Mike’s Cherry Toddler Bed

After looking at some toddler beds on the internet I figured I could build something better than what I was seeing for about the same cost.

I bought the wood from Timber Woodworking in Mesa, AZ. They had rustic cherry there that was really mostly free of knots and was priced about half as much as the clear cherry was going for. Great stuff!

All of my joints were done using a DowelMax doweling jig. This worked out fast and easy.

I’m only a few projects deep in my woodworking career, so I wanted to keep the design simple. For the curves on the top rails, I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted or how to do the layout. I used some of Marc’s tips and started with some things I did know. I knew I wanted to start the rail 2 inches wide and end it 3 inches wide. I then decided where the curves would start. After that it was easy to try a few ways to hook the 2 ends together with the little curve in the middle.

The finish is simply 2 coats of clear shellac to bring out the figure in the wood topped off with 3 coats of gloss lacquer. I do not have a sprayer and have had bad luck with brushing lacquer, so I opted for a can of Deft spray lacquer. I have to say that I really like the finish I got with this product.