crib repurposed to bench with storage {toy box}

As I mentioned in my Recent Finds {sick of winter edition} I picked up this crib when I delivered the Lego Table.

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See this cute  little guy?

His Grandma (Denise) asked me to make a toy box bench out of his (that cute little guy)  dad’s crib. 

When comparing the headboard and the foot board of the crib, it’s clear which piece should be the back of the crib (left)

The first step was to trim the bottom off the headboard, then cut the top of the headboard in half to make the arms of the bench.

After which, I cut the bottom of the headboard apart so that it could now become the front legs of the bench.

Here is the bottom of the headboard (front legs) and one side of the headboard (the arm rest)

To put them together, I used a dowel.  To drill the proper size hole, I used this guide.

I drew an X and drilled the hole for the dowel on both pieces and attached using Gorilla Wood Glue.

I clamped it all together to allow the wood glue to set up.

Here, you can see that I used Kreg Jig  pocket holes to put the storage box together.  Can you see the pocket holes on the left aren’t for holding the box together? Those holes are to attach the box to the back of the crib for extra strength and support, that’s why I used 1 1/2 inch screws instead of the regular 1 1/4” screws.

The sides of the arm rests are thin plywood.  The storage box is actually resting atop the frame of the foot board (back) and the bottom of the headboard (front) note the gap to the left and right of the lid?

You can see in this picture I have added additional support boards on the right to strengthen the flimsy thin plywood and fill in the gap.  I added boards to the top and bottom and left and right sides.

After I got the box installed, I added some additional pocket holes with my Kreg Mini to reinforce the front legs.

Because the box was large and plain, I added some 1/2 spindles I had in my stash.  I was trying to figure out placement in this picture.

These spindles have been cut in half.  I used Gorilla Wood Glue and my nail gun to attach them to the front of the box.

The bench has been patched and sanded, and is ready for the paint booth.

I used my Porter Paint (from the ReStore) as a primer on the bench—applying it with the Finish Max in my portable paint booth.

This is Edge of Night (gray) mixed with a little bit of Naval, to get a custom light blue gray, as requested by Denise.

The color is a very light blue gray. You can see the difference looking at the white (underneath side) of the seat compared to the bench.

These closures help the lid stay raised and close slowly.

I love how this bench turned out.  I have so many more beds/cribs, what to make next?

gail

See more bench projects and crib projects.

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