Sometimes I receive e-mail from readers, asking for help with one of their projects or possessions. Recently, Al wrote in asking for our help to find proper pulls to install on a dresser he refinished.
One e-mail message led to another, and I closed after several days by asking Al to provide photos of the nightstands he will be finishing soon. Recently, a new message from Al arrived, with the the following postscript (I added the links, as I know many of you are interested in further details):
…PS: since you are obviously a passionate woodworker I thought I might share this with you …. here’s a photo of my last major project. It’s a cradle I built for my new grandson. The design and blueprints came from Jordan Wood Boats in Oregon. The davits, gunwales, stem and keel are African Mahogany, the planks are steam bent Eastern White Cedar, the ribs are Ash, the transom, breast hook and quarter knees are all Makore. My grandfather built boats in Maine, my dad was a carpenter & stair builder. The cradle was built using primarily their old hand tools and traditional boat building techniques. There are approximately 300 copper rivets that hold the planking together…
The following photograph was attached to Al’s message (click on the image to enlarge it):
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Al's cradle for grandson.
Thank-you for sharing the photo, Al. The cradle is a stunning heirloom! Note: Al’s project was showcased on the Jordan Wood Boats web site, at this link.
— Al Navas
. If you do make one in the future, I would definitely take the time to interlock them. It makes the glue-up sooo much easier. I used little 6″ slats last time and toe-nailed them in but it was a royal pain. As for the table itself, the design is rock-solid. It’s definitely not something that will be moved around.
