Making a cot!

[gidon]

My wife is expecting and I foolishly suggested I build a cot for him / her being the first one 'n all. Trouble is I've heard little pieces of information about various things you have to consider when building a cot. For example that the slats aren't spaced wide anough for a baby to get their head caught, that the matress must be a flush fit again so the baby doesn't get their head stuck(!), that the sides must should be removable or similiar so you don't break your back getting the baby in and out etc etc ...

So I have a couple of questions: does anyone have or know of any guidelines for this sort of thing? And has anyone seen a nice mechanism for adjusting the sides - looked at woodfit but couldn't see anything. I could just drop a side in a groove but was thinking of something less fiddly (for those middle of the night call outs!) Also worried that having a removable side will compromise the strength of the cot?

Also looking for any general design tips or other tips - we like plain (shaker style) stuff. And I am planning to use Am Cherry (for the first time).

Thanks,

Gidon

 

[dedee]

Gidon,
We have only used fixed sided cots and after 4 months of lifting twins in and out ((and two years with our first child)) neither the missus nor I is complaining about back ache.
If you want to simplify your design rather than have a removable side think about an adjustable base that can be raised quite high then lowered in stages as they begin to sit and then stand on there own.
Be careful with matress sizes as there appears to be be dozens to choose from & then you have to find matress covers and sheets to fit.

I thought about making a cot for my first then decided the time spent in use was so small that I would be better off making a bed. A small child (2 years) can quite easily cope with a full size, or 2'6" bed, if they sleep in those grow bags (small sleeping bags that attach over the shoulder) and there is a mechanism to prevent them from rolling off the bed.

Congrats by the way

Andy

 

[Signal]

Gidon,

another thing you have to be carefull with is that subsequent rattling of the slats will not allow the side to come free. It is a mine field making cribs which is why I decided to buy one in the end.

The arrangment on ours for the sides, bearing in mind this is from memory as its long since been passed on...

was just as you suggested with a housing routed the length of each end of the side frame. This was located on two pins top and bottom of the end frames.

At the bottom of the housing was a little curve which the pin followed and hence took the weight of the frame to support it and make it more secure against cage rattle :wink:

Probably best bet would be to take a trip to your local mother care and have a gander at some in the flesh, least youll know theyll be up to spec
with regards to the standards.

Oh and take some of those little ear defender plugs, when we used to go Mothercare they used to play this horrible looped jingly jangly music which just repeated over and over "mother care mother care" in this stupid hi squeeky voice ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Good luck with the spuggy, always said I'd never had kids but its been the most fun up till now.

Signal

 

[Alf]

Congrats, Gidon amd Mrs Gidon. Blimey, the sprog ratio round here is getting scary... :shock:

Not an answer, but a thread on the Porch recently that might be thought-provoking/useful. Skip 'til you get to the "crib" and baby stuff. Personally I think I'd come down on the side that this comment sums up:

Choosing an example completely at random, baby furniture. I really don't want a bassinet that we can't bear to get rid of staring at me for the rest of my life...

but failing that, a design that plans ahead such as Michael Lindgren describes might be worth consideration? 'Tis but a thought.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Neil]

...a design that plans ahead...

This might provide some inspiration, Gidon:

Turns from a cot, to a bed, to a childs bed, .... to a pair of chairs

More details at www.stokke.com although the site is misbehaving this morning.

All that laminating could be tricky - although it would be a good excuse to get lots more Besseys :wink:

NeilCFD

 

[mudman]

I don't know about anybody else, but that picture makes it look like an extrodinarily short cot. :?

Is it a special space-saving version where you put the little darling to bed standing up? :wink:

 

[Alf]

I don't know about anybody else, but that picture makes it look like an extrodinarily short cot. :?

Is it a special space-saving version where you put the little darling to bed standing up? :wink:

Never mind "As I lay me down to sleep...", more like "As I prop me up to sleep..." :lol:

 

[Noel]

Gidon,

Whilst in my local newsagents this morning saw a project in one of the comics, might have been "New Woodworker" for a child's cot with a base that can be adjusted as the child gets older.

Noel, who was told by the newsagent - "this is not a library..."

 

[Signal]

LOL, you norty Noely you :lol:

Signal

 

[Noel]

Hey Signal,

Your avatar's been a red X for sometime. At least on my screen.


Noel

 

[Signal]

Noely

thanks for the heads up, will investigate now to see if I can put him back

Signal

DOH!!!!!! Guess who turned of Web access to his server on the router

 

[StevieB]

Hi Gidon,

Congrats The cot my little one sleeps in has fixed sides and a three position base that we can move down as he sits and stands. Tis no problem to lift him over the side, epsecially he can now stand so is already half way there! The base is simply fixed with bolts, with holes in the ends to thread them through into the base.

The sides are simply dowels in a top and bottom rail and do not move or rattle. If you are going to make your own, go to somewhere like Mothercare with a tape measure and measure the spacing on their cots. since you can buy matresses seperate, maybe buy the mattress first then build the cot to the mattress rather than trying to get a mattress to fit what you have made?

Oh one final tip, enjoy making the cot, because once the cherub arrives your days of being allowed to play in the workshop while the missus looks after the baby are going to be very rare indeed :lol: :lol:

Steve.

 

[devonwoody]

What StevieB says is very true.

I made a cot over 45 years ago (it lasted 3 children) but my woodworking tools got put away shortly after for over 42 years.

 

[dedee]

because once the cherub arrives your days of being allowed to play in the workshop while the missus looks after the baby are going to be very rare indeed :lol: :lol:

You are so right & if you have the fortune to get two at once then you may even consider giving up altogether.

Andy

 

[SimonA]

My sister-in-law, who lives in Germany, has the Stokke cot and I have to say its very practical in use! When we came to purchase one over in this country we found it very difficult to get a hold of them. Then about 12 months down the line a lot of the larger department stores started to sell them and we bought the high-chair which turns into a normal chair. I have to say its probably one of the most comfortable seats we have in the house. Not to good if you want to slouch around though!

We also have a fixed sided cot and in the two and a half years that we've used it have never suffered from a bad back. It now houses my second daughter and once she out grows the cot I can turn it into a small childs bed.

Congrats Gidon.

SimonA

 

[gidon]

Blimey! Thanks for all the helpful responses and best wishes.

Andy - good idea making the base adjustable - sounds a lot more future proof too.

Signal - trip down to Mothercare with a tape measure and a digital camera sounds a plan! And I thought "rattle my cage" was just an expression!

Thanks Alf - where do you find these links? Funny my grandma phoned up last week and offered to buy us a cot - she couldn't understand why I'd want to make one!

Neil - interesting design - shows what you can dream up with a little lateral thinking!

Noely - thanks for that - I'll be down my local newsagent this weekend. I have looked for plans - partly for gaining a perspective on the issues I mentioned earlier. Go to whsmiths - they never tell you off for looking at the mags!

Steve - some good design ideas there - thanks. And thanks for the warning - that's what baby monitors are for though surely ).

DW - mmmm - worrying!

Cheers

Gidon

 

[cambournepete]

Neil - interesting design - shows what you can dream up with a little lateral thinking!

Interesting and kin expensive at £400 for the cot, £120 to make it smaller and more to make it bigger. Swedish design doesn't come cheap.

We do have a Stokke Tripp-trapp chair for our little 'un which is good and well made.

 

[CYC]

Congratulation Mr and Mrs Gidon Great news.

Not long ago I faced the same situation. Afraid of breaking one of the safety rules for cotes I built the changing unit instead (chest of drawer instead) :wink:

 

[StevieB]

Gidon wrote:

that's what baby monitors are for though surely ).

I did suggest I could have the noise end in the workshop so I could shout for a cuppa to be brought up....

....my ears are still ringing from the verbal bashing they received :roll: :lol:

Steve

 

[Bean]

S'funny my wife also got over sensitive after she became a mother


Bean