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I wasn't planning on making a knockdown crib, but I have no choice now (unless I want to widen the doors or build the crib permanently in the nursery, which seems a little shortsighted).
My original plan was to have the back be about 48" high or so with a 3" top rail (wide enough to put something small on in a pinch). This hasn't changed. However, in one piece, I was going to keep the side rails and the front rail all level, mitered at the corners. If the sides have to be removable, then this is no longer practical. I have two options now - a front rail similar to the back, and either no side rails (which I think might look out of place if it's just the short dimension of the stretcher), or a top rail just underneath (meaning the side stretchers are not the same size as the front stretchers). I'm not sure which makes more sense, so I thought I'd see if anybody has other ideas.
Also, what's the best (or easiest, or both) way to attach the sides? I assume bed bolts are the obvious answer, but I could also use screws and buttons to cover the holes. This might look better than bed bolt covers and there would be no exposed fasteners.
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08-25-2016, 10:32 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-25-2016, 10:33 AM by atgcpaul.)
(08-25-2016, 09:22 AM)FS7 Wrote: Also, what's the best (or easiest, or both) way to attach the sides? I assume bed bolts are the obvious answer, but I could also use screws and buttons to cover the holes. This might look better than bed bolt covers and there would be no exposed fasteners.
I built the Wood 3-in-1 crib. The plans have you use cross dowels going through the posts into a barrel nut that is in the rail--think IKEA. Don't remember what kind of wood you're using, but for the walnut one I made, Products American sells a dark bronze bolt which blended in nicely.
Most bed rail fasteners are at least 4" tall. That means your rails will need to be at least that tall.
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08-25-2016, 12:10 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-25-2016, 12:16 PM by FS7.)
(08-25-2016, 10:32 AM)atgcpaul Wrote: I built the Wood 3-in-1 crib. The plans have you use cross dowels going through the posts into a barrel nut that is in the rail--think IKEA. Don't remember what kind of wood you're using, but for the walnut one I made, Products American sells a dark bronze bolt which blended in nicely.
Most bed rail fasteners are at least 4" tall. That means your rails will need to be at least that tall.
It's bubinga, so unfortunately nothing really matches it. Antique brass, copper, or bronze would all work equally well, but none are perfect matches. Even so, there aren't all that many options. This is why I was thinking screws, though short of making my own (which I don't even want to try) there are just as few options for plugs.
Were you suggesting bed rails as an alternate method of attaching the sides or as a "down the road" issue for making it into a bed? If the second, I was going to make the longer rails later.
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I built a crib for a special needs Mom some time ago. The project is detailed on LJs:
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/80515
You may find connection and conversion ideas/solutions in it.
Gary
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Liberty, Freedom and Individual Responsibility
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(08-25-2016, 12:10 PM)FS7 Wrote: Were you suggesting bed rails as an alternate method of attaching the sides or as a "down the road" issue for making it into a bed? If the second, I was going to make the longer rails later.
Actually, the opposite. You mentioned your rails would be 3" tall but most bed rail fasteners are at least 4" tall so that's not going to work.
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I ran into a similar problem with mine. I just did a crib though, it wasn't a convertible plan, so this may not work for you. But since I knew I would only need the thing for about a year it worked for me.
I glued the front and sides together with mortise and tenons the way you normally would. Then instead of gluing the back on like you normally would I just inserted the tenons and drilled some screws into them from the back of the post. One screw in the mortise of the top rail and two in the bottom rail. It held perfectly fine through all the jumping and playing and climb on my daughter could put it through.
So basically I carried the U shape of the front and sides through/around the door opening and brought in the back and did that final assembly in the room.
But like I said I wasn't interested in a convertible nor was I planning on using the crib again.
-Marc
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I built two cribs, one light Maple, the other a curly maple with a brown tint applied to match some other legacy furniture. Cross bolts are the way to go. While the colors may not match exactly, the only thing visible are a couple of buttons on the crib side that blend well with the wood. On the plus side they are an extremely strong way of building a knock down crib, and by constructing an additional single front lower rail, the crib easily become a toddler bed.
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(08-25-2016, 08:15 PM)atgcpaul Wrote: Actually, the opposite. You mentioned your rails would be 3" tall but most bed rail fasteners are at least 4" tall so that's not going to work.
I'm confused. My design has no need for bed rails as a crib. I built a mattress support out of pine and on each corner there are turnbuckles. One side is an eye, bolted to the mattress support with a nylon lock nut so it can rotate but not pull out. The other side is a hook, these will rest on bolts or screws or bolts either threaded directly into the bubinga (unlikely) or in threaded inserts. This will let me create however many heights I like, and once it is no longer being used as a crib I can add bed rail fasteners via mortises on the posts.
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