Hey all,
So, I’m always up for a new challenge! I’m expecting a little girl in February and can’t see my way to pay upwards of 1,000 for a comfy chair for my nursery. So, of course, like any good woodworker, I thought, well, I’ll just make one!
I’m pretty comfortable around the shop, having built a lot of traditional case pieces, a couple of all wood chairs, stools, benches, etc. I use a combo of power tools and hand tools, am pretty good with a hand cut mortise and tenon.
And I’m wondering if anybody knows of any books dealing with building the frame/upholstering from the board up?
Thanks for the input!
Jordan
Replies
I'm with dovetail on this one. I was looking around the site and there were a few upholstery articles (16 to be exact) but only two of them dealt with anything other than weaving a seat or seat back. It would be nice to see an article on a chair like a upholstered rocker or glider (I think that was what you were referring to right dovetail?) I have been wanting to make one for a little while now. My wife and I don't have a baby yet but the gliders are a lot of fun to sit in and they are darn comfortable so I figured I would make one for myself. So how about it FWW? Maybe an article on an upholstered rocking/gliding chair?
Nick
May be heresy to say it here but I believe Woodsmith had plans for a glider a few years back. Their website is woodsmith.com.
FWW has had a number of chair articles recently and a video on making a nice chair- though all more dining room than nursery style.
There are several good books on chairs, chair design etc... Jeff Miller has a good one. I have one from Time-Life which not usually a fine woodworking source but this book is really good for basics.
Gold old Norm Abram had a 2-part show on making an upholstered cigar chair from scratch. The DVD and/or plans are available on the NYWS website.
Bruce
We had the same problem when I was deciding what type of chair to building for our dining room. Unable to find good online help I decided to consult with a professional upholsterer and had her tell me what she looks for in framing for different type of chairs. It really does depend on what kind of cushioning support you are going to use, eg frame with springs, webbing or solid base/back core . The style will also dictate some of the framing dimensions since the placement of the bottom seat back rail is placed much lower for fully upholstered chairs such as parsons chairs. Thats about all I can add to the mix. BTW, I ended up making A & C style chairs so all I had to do was upholster the seat bottoms.
Doug
Thanks all!
Not one for the look of traditional gliders, I'm thinking I might go with Norm Abram's cigar chair dvd. I love books and the info they put right in front of you, but just can't seem to find anything even close to what I'm looking for: a fully upholstered (except for feet) almost club chair in a transitional style. I definitely want springs for the seat support because they're just so darn comfortable, not eight-way hand-tied on my first project, though.
I did finally find a pic of an un-upholstered frame for a chair online which helped some.
Research a campeache chair. Its a pretty straight forward woodworking project and it can be upholstered pretty easily. Very comfortable!
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