Idea

It wasn’t long before my son's legs allowed him enough height to climb out of his crib. After trying quite a few failed options on Amazon listed as a ‘toddler bed’, I was again reminded that making things is what I do. This project was put together over a few weekends and overall it didn’t give me much trouble.

 

Build

After my wife measured out a new kids-sized mattress from a local big box store, I began to draw out what the bed should look like on my chalkboard wall. I cut some slats out of 1x2s and guesstimated the distance between each slat that would keep a kid’s arms from getting stuck. Each slat was rounded over and poked using a 3/8″ dowel jig. 2x4s were cut to size and rounded over to prevent any visible sharp edges. After some glue, trimmed dowels, additional bottom 1x1s for support, screws, and some finish, it was ready for a sleeping toddler. It’s been over six months since this was built and he still loves it to this day. Easily one of the better projects I’ve put together.

 

Lessons Learned

Round over all your pieces before glue up.