Finishing help

[Stubchain]

I'm just in the process of starting a baby cradle made from Sassafras and need some advice. firstly I have never made and "finished" furniture before, I have mostly worked in melamine, MDF and some treated pine for out doors.

I want the cradle to have a nice finish that will also be baby safe. I have never used a sanding treatment either.

There are a lot of mortised slats on the cradle so I think it would be best to get peices almost to a finished state prior to glue up.

Any help would be appreciated.

[ubeaut]

Nowadays it doesn't really matter what you put on the cradle. I would avoid using oils and anything that has a strong aroma. Most paints and varnishes can be used with confidence that they will not be harmful to the baby housed within.

If you want to preserve the look of the timber and have a 100% safe finish I would recommend white shellac. Most sections can be finished prior to assembly, just use a bit of masking tape over areas that are to be glued so as to preserve timber to timber contact for the joint.

My personal preferance for a finish on a cradle would be to paint it with a neutral pastel colour or colours to give it a softer more subtle look. Show off the baby not the woodwork.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers - Neil

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From "A Polishers Handbook" page 14......

One night a wife saw her husband standing over the baby's crib.

She stood watching him silently, he looked down with mixed emotions, disbelief, doubt, delight, amazement, enchantment, and scepticism.

She slipped her arm around him, "Penny for your thoughts?" she whispered

"It's amazing. How can they possibly make a crib like that for only $49.99?" <O</O

Contributed by: Shane Watson of Qld.