Advice needed: baby-safe finish

[Harry R]

Turns out I will be an uncle in the not too distant future and have committed myself to making a cot for my nephew/niece-to-be. From what I have read shellac seems to one of the safest options, the downside being it's not the most durable finish.

I'd appreciate any advice on a good finish for this project.

[ubeaut]

Shellac is by far the best, it's pretty durable as attested to by the millions of antiques that are finished with it. There is now Hard Shellac (http://www.ubeaut.com.au/hardshell.htm) made by us which is even more durable and baby safe. But you will find that all the polyurethanes and epoxies will also be baby safe when dry.

Much safer than oils or waxes which can attract dirt etc to the surface and don't wipe as clean as the surface coatings.

Cheers - Neil :)

[Harry R]

Thanks Neil. That hard shellac sounds worth trying.

[Lance Stunning]

Any reason it is not sold in U.S.?

[ubeaut]

Yep - No one wants to put up the money to import it to the US.

Cheers - Neil :)

[Mr woodmachinist]

Turns out I will be an uncle in the not too distant future and have committed myself to making a cot for my nephew/niece-to-be. From what I have read shellac seems to one of the safest options, the downside being it's not the most durable finish.

I'd appreciate any advice on a good finish for this project.

I would buy a cot that has a safety rating!!

[Stuart]

I would buy a cot that has a safety rating!!
:eek: Buy something you can make for twice the price:eek:

Where's the fun / pride in that?

[Buzza]

Baby-SAFE. Safe being the keyword here. Take a look in the "baby shops", I doubt you will find a wooden one, as they were nearly all banned. Too many tradgedies took place and babies died in wooden ones, when necks became trapped and cots tipped over. Side rails that fell down and so on as well. The modern day cots are made from soft materials with mesh sides to make them very safe. Our granddaughter is going on for nine, and she had a mesh cot as wooden ones had been done away with by then.

Buzza.

[Stuart]

Sounds like poor design to me. Interesting that "nearly all banned". Suggests that there is a design / manufacturing standard that a wooden cot can adhere to, but is not necessarily commercially viable. So emulating those wooden cots that do pass the test sounds the way to go.

Anyway, wrt to mesh vs rails - why can't the outside of the cot have the rail look, but lined inside with mesh? Practical, safe, and asthetic.

[Krunchy]

Sounds like poor design to me. Interesting that "nearly all banned". Suggests that there is a design / manufacturing standard that a wooden cot can adhere to, but is not necessarily commercially viable. So emulating those wooden cots that do pass the test sounds the way to go.


Hi Stuart,

There is an Australian standard for cot design - AS/NZ 2172:1995. If you do a google search there is some information out there - unfortunatley the Australian Standards web site appears to be being redeveloped at the moment.

Cheers,
Krunchy

[Harry R]

Baby-SAFE. Safe being the keyword here. Take a look in the "baby shops", I doubt you will find a wooden one, as they were nearly all banned. Too many tradgedies took place and babies died in wooden ones, when necks became trapped and cots tipped over. Side rails that fell down and so on as well. The modern day cots are made from soft materials with mesh sides to make them very safe. Our granddaughter is going on for nine, and she had a mesh cot as wooden ones had been done away with by then.

Buzza.

I've seen some catalogs my brother has been looking at and there's plenty of wooden cots being sold. Some are pretty damn cheap, certainly cheaper than my costs for the wood alone. I have a plan for a wooden cot that meets all US standards. I haven't checked the Australia/NZ standard but I will.

[TommyC]

Harry, i can email them to you if you want. PM me you email address.

[kiwigeo]

Sounds like the safest sleeping place for the baby might be a cardboard box with shredded newspaper in the bottom......

[ozwinner]

shredded newspaper in the bottom......

As long as they stop wriggling long enough for you to get it in there.

Al :p :D

[bpj1968]

I think Buzza is referring to bassinets, the little little baby beds (good for about 3 months tops.)

However mosts cots, are made of timber. the standards i think mainly relate to the
vertical rails. i.e. spacings, no footholds, no taper that can jam a head etc.
Height of side,
method of lowering the side, most that i have seen have 2 points to lower the side, usually one at each end of the side, that way the baby can't reach both.

the old style where the top half of the side folded down on hinges are no longer available as they created a foot step.

Attached photos are of the cot my little boy has (bought) I thought way to hard to build and the saving wouldn't be that great.

I did make the change table, modelled on a "Boori" brand table that retails for about $300+ (Quality and expensive brand)
Cost under $100 and I think is better thatn the original
The pictures of cars on teh wall I cut from 3mm mdf and painted.

The second photo is of a chest and red toy box I built.

All great projects for that favourite uncle.

[Stuart]

I've seen some catalogs my brother has been looking at and there's plenty of wooden cots being sold........ (snip)<snip>
Good to hear - I thought the world had gone to hell in a handbasket (OHSE compliant) when I wasn't looking.

Oh wait. It has anyway.</snip>

[Wongo]

Harry,

You are doing the right thing mate. BUT it is good to be cautious, not over cautious. Poly is fine. I don’t know what would happen to drink liquid polyU But licking or a small bite of dry poly occasionally would not hurt a baby.

Kids are tough, a lot tougher than we think.

Wongo (a father of 2)

[Harry R]

Thanks all for the good advice, especially the Australian Standard for cots.

Wongo, I've talked to the local carba-Tec shop owner who also reckons that dried poly is safe. I've been weighing up the pros and cons of poly or that Ubeaut hard shellac. At this stage I'm leaning towards the hard shellac as I know shellac is safe. I've had a chat to a PhD in organic chemistry who reckons that dried and cured polyurethane is safe, but it is possible that a small amount of residual solvent may remain in the finish for some time. Woodworking sure does throw up some interesting issues!