The curly cherry came from my wife’s parent’s place and the strips of walnut below the top cap from the farm where I grew up. (I played on and around that walnut as far back as I can remember). I personally felled the trees and sawed the lumber several years ago when a passing storm damaged the cherry and the walnut was in danger of falling on my parent’s garage. The wood has been drying in my barn awaiting a special project since.
I began the cribs as soon as my wife and I found out we were expecting our first grandchildren, and I attempted to keep them as close to the same as my talent would allow. I ordered the hardware and a set of plans that followed the guidelines set out by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. I followed the dimensions religiously, though I did modify the design to incorporate the raised panel ends. I finished both cribs about two weeks after the births. Yes, I was a little late, but this was my first project using curly cherry, and anyone who has experience with it knows it takes extra time just to keep the jointer and planer knives razor sharp (not to mention the stain and finish!) Additionally, there were 68 mortise and tenon joints in each crib making a total of 136 for the pair.
One final note: The grand children (a boy and a girl from two different sets of parents) were born exactly two days, one minute and 400 miles apart. What a week! – Jim Webb
