Not Just A Step Stool

[Music] what's up everyone it's nick welcome back for another build video last week you saw this mahogany bed frame get built i'm about ready to deliver it but the client requested one more thing they've got a five pound maltese puppy that needs help getting on the bed and they wanted to see if i could build a staircase that matched the frame so i've never done like dog stairs or a step stool or anything i'm not really sure where i'm going so i thought it'd be fun if you join me for the design kind of process the journey as i go i'm just going to be doing this one on the fly and basically what i'm starting with is i know i want to incorporate this triangular shape of the headboard and footboard from the frame into the steps so i think first thing let's get on paper and we'll see what we come up with from there so the frame itself is made from african mahogany which is a little bit softer stairs there's gonna see some claws some abuse so i got some sapili it's about as hard as white oak whereas african mahogany is something closer to cherry so i'm going to use that for the stairs it looks very similar same ribboning similar color and use that for the material so let's do it [Music] it was running just a little bit low on material so instead of cutting each piece out individually thus producing a bunch of waste i'm using a template to mark out the general shape and do all the rough dimensioning on the bandsaw [Music] [Music] and all the parts are roughed out it's time to even them up once everything's congruent looking the same we can put a little finer point on those angles and hone in on all the little fitment to make sure those miters go together well now admittedly there are some very cool ways to join these together probably the sturdiest is going to be a bridle but this is for a five pound dog and i think that a spline and some loose tannins or dominoes are going to do the trick i kind of wanted i set out to make this an approachable design so if you wanted to try it at home it would be something easily done dowling works as well lots of ways to skin the proverbial cat so designing on the fly often there are things that i don't think of along the way uh so bonus points if you drop a comment below with what's wrong with that picture right there it took me till after this to realize it and fix it so one of the things that people commented on the most about the mahogany bed frame was the contrast in the headboard and footboard panels and so i'm really looking forward to seeing how that incorporates into this step and i guess we'll see at the end of the video but i think it's going to be pretty cool and while you're down in the comments if you like the video hit that like button and if you haven't already please subscribe it really helps me a lot as i grow this channel and produce more videos and i truly appreciate the support [Music] and let me know if you are feeling this simpler project vibe or you want me to keep it to the crazy complicated stuff [Music] so these are the support sections that set under each step there's two per step and something about them being square i thought it might be cool if they were asymmetrical but as you look on the two dimensions or three dimensions looking back the front one and the back one fill one another out to create a full rectangle if that doesn't make sense stay tuned it will i promise and doing a little dry fit here we'll tear everything down get it finished the french polish on this i thought was especially satisfying love to hear if you think the same and here we're using that same ebonizing solution of iron acetate made from steel wool and vinegar to react with the tannins in the sapili turning it then black and this is where that contrast is going to come in and the end result is so sweet [Music] that doesn't make you all warm and tingly inside you might be broken [Music] and just like the bed frame this will get a round over quarter inch on the inside and a chamfer on the outside and after the seal coat of shellac is brushed on with a foam brush i will sand that with 400 grit sandpaper and then i take this rubber which is just soft cotton wrapped in more cotton and take this two pound reduced down to one pound cut off shellac and it's made from platina flakes if you don't know shellac is a all-natural finish and it is produced from the secretions of the female lack bug it produces so much depth and chatoyancy in wood it's just not super durable to water and i didn't feel like it was appropriate to ask the moisture content in around their bed so i'm just assuming that it's not going to be an issue so that's why i use the finish and you will see in the final pictures at the very end i've got some studio shots of how that grain just looks like it's on fire really comes alive [Music] all right home stretch getting the final assembly together and i use my iwata lph80 on a one horsepower compressor to spray a super light like half pound cut of shellac as a top coat and i found that just gives a very lustrous matte sheen without having to go through a lot of extra rubbing out [Music] [Music] all right let me know in the comments what you think about the asymmetry the contrast the mid-century design if you like it dislike it i'm looking forward to reading the feedback and don't forget to subscribe we'll catch you on the next one thanks [Music] you

Channel: Sawyer Design

Views: 36,932

Rating: 4.9175549 out of 5

Keywords: furniture, fine furniture, custom furniture, furniture construction, modern design, furniture design, unique furniture, bookmatched, heirloom furniture, furniture making, artisan videos, craftsman, DIY Woodworking, How to woodwork

Id: I_njVoWjXr8

Length: 10min 23sec (623 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 04 2021