Thread: Some A.R.Cedar, lots of pleasurable work, a cot and a baby (longish)

Hi all,

When my lovely wife became pregnant, where many would lament the fading of life as they knew it (yes, I did end up selling a sports bike and sports car...), I saw opportunity and so there began my quest to tackle a decent woodworking project and learn lots on the way (and buy lots of toys - hello Carbatec)! Suddenly the shed and back balcony became my workspaces (we are about to build a garage for that purpose now that I'm 'hooked'!).

So I decided to design and build a cot and as it happened, we had recently purchased a lovely stash of Australian Red Cedar. After much looking at other cots, I thought that one which would convert into a double bed would give a lifetime of use and so there began many long nights of doodling and Sketchup time. I wanted something fairly classic and which would use simple joinery (I am a complete novice woodworker)! Of course it also had to comply with the Aus. cot standard - a huge document!

Over the latter stages of the pregnancy everyone would enquire as to my wife's good health, how she was feeling, was she sleeping well, was junior kicking etc. etc. All I ever got was "Have you finished the cot yet??". Any dad will tell you that it's not about us... )

In truth I doubted I would finish the thing but little William decided to arrive 3 weeks early (on 15 Mar) and so I rushed home to do the final touches and get this thing on the road!

Here are a few stats:

- 62 mortise and tenon joints,
- no glue (or nails for that matter!),
- 8 bolts to allow removal of the sides to convert into a double bed,
- removable rails to allow redressing (the removal of teeth marks!),
- hidden mechanism to allow dropping/raising front fence,
- every surface sanded to 1200 grain,
- 2 coats of Organoil Danish Oil - beautiful stuff,
- more $$ spent on sandpaper than an Ikea cot costs (or so my wife says!!)

Actually I can't complain because during the course of this project she bought me a Veritas shoulder plane (how did I live without it??) and a Lie-Nielsen dovetail saw. What a woman!

This project was certainly a test of my patience and during the process I have learned many things. Here are a few:

- a mistake doesn't mean the end of the world - learn to fix/hide them and it's amazing what you can end up with,
- perfection is a. expensive on time, b. undesirable (unless you want a machined look), and c. impossible - at least for me!,
- NEVER have a beer and operate a table saw at the same time,
- unless you want to blow red stuff out of your nose for days, wear a decent mask when sawing some timbers (Cedar, Jarrah etc.),
- despair, pain and doubt that you'll ever finish are just par for the course for some of us - the result is certainly worthwhile and hopefully you'll be a better person for it,
- engage your partner in the process - at least by explaining steps - this will make for a much more understanding dynamic when you need another tool (like a Lie-Nielsen block plane for instance...),
- hand cutting joints takes ages but is quiet, deeply satisfying and teaches patience (though I did use a router for some mortises),
- there is nothing as good as a truly sharp chisel or plane blade - taking the time to learn to sharpen them with waterstones is very rewarding,
- Japanese saws are VERY SHARP and I have a permanent Dettol/bandaid station set up every time I use them! )
- once the neighbours know you are into woodworking, you can legitimately wander around the streets wearing a leather apron!

Anyway, enough ranting - here are some pics finally. Thank you for your inputs when I asked questions of this forum. It's great to know that so many enjoy this wonderful pursuit! Maybe one day I will know enough to help others.

Cheers,
David (Turramurra, Sydney)
PS. I'm currently completing a Rosewood change table - will put up pics if it turns out OK.