Confession – I finished the upholstery several weeks ago but have not gotten the blog updated until now. Oh well, everything else about this project has been on its own pace so there is no sense in changing now;)
Here we go. The next step is to cut seat blanks. I used a sheet of good quality 3/8 plywood.
I printed out a full size pattern.
Cut it out on the bandsaw.
Sanded it smooth.
I then used the first cutout as a pattern for the other 5 seat blanks.
I used a brad point bit to mark the hole locations.
I used a T-nut to bolt the seat blank to the stool.
As always with this project. I keep moving on and eventually I get to the end of each step.
After the seat blanks are done, its time to cut the foam. I used 1 1/2 inch thick blocks of upholstery foam. I used the bandsaw to cut to shape and then tapered the foam.
I took out the bandsaw table insert so I could tilt the table as far as possible (I would guess 50+ degrees). The seats were cut about 3/8 inch oversize and the taper ended up just over an inch inside the seat outline.
The foam is glued to the seat base with spray adhesive. After the foam is bonded, the edges are bent over and stuck to the seat. This gives a pretty good shape to the seat even before fabric is added.
After the foam, next is a layer of muslin.
This is followed by the final fabric. The pattern is located and stapled front & back.
Then the sides & corners.
Trim the excess.
Add heavy paper.
And – finally – bolt the finished seat to the frame!
Here is a view of the final seat.
I’ll save the final pics for the project posting – given past behavior that could take a while ;)
Here is the final time log:
=================================================
Cutting rough stock: 2 hr
Legs
> Cutting to width and thickness: 4 hr 20 min
> Cut to final length: 3 hr 30 min
> Shaping: 5 hr 50 min
> Mortises: 10 hr 35 min
> Sand & radius edges: 19 hr 35 min
> Oxidize and Final sanding: 3 hr 10 min
> Prep for finish: 1 hr 25 min
> Finish: 12 h 15 min
Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hr 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hr 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min
> Tenon: 5 hr 40 min
> Mortises: 5 hr 30 min
> Sand & radius edges: 6 hr 10 min
> Oxidize and Final sanding: 1 hr 20 min
> Mask & Prep for finish: 20 min
> Finish: 2 h 45 min
Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hr
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hr 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 30 min
> Tenon: 2 hr 50 min
> Sand: 7 hr 35 min
> Oxidize and Final sanding: 1 hr 30 min
> Mask & Prep for finish: 40 min
> Finish: 4 hr 35 min
Lower rail parts
> Cut to width and thickness: 10 hr
> Cut to length: 1 hr 30 min
> Mortise: 4 hr 35 min
> Tenon: 28 hr 30 min
> Sand & radius edges: 15 hr 35 min
> Oxidize and Final sanding: 3 hr 40 min
> Mask & Prep for finish: 2 hr 30 min
> Finish: 12 hr 5 min
Corner Blocks
> Cut to size: 1 hr 50 min
> Shape: 1 hr 50 min
> Tenons: 1 hr 15 min
> Holes: 1 hr 30 min
Frame assembly
> Remove Masking Tape: 1 hr 30 min
> Dry Fitting: 4 hr 20 min
> Glue up: 6 hr 50 min
Seats
> Seat Blanks: 3 hr 55 min
> Foam: 1 hr 20 min
> Muslin: 4 hr 15 min
> Final Fabric: 7 hr
Total: 245 hr 15 min (~41 hrs per stool)
-- Steve - Impatience is Expensive
11 comments so far
ellen35
home | projects | blog
2439 posts in 1598 days
#1 posted 199 days ago
You must be pretty excited to come to the end of this massive project!
Looking forward to the posting… that bottom looks pretty nice.
Ellen
-- Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Gary
home | projects | blog
3529 posts in 1598 days
#2 posted 199 days ago
Beautiful work. I’m really impressed. Like to see those stools in person
-- Gary, DeKalb Texas only 4 miles from the mill
SPalm
home | projects | blog
4098 posts in 2047 days
#3 posted 199 days ago
Nice.
Congrats on work well done.
Steve
-- -- I'm no rocket surgeon
Roger
home | projects | blog
9191 posts in 969 days
#4 posted 199 days ago
All, super nicely done. Woodwork, and upholstery.
-- Roger from KY. Work/Play/Travel Safe. Kentuk55@bellsouth.net
JL7
home | projects | blog
3569 posts in 1130 days
#5 posted 199 days ago
Looking good Steve! You must be extremely happy to cross the finish line!
-- Jeff - I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
sras
home | projects | blog
3222 posts in 1295 days
#6 posted 199 days ago
Thanks everyone! It’s great to have the project finished. The fun part is seeing them in use. They are so much more comfortable than our old ones.
-- Steve - Impatience is Expensive
MarkTheFiddler
home | projects | blog
684 posts in 354 days
#7 posted 199 days ago
Steve! Very well done sir! You were rather intentional about the upholstery. I can see that you took a couple of “extra” steps. It’s good mark mark of very fine upholstery. It looks like you used Rosin paper to cover the bottom. Very clever.
The muslin layer is meant to separate padding from fabric. In the good old days, the padding consisted of rubberized horse hair and cotton. The old upholstery cotton was not real clean. There were things in it that would stain a fabric if it got wet. The horse hair——- I’m glad those days are gone!!!
Do you know why upholsterers make such terrible finish carpenters. They work with half inch tolerances all the time. Keeping staples in a straight line is never a consideration. Most work they do can be corrected easily if they make a mistake.
One of the biggest aspects of being a good upholsterer is having the ability to secure fabric and padding without creating bumps or bulk. I’m sure that is something you are very familiar with at the moment. I’ve got to say that you passed the test beautifully.
Another aspect is knowing ‘how’ the padding will act when it is pulled tight with the fabric. You did such a beautiful job bevelling the foam that it already had the desired shape before you started.
Shaping the foam is a relatively new thing. In the good old day’s the foam was shapped into these gigantic blocks then cut to thickness. Nowadays, each individual piece can be shaped with a mold. That saves foam and the need for a little extra skill (just a little mind you).
Do you know why a fine finish carpenter makes a lousy upholsterer? They can’t make any money at it. ;) it takes over 12 hours to do the upholstery on some wrap over DR seats.
Steve – I’m messing with you. The facts are that you did some ultra fine work on that upholstery and I totally appreciate your attention to the smallest detail. If I were you – I’d give myself a 12 on a scale of 1 to 10 for a great quality upholstery job. Kick that pride of doing it yourself up a few notches. I could not have done better.
Wow – that sounds arrogant!!!! I guess I better explain a little so you can know where I’m coming from. At 6 years old, I was sweeping up my dad’s upholstery shop. By the time I was 25 – I was a master upholsterer. – THAT is WHY I have been such a lousy carpenter.
Eighth inch off? Who cares! ;)
-- Learning is like a door. Open it and there are hundreds more on the other side. Thanks for all the lessons!
sras
home | projects | blog
3222 posts in 1295 days
#8 posted 198 days ago
Wow Mark! Thanks for the inspiring and detailed comment! Your compliments meant a lot to me.
I have to admit that this was my first chair upholstery. I have picked up some hints from years past, but I have to give the biggest credit to my wife’s uncle. I got to watch him re-upholster some chairs old school – cotton, horse hair, muslin and tacks. I learned a lot.
Thanks again for your feedback.
-- Steve - Impatience is Expensive
justoneofme
home | projects | blog
357 posts in 645 days
#9 posted 198 days ago
Sure must feel good to have this very involved project completed. Be proud of yourself Steve … these hand-crafted kitchen stools are beautiful!!
-- Elaine in Duncan
shipwright
home | projects | blog
3371 posts in 963 days
#10 posted 198 days ago
Absolutely superb Steve !
That’s all I’ve got. ;-)
-- Paul M ..............If God wanted us to have fiberglass boats he would have given us fiberglass trees. http://prmdesigns.com/
sras
home | projects | blog
3222 posts in 1295 days
#11 posted 197 days ago
Thanks Elaine – I seem to gravitate to involved projects. They take a lot of time, but the journey is as much fun as the final result!
Thanks Paul – The quality of comments are not judged by their size ;)
-- Steve - Impatience is Expensive
Have your say...