Coop Posted March 29, 2018 Report Share Posted March 29, 2018 Shaping up very, very nice Isaac! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted March 29, 2018 Report Share Posted March 29, 2018 That is going to be an heirloom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Isaac Posted May 2, 2018 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted May 2, 2018 Final steps in the process. First making the mattress: Shaped the bottom to accommodate the keelson. These boards were glued to the underside of the mattress to give me something to fasten the fabric to. I'm no master upholsterer...but I chose a water proof fabric. Next step: Spraying shellac with my new fuji system and pop up spray booth. I chose shellac for a few reasons. First, because this would require applying fairly large quantities to interior/exterior sides of the boat and frame, I felt the process of an oil finish might drag out, leading me to my other big concern, not wanting to put an newborn anywhere near something that has even a theoretical hint of VOC. On top of that, I do love the warm glow of amber shellac and it really brought the walnut to life. The shellac went on great, as I applied it in a number of coats. Took a little getting used to the sprayer, but I'm very glad I purchased it. I didn't count the number of coats, because I was applying them very thin and quite rapidly, but it was probably around 6 or 7 coats on most surfaces. Because of shellac and sprayer, I was able to do the entire finishing in less than a week. After the shellac, I polished it with paste wax. The feel is fantastic. And the final set up. I apologize for the poor lighting in my bedroom, that window is very bright and dominates photographs. This is where it will generally reside. But, I moved it a few feet over and took some pictures with my back to the window for better photography. A minor detail I didn't previously mention. The frame is held together with 1/2" Brass pins that can be tapped out removed, in case I want to break it down. After cutting the brass pins with a hacksaw, I polished them myself, up to 7000 grit. The joint is quite strong, no wiggle at all. Rather than rely on knots, I decided to pull some boy scout tricks and use fancier rope work and splice things together. The rope I chose is a 1/2" diameter organic cotton rope with a nice grayish tan hue. It feels nice and soft in the hand. Can hardly believe I did this project. 4 solid months of part time work. Total cost was pretty darn high, because I chose walnut, and had various mistakes and lessons learned along the way, and bought various tools and such to complete it. By the end, I basically chose the most expensive option for every step, because I figured I was in for enough already, no sense in cheeping out now! My wife loves it. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted May 2, 2018 Report Share Posted May 2, 2018 Nice splices, that work is harder than it might seem. The whole project turned out very impressive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted May 2, 2018 Report Share Posted May 2, 2018 You may not recognize this expression, but I'm old and can legally use it. That Baby's bed is the Bee's knees. Damn well done. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 2, 2018 Report Share Posted May 2, 2018 Gonna be one spoiled child I bet. Beautiful work! Congrats on both. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisc Posted May 2, 2018 Report Share Posted May 2, 2018 Well done. A great project that will be valued for years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted May 2, 2018 Report Share Posted May 2, 2018 That came out fantastic. You did some amazing work you should be proud. That is going to be a real heirloom. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted May 2, 2018 Report Share Posted May 2, 2018 Looks awesome, Isaac! You'll be rocking grandkids in that before you know it, I'm certain! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted May 2, 2018 Report Share Posted May 2, 2018 You did a great job Isaac. It looks great in the room and I can see why your wife and I bet everyone loves it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted May 2, 2018 Report Share Posted May 2, 2018 Fantastic job! That is super cool. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted May 2, 2018 Report Share Posted May 2, 2018 What a fantastic piece built for a fantastic reason. Great job. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted May 2, 2018 Report Share Posted May 2, 2018 That is so cool Isaac! Great job. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnDi Posted May 2, 2018 Report Share Posted May 2, 2018 Amazing work. Thanks for taking us along. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted May 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2018 Thanks for all the support everyone. I've definitely been applying a lot of tips I've picked up here and there on this forum. Much more to learn, but always enjoying the process! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted May 3, 2018 Report Share Posted May 3, 2018 Isaac, one question: When the little one starts rolling over, are the sides tall enough to keep from falling out? Might just be perspective in the photos, but to me it seems the mattress rides a bit high. Really awsome build, though. It looks terriffic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted May 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2018 15 hours ago, wtnhighlander said: Isaac, one question: When the little one starts rolling over, are the sides tall enough to keep from falling out? Might just be perspective in the photos, but to me it seems the mattress rides a bit high. Really awsome build, though. It looks terriffic. Very observant. There is a small rope connecting the bottom of the boat to the cross bar, which limits the rocking, but you are right about the mattress. The plans didn't give any information on the mattress. So I initially picked a 4" piece of foam, but I've already ordered a thinner piece and will be making another, giving it some taller sidewalls. That being said, once she's really moving around she'll have to be in a regular prison style crib. So, as with so many things with kids, it will be fairly short time in use! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted May 3, 2018 Report Share Posted May 3, 2018 8 hours ago, Isaac said: That being said, once she's really moving around she'll have to be in a regular prison style crib. So, as with so many things with kids, it will be fairly short time in use! But this will make an awesome stuff animal holder or .... really the options are limitless. It might not be used for it's initial intent but it's super cool and will make a good addition to a kids room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted May 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2018 4 minutes ago, Chestnut said: But this will make an awesome stuff animal holder or .... really the options are limitless. It might not be used for it's initial intent but it's super cool and will make a good addition to a kids room. Yeah, absolutely. I also hope it will be used for a long time. Too far off for me to think about it really, but grand kids, nephews, nieces, whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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