Make
Build a Wooden Baby Gym (Heirloom Saturday Project)
A wooden baby gym is one of those toys that looks like a piece of design furniture and earns its place from week one. My daughter spent the first six months of her life under hers, batting at the dangling rings and grasping for the wooden teether. It folds flat when she napped, which mattered more than I expected in a 90sqm house. The commercial wooden gyms from the obvious Scandi brands run $150-$250; this build comes in around $35-$50 in materials, takes a single Saturday, and looks identical.
This is the perfect baby-shower or first-baby gift to make. The build is genuinely beginner-friendly — the only joinery is glue and dowels, the cuts are all straight, and the visual proof of work is high. It is also a heritage build: with a beeswax finish on solid maple, this gym lasts long enough to use for a second and third baby.
Tools & materials
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Cut list
Board: Hardwood 20mm dowels + solid maple 19mm panel
| Piece | Qty | W × H × T (mm) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tripod legs | 6 | 20 × 20 × 650 | From the 20mm dowel, cut six lengths |
| Crossbar | 1 | 20 × 20 × 700 | The dangling toys hang from this |
| Apex blocks | 2 | 90 × 60 × 19 | Triangle joiners at each end of the crossbar |
How to build it
🪚Cut the dowels and apex blocks20 min
Cut six 650mm dowels (the tripod legs), one 700mm dowel (the crossbar), and two apex blocks 90 × 60mm from the maple panel. Take time on the dowel cuts — square ends matter for stability when assembled.
✏️Shape the apex blocks30 min
Each apex block is a triangle that holds three legs at the top and the crossbar through the middle. Mark a triangle on each block — equilateral, sides of about 80mm. Cut to shape with a jigsaw or bandsaw. Sand to smooth.
📐Drill the leg holes in the apex blocks20 min
Each apex block needs three 20mm holes drilled at 22 degrees from vertical — one at each corner of the triangle. This angle is what gives the gym its splayed-leg stability. Use a drill press or a hand drill with an angle guide. Drill depth: 15mm.
🔄Drill the crossbar hole through each apex15 min
On each apex block, drill a 20mm hole through the centre of the triangle, parallel to the ground when the legs are in place. This hole is where the crossbar threads through. The two apex blocks must have these holes at the same height — clamp them together and drill both at once.
🔍Dry-fit the whole gym20 min
Before any glue: assemble the gym dry. Push three legs into one apex block, three into the other, thread the crossbar through both. Stand it up. The gym should be self-supporting at this stage — if it wobbles or tips, your leg angles need adjustment. Check that the apex blocks sit at the same height.
✨Sand every piece60 min
Once you are happy with the fit, disassemble. Sand every piece — legs, crossbar, apex blocks — through 80, 120, 220 grit. Round every edge, especially on the apex blocks where the baby might bump against them. The whole gym should be silky-smooth before final assembly.
🪵Glue up the structure30 min + drying
Apply wood glue inside each leg hole and the crossbar holes. Insert legs and crossbar, wipe squeeze-out immediately. The gym should now be a permanent A-frame structure. Stand it upright and let glue cure for 4 hours minimum, ideally overnight.
🪞Apply beeswax finish30 min
A thin coat of beeswax + mineral oil blend on every surface. Rub in, wait 15 minutes, buff hard with a clean rag. Baby will mouth the lower parts of the legs — food-safe finish is essential here. Two coats minimum. See our finishes guide for details.
🎀Attach the dangling toys20 min
Tie cotton ribbon, organic muslin, or unfinished wooden teething rings to the crossbar. Vary the heights so different items hang at different reachable distances for the baby. Use only natural-fibre attachments — no synthetic strings, no choking-hazard small parts. Each attachment should be secure to the crossbar (won't pull off with baby strength), but the dangling object itself should be easy to grasp.
Why the angles matter
The 22-degree splay on the legs gives the gym its self-supporting stability and the iconic A-frame shape. Get this angle wrong and the gym tips when a baby pulls on a dangling toy. The cleanest way to drill at angle is to clamp a small wooden wedge to your drill press table or to use a drill-press angle jig. Hand-drilling without a guide is risky — if you must, mark the angle clearly on a scrap piece and check each drilling.
Folding the gym
The gym does not fold — the legs are glued in. But once the dangling toys are removed, the whole gym is light enough (about 1.5kg) to be lifted and stored against a wall or in a closet between uses. For a truly folding version, swap glue for snap-fit hardware on the apex blocks, but the trade-off is reduced stability.
Dangling toy suggestions
- Wooden teething rings. Unfinished beech or maple rings on cotton ribbon — safe to mouth, beautiful, the classic.
- Organic muslin squares. Lightweight, soft to bat at. Tie with a cotton loop.
- Crocheted toys. If you or someone in your family crochets, small crocheted animals are lovely.
- Wooden rattles. Small ones can be hung; large ones overload the crossbar.
- Avoid: Anything with strings longer than 200mm (strangulation hazard), anything heavier than 100g (gym tips), anything with small detachable parts.
Safety checklist
- Stand on it test. Put 5kg of pressure on the crossbar — the gym should not tip or shift.
- Yank the dangles. Pull hard on every hanging toy. None should come free; all attachments must be permanent.
- Sand check. Run your finger over every surface. Any rough spots get re-sanded.
- Finish cure. Wait 48 hours after the final coat of beeswax before letting baby under the gym.
Frequently asked questions
What age is the gym for?
Newborn to about 10 months. Babies engage with hanging toys from about 8-10 weeks (when they can swat at things). By 10 months they are crawling and the gym goes into storage for the next baby.
Can I make it taller?
Yes — scale the legs to 750-800mm if you want more clearance. The gym top should sit about 400mm above the baby's face for ideal reaching.
How do I disassemble it for storage?
The glued version does not. If you want a take-apart gym, leave one leg per apex unglued (held in by friction only). The whole thing then comes apart in 30 seconds.
Is the beeswax finish safe for newborns?
Yes, once fully cured. The same finish used on cutting boards. Wait 48 hours after application before use. See our full finishes guide.
Next in the MAKE series: Build a wooden baby teether · Paint a peg-doll family.
