How I Made a Chalk Board From an Old Baby Crib

I took our old, drop-side baby crib and repurposed it into a chalkboard using only the parts from the crib, and some easy to find hardware from the big box store.

Once I found out it was illegal in the US. to make, sell or even donate drop-side cribs, I really didn't want to send it off to the dump since the crib itself was made from decent wood and was still in OK condition.

How I made it: The main frame of the chalkboard was made by combining pieces from the two sides into one. The bottom that held the mattress was fit into grooves and was given 3 coats of chalkboard paint and was sanded between coats. Finally, the rear A-frame was made from the slats that go under the mattress to support the bottom panel. There were some problems with making the frame, originally I tried using pocket screws but there wasn't enough wood for the screws to hold onto because of the routed slots. Also, there were screw inserts still in some of the parts that I had to work around which caused some problems too. Eventually, I abandoned the pocket hole method and used dowels to pin the whole frame together and they created a really strong frame in the long run.
-Chris