Delivery made, customer happy, my back in pain...

[Matthew Dworman]

Boy was this heavy!
Wenge, stained black (that's what he wanted!)
Mortise and tennons pinned with brass pins in the base
Torsion box construction for the platform - through dovetails at corners (almost impossible to see in the pics though....)
The top section alone weighs over 200 pounds (2 sheets of 1/2" 5x8 Mdf for top and bottom skins plus an entire sheet of 3/4" plywood for the torsion box supports inside - plus about 80 pounds of wenge to boot!) Brought this up a flight of stairs - YIKES!:eek:
Finished with 5 coats of shellac and 2 coats of oil


Matthew

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Matthew that looks great and you must be one strong dude. :D

[Art Mulder]

Wenge, stained black (that's what he wanted!)

Now that's a crime. Why not just Poplar and stain it black? I clicked on the images, and I couldn't even see the grain. Why not just plywood! All right, maybe that is going too far, but it seems a waste of really nice hardwood to do that to it!

Reminds me of about 8 years ago when I stopped by a garage sale and was looking at a Baby Crib. I thought the price was too high, and the lady got a bit defensive and proclaimed "It's Solid Maple". I politely say no thanks and walked away, but I was thinking... "It's painted WHITE; so what if it is maple? It could be ebony and rosewood for all it matters!"

[Matthew Dworman]

I clicked on the images, and I couldn't even see the grain. Why not just plywood! All right, maybe that is going too far, but it seems a waste of really nice hardwood to do that to it!

The pics are kind of bad - the grain is definitely very visible - but as a response to your other comments - you hit the nail on the head. I gave him the option of "ebonized maple" at a lower cost, but when I gave him some sample boards of both, he still chose the wenge. The customer is always right! and he was happy with it so that's what matters most! (actually what matters most is that as I made the delivery he gave me a new job to quote on too!)
Thanks for the comments:)
Matthew

[Mike Cutler]

Nice work Matthew.

The Wenge is striking, and that is not the first instance I have seen of it stained black(ebonized). I'm certain that the grain is is very nice.
He likes it, you did great.
Now. A hot shower, 4 ibuprofen, and a glass of merlot are in order.
Good work.

[Art Mulder]

The customer is always right!

No, the customer is NOT always right. :eek:
But.. the customer IS always the customer... :D

(I heard that quote many years ago, and I like it much better.)

Glad your customer was happy, and glad your getting more business out of it.

[Matthew Dworman]

No, the customer is NOT always right. :eek:
But.. the customer IS always the customer... :D


I do like that quote better!;)

[Byron Trantham]

How much was the delivery charge?:D

Very nice work. A happy customer is a return customer.

[Matthew Dworman]

How much was the delivery charge?:D



I told myself that next time I do anything this heavy I'm getting a quote from a moving company and tacking it right on top of the price....

[lou sansone]

looks real nice ... looks like a helper would be nice in this situation

lou

[Matthew Dworman]

looks like a helper would be nice in this situation

lou

I was able to get 2 friends to help - still HEAVY!:eek: :)

[Corey Hallagan]

More beautiful work Mathew, great craftsmanship!

Corey

[Matthew Dworman]

More beautiful work Mathew, great craftsmanship!

Corey

Thanks Corey - its funny though how the customers always notice the finish, but never the details of the craftsmanship - i.e. Dovetails, or pinned Mortise and tennons, etc.... - those are the parts of woodworking that I enjoy the most and take the most pride in....

[Gail O'Rourke]

Mathew - I love the simplicity of it. I am sure it was a great opportunity to work with a not as popular wood. You said you stained it black - with black stain? Have you tried the black die? Just curious on the different looks for black.

Yes, sounds heavy, I hope you charged for delivery - nice project.

[Ron Franssen]

Can you provide a little detail on the torsion box? Did you use butt joints on the grid or interlocking grooves, etc. How tall are the interior grid parts? How much weight will the box support? Did you do any calculations to come up with the design constraints? I've been considering using a torsion box design for a new bed so any info is appreciated.

thanks
ron

[Matthew Dworman]

You said you stained it black - with black stain? Have you tried the black die? Just curious on the different looks for black.



Gail, I made up a couple sample boards with different "stains/dyes" the two that worked the best were Trans tint dye - alcohol based and Mixol pigments. My customer liked the Mixol version better - this is a paste/gel type pigment that can be added to just about anything - I mixed it with shellac and had an instant black finish that saved me a separate step - this worked out gteat. I used a total of 5 coats shellac and 2 coats oil...




Can you provide a little detail on the torsion box? Did you use butt joints on the grid or interlocking grooves, etc. How tall are the interior grid parts? How much weight will the box support? Did you do any calculations to come up with the design constraints?


Ron, I don't know how much weight it will support - but I got to imagine that it is more than the bed will ever see. I used 1/2 mdf for the top and bottom and 3/4" plywood for the interior grid. The side to side strips are full length with the front to back ones cut in short sections and joined with butt joints (does that even count as a joint?) lots of glue and nails. The platform section is 55" wide so I ordered 5'x8' sheets of MDF - didn't have to worry about a joint in the skins. The grid sections are spaces just under 12" apart - This used up an entire sheet of plywood alone. The only design constraint I was given for the bed is that he wanted the top of his matress to be 24" off the floor. He got a new tempurpedic matress that was 10" thick so that gave me a platform hight of 14". I made the base 9" and the platform 5.5" with a 1/2" lip. This proportion was for visual purposes only and had no bearing on structural support - I'm sure a 2" thick torsion box would have still been more than enough. So with 2 skins 1/2" each, that left the grid 4" tall inside....
My customer is in his 60's - I was told "I'm not married, so my bed sees a lot of use - make it sturdy and squeak free" :eek: :) :D This is why I used the torsion box design for the platform:cool:


Matthew

[Steve Clardy]

Very nice!!

Yep. A customer is a customer, right or wrong.