed Plan" seems to dominate.
It looks doable and, with some modifications, like something I'd like
to make for my grandchild. But are there other, better designs out
there?

Anyone else make any woodworking projects for a grandbaby that you'd
like to share, especially ones that are practical from day one through
the child's life? Let me know any suggestions you might have, please .
. . .

-Don (gonna be "Gramps" for the first time)

--
"We have enough youth; let's start looking for the Fountain of Sense." --Anon

JOAT recommended a child's rocking chair the other day. We had an
antique one given to us, and my kids got far more use out of it than
they did the cradle I built. But hey, you have time to do both,
right?

DonkeyHody
"We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom
that is in it - and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits
down
on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid
again---and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold
one anymore." - Mark Twain

On Jan 9, 1:53 pm, DonkeyHody wrote:
On Jan 8, 6:32 pm, Don Fearn wrote:



So, I'm going to be a grandpa! It's about time.

But that means I need to make something of wood and have it done by
early August!

I'm thinking of a crib that will convert into a bed and when I search
for one, the Rockler "3-in-1 Transitional Bed Plan" seems to dominate.
It looks doable and, with some modifications, like something I'd like
to make for my grandchild. But are there other, better designs out
there?

Anyone else make any woodworking projects for a grandbaby that you'd
like to share, especially ones that are practical from day one through
the child's life? Let me know any suggestions you might have, please .
. . .

-Don (gonna be "Gramps" for the first time)

--
"We have enough youth; let's start looking for the Fountain of Sense." --Anon

JOAT recommended a child's rocking chair the other day. We had an
antique one given to us, and my kids got far more use out of it than
they did the cradle I built. But hey, you have time to do both,
right?

DonkeyHody
"We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom
that is in it - and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits
down
on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid
again---and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold
one anymore." - Mark Twain

I agree about the rocking chair. My 15 month old loves rocking chairs,
and has loved them since before he could walk. He I set him in a pint
sized rocking chair and he had a blast just moving around in it.

He now does the same thing with the 100+ year old rocking chair in out
house, though now he's big enough to climb into on his own, much to
the chagrin of his mom!

I think a well-made rocking chair would have a nice, long life of use
as a piece of furniture, a toy, a decoration piece, and then once the
first baby grows up, it can begin the cycle again.

-Nathan

Lew Hodgett wrote:
Don Fearn wrote:
So, I'm going to be a grandpa! It's about time.

But that means I need to make something of wood and have it done by
early August!

I'm thinking of a crib that will convert into a bed and when I search
for one, the Rockler "3-in-1 Transitional Bed Plan" seems to
dominate. It looks doable and, with some modifications, like
something I'd like to make for my grandchild. But are there other,
better designs out there?

Any crib/youth bed unit will have a relatively short service life
unless it gets passed along.

Think I'd consider a dresser, chest or similar case goods piece.

Lew

Dunno; sounds like he has a good plan to me. Things like that get used
for "future" children, or passed to other family members, friends, etc.
etc.. It's also a pretty nice act of love and something he/they could
all be proud of. Mine have so far gone through my son and grandson, and
my daughter wants hers too but I can't afford to ship it to Colorado!
They want it bad enough they're driving over this spring and renting a
u-haul; makes gramps feel great anyway.

I built a crib for my son two years ago. I enjoyed designing and
building it
even though he spent slightly over a year in it. I thought he might
appreciate it
later in life if he has children and manages to keep it until then. I
didn't
worried about that, I built it for my own satisfaction.

I published my notes on the web at:
* http://www.sawbee.com/rwmProjects/crib1.shtml
* http://www.sawbee.com/rwmProjects/crib2.shtml
* http://www.sawbee.com/rwmProjects/crib3.shtml
* http://www.sawbee.com/rwmProjects/cribDrawer.shtml
* http://www.sawbee.com/rwmProjects/cribPaint.shtml
* http://www.sawbee.com/rwmProjects/cribGallery.shtml

I think it is pretty easy to build a decent wooden baby crib
and is within reach for most woodworkers. To help you make
a decision, try the "shake" test on some of the cribs in the store.

When my son turned two we moved his crib mattress into a firetruck
bed my wife bought. I've spent the last couple of weeks looking at
fun designs for boys beds. I'm thinking about building him a plane
bed, or a truck bed. I'm involving him in the design and he likes it.

I'll be happy to answer any questions about the crib I built.

I guess I should mention that my dad built us a cradle which we also
used. So there are
lots of opportunities to build things for kids.

Congratulations and Good Luck,
randy

On Jan 8, 5:32 pm, Don Fearn wrote:
So, I'm going to be a grandpa! It's about time.

But that means I need to make something of wood and have it done by
early August!
....