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Why "Prrvasions"?
The Process of Making a Cross
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Prrcat Prrvasions is a two person operation. I supervise and handle the business end of things, and occasionally do the finish work on the equipment, although I used to do all of the finish sanding, staining, and sealing. Jayybird does the actual construction of the bondage furniture: measuring, cutting, drilling, and assembly, plus most of what I once handled. All of this is very time intensive and we both have full time employment.
Step One - Select the Wood
We cruise down to the local Dom (Home) Depot or Lowes and dig through dozens of 2x6" pine boards, trying to find ones with good grain, a smooth surface, and no warping. Since wood does warp so easily, we only buy what is needed for an order. Then it's over to each of the other wood racks to repeat the process of trying to find the prrfect wood.
If the local Depot doesn't have what we need, we drive to the next closest one. Quality is important, but rough boards also mean considerably more sanding time.
Step Two - Buying the Hardware
Although this is generally the easiest part of our shopping, and we often have sufficient on hand, sometimes the store hasn't restocked what we need and we have to shop around. This has involved taking the time to go to 4 different hardware and building supply stores, something we really prefer to avoid. Once we have sufficient (steady) orders coming in, we'll start buying bulk through mail order.
Step Three - Rough Sanding
A belt sander and a DeWalt compound sliding miter saw save us a significant amount of time and trouble.
The 6" and 4" boards are given a "rough sand" with the 60 (or 80, if we're out of 60) grit belt. This takes off the roughest of the surface and makes them mostly uniform in feel. I say mostly because most of the pine still has some dips and slight warping that the belt sander won't get. For this we have two electric palm sanders (and lots of sheets of sandpaper in a variety of grits). The footboard always has to be smoothed with the palm sanders as it's too wide for the belt sander and the ends of the wood also are done done "by hand" because sandpaper is cheaper than belts for that industrial sander! (sanding end grain on the belt can tear it up)
Step Four - Turning Boards Into Cross Pieces
Jay usually cuts the base, first, so that I can do the fine sanding (up to 280 grit) while he cuts other pieces. Since each cross is made by hand, as opposed to being mass produced, there are always slight variences and often this means that pieces from one cross will not fit properly with another. This is true even though he is very careful with his cutting angles and placement of bolts, screws, and hardware.
The measuring, cutting, drilling, etc, process is meticulous and time consuming. A lap joint is made so the X pieces fit together tightly and without overhang. The hardware is placed, then attached where possible at this point. Since each cross IS slightly different, the 2x4 brace board is cut last. If it's a spanking cross, additional boards were purchased and have to be cut to different measurements and angles. Edges are routed to (hopefully) eliminate sharp edges. Sometimes a board is ruined by a dull drill bit or saw blade, so it's back to the Depot for another board and some tools.
Just as a note of trivia, each cross has over four pounds of hardware - bolts, screws, hinges, and brackets.Step Five - Test Assembly
Although all pilot holes for hardware and assembly are pre-drilled, we use smaller screws (and fewer of them) for the test assembly. Jay then puts the cross together, cuts the brace to the correct angle, double checks his overall work, and takes it apart. Now it's my turn.
Step Six - More Sanding
I'm picky. Although I know that not all drilled holes are prrfect, that sometimes the tree-to-boards cutting has created imperfections that I can't get out, and that pine has knots and other natural "qualities", I don't have to like it. I go back over each of the pieces (7 plus, depending on the cross style) and check the surfaces. Some will need more 60 grit sanding, others will be ready for a finer grit. Once I'm as happy with the wood as I'm going to get (hours have passed), I wipe down all of the surfaces to remove the sawdust and it's time for the next step.
Step Seven - Staining
This is where I find all the spots I missed in sanding. Jay tells me it's the wood's "character". Depending on the color, this is a relatively simple step. It's also time intensive since I can only properly stain 3 sides of each board at a time. My Chamber becomes a staining room if I don't have any appointments for the next couple of days. Because I don't want the smell to linger (leather, yes; stain, most definitely not!), I often have to do this on my back patio (which is also the workshop).
The wood is set out on sawhorses, stained, allowed to dry for 6-10 hours, depending on the humidity and temperature, then coated again if it's a dark color. Many of the lighter shades of stain only need one coat, but the darker red mahogany is the most popular. Then the other side of each of the pieces is stained. Drips are a big problem, here, but I catch most of them in time.
After the stain has fully dried, I go over all pieces with a very fine grade of steel wool to smooth out the surface for the next, and almost final, step.
Step Eight - Polyurethane
Polyurethane is a royal pain in the tail! When we were trying to do "production line" to get 6 crosses ready for TLP, plus another one for an order, I tested 4 different types of sealant and was happy with none. I ruined the "wing" (one of the arms that fold down) on one cross and was unable to take it to the event, all because the poly dripped and I didn't catch it in time.
Because polyurethane is so touchy, it's the singlemost time consuming aspect of making a cross. It's also the one that makes it look terrific AND easier to clean. Imagine the body fluids that can get on a cross and you'll understand the wisdom of sealing the wood properly. Anyway, each side has to be done individually, further lengthing the time as it all has to dry sufficiently to not drip before I can turn the piece and apply more. Once the polyurethane has completely dried, each piece is again (lightly) gone over with steel wool. Often multiple coats are applied.
Step Nine - Carpet
Yes, carpet! The base of every one of our crosses is carpeted. This prevents damage to the wood AND to any surface it may rest on. Or against. Stored appropriately, the carpet will also help prevent any damage to a wall.
As you now know, a lot of time and energy is put into making a beautiful and sturdy piece of bondage equipment. If we were to even bill minimum wage for our labor, the crosses would be priced considerably higher. This is true of most any home-crafted item so, next time you're buying that special toy and bitching about the price, keep this in mind. It's not always expensive because of "middlemen" and high profit margins, or because it's for a specialty market, sometimes it's because of equipment maintenance (saw blades and drill bits, for example), materials (sand paper, steel wool, stain, polyurethane), and because the crafter wants to make a little bit of profit for their effort.
Not many, if any, three-or-less person businesses are going to get rich off their labor. We're not. But we saw a need for affordable, quality, bondage furniture and are doing our part to fill it.
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