Baby Cradle : Update #3

It is a great feeling when you get to a major milestone in a project. this afternoon I assembled the frame of the baby cradle. It was a momentous step for me. I have struggled with this project and getting the frame together was a major milestone.

I thought that it was trial to make sure that the stiles were straight and snug and they were. The biggest test was figuring out how I was going to drill the holes in the side of the ends of the cradle that were cut at 30 degrees. I could not use my drill press unless I made a jig to hold the ends at 90 degrees to the drill. I ruled that out because it would take longer to make the joi than it would to figure out another solution. In the end I used the holes that I drilled in the sides as pilot holes to drill the holes in the ends. It was tricky and difficult but I got everything drilled, glued and attached with wooden dowels. I clamped everything together even though I probably didn't need to. I just wanted all the joints to be as tight as possible.

The rest of the project will be relatively easy. I need to attach the bottom of the cradle then attach the cradle to the frame. There is still some final shaping and sanding of the sides and ends to make sure that there are no sharp edges anywhere but that is minor compared to the rest of the project. Oh, and I need to create a key to so that the cradle can be made stationary.

The end is near!