(upbeat music)
- What I'm sitting on here is the Dogon Platform Bed.
This was a project that we built in the Guild,
and what's a little bit different about this
project, is unlike most Guild builds,
this one focused more on design evolution
and a relationship with a client.
This is a build that I made for a client.
So, I figured it would be fun to cover that
experience of starting with a client's initial
concept idea, whether it's a hand sketch,
or even just a picture of a commercial product
that's out there.
How do you take that and bring that to something
that is unique, and also something that's possible in wood?
Half the time, most people who request this stuff
have no idea what's possible or not possible
with wood products.
So we have to make sure that the customer's
expectations are met,
and that we're satisfied as the builder
that this thing is gonna last, you know,
the test of time.
And something like a bed, there's a lot of
difficulties in thinking of how the weight
is gonna be distributed.
I mean look at this rail, that board is horizontal,
so how do we make sure that that doesn't sag?
Even though there's no support all the way down
this entire stretch.
These are the kind of challenges that we face.
So it's a really really interesting experience,
but what I wanted to do was take a smaller portion
of that video set, and bring that here to the free site
to show you at least how it goes together.
And if you're interested in that extra stuff
about the design and the experience with the client,
you can certainly sign up for the build,
and I guarantee it'll be worth the asking price.
So, if you want to look at some of the details now,
we can just take a look,
I can show you some of the thought process
that went behind the design,
show you what's goin' on underneath this mattress here,
and I think it's gonna be a good time.
So, let's get to it.
(upbeat music) - The headboard sports a
beautiful raised panel, made from African Wenge.
The top portion of the headboard tilts back
at a 20 degree angle.
Many pieces were strategically cut to retain
grain continuity, while giving the piece
a natural, organic flow.
The rails were built up to a full 3 inches thick,
and connect to a massive footboard
via mortise and tenon joints.
The bed support features maple slats,
and a critical center support rail.
So now it's time to start rough cutting
these monster boards.
Now, at 14 feet long, 8 quarter thick,
these things are a pain in the butt to move around,
in fact I had to get my stepdad to come over,
just to help me get them from the trunk
to this location, so I am not about to lift
each and every one of these boards up
and move them around so that I can cut them.
Like always when it comes to this rough cutting
process, I like to use my jigsaw.
I find a jigsaw to be much easier,
(machine whirling) much safer
than any other tool that we could
possibly do this job with.
With the pieces broken down into rough length,
I start jointing the edges.
Fortunately, these boards are already flat,
so no face jointing is necessary.
(machine whirling)
At the table saw, the boards are cut to final width.
(machine whirling)
(quiet upbeat music) The first part of the bed
we'll focus on is the footboard,
which is made from 3 separate pieces glued together
to form one massive slab.
Because I want the footboard's grain to be continuous,
I'm cutting parts out from really wide boards.
(machine whirling in background)
To create the cutout, we'll actually separate
the top strip from the bottom strip,
which contains the feet.
The feet are cut off each end of the bottom board,
and then they can be matched back up
to the top board.
Cabinet maker's triangles help me keep track
of where each piece goes.
All 3 footboard pieces are cut in this fashion,
and now it's time to glue them back together.
(machine whirling) With the help of some dominoes
for alignment, the small foot pieces are
easily glued back onto the long top piece.
(clicking)
(hammering wood)
(wood banging)
(machine whirling) After the glue dries,
the joints are cleaned up with the drum sander.
The pieces are then inspected,
to ensure that the end grain is running
in a consistent direction.
And this'll have a huge impact on the
final look of the piece.
(machine whirling) Dominoes are once again
used for alignment purposes,
and each piece is thoroughly coated with glue.
With the help of some clamps,
the seams are nearly invisible.
(sanding) Anyone who has ever made an
end grain cutting board,
knows how much of a nightmare it is to sand down end grain.
So I break out the Festool Rotex to make that job easier.
I don't often use the rotex in my work,
but in a situation like this, it's invaluable.
The inside end grain requires a little bit
more work, so I remove the high stuff with a block plane.
And finish the surface with a sander.
This isn't a highly visible part of the project,
but we still want it to look good.
The rest of the footboard is planed and sanded
until it's nice and smooth.
(relaxing music) (machine whirling)
- [Narrator] Next time on The Wood Whisperer.
(fast jazz music)
(hammering wood)
(scraping wood)
(machine drilling)
(machine whirling)
(machine drilling)
(hammering wood)