WIP Slipseat for stool

[flynnsart]

I had to upholster a slipseat for a stool I made for my dad. (Project of making stool started 6 or 7 years ago, but has been gathering dust). I thought someone else may be interested in how to go about it.

First you need to make a frame, mine is out of hoop pine. This is about 20mm deep by about 60 wide and joined at the corners with half lapped joints. It should sit in its stool/chair position with about 3 to 5mm room all around to allow for the covering. I chamfered the outside of the frame so the top was tapered to the edge with the top measuring 30mm and the edge 10mm.

WEBBING
I bought some jute webbing from the local upholsterer, along with some little tacks and some furniture tacks, cost about 6 bucks for the lot.

Tack the webbing over the frame on the upside, weaving it under and over and stretching it as much as you can. (I think there is actually a tool you can use to make it taut.) I think I would use stretchy webbing for a chair instead of the jute. I put heaps of tacks in the ends which i folded under and staggered them so they didnt split the frame.

FOAM
I bought the foam from Clark rubber, it is about 5 bucks a square foot for 2" foam. Probably a bit thick for my stool, but it didnt look so big in the shop! It will be nice and comfy for dads feet though.

I cut it 30mm wider all round than the slip seat frame, and then put the frame on it, marked it all around, then chamfered it back to the line. I also cut a bit off the corners to make it easier when I glued it up. I used scissors, but you can use an electric knife. The pics might show what i am on about

GLUEING
I bought some Bostick Contact Bond. Smear this around the outer edge of the slip seat (the 10mm edge), and around the chamfered edge of the foam, for about 15mm from the edge. Also put a spot on the upper exposed corners of the frame, and corresponding position on the foam.

Go somewhere peaceful for about 10min and summon your patience.

Once the glued areas are touch dry, place your slip seat topside down onto the centre of the foam and press down, this should stick it to the foam and hold it in position. The foam should be with its uncut upper side down and shamfered side with glue facing up.

Continued in next post.

[flynnsart]

WIP Part 2

BONDING
Now carefully fold the glued edge of the foam up to meet the glued edge of the slipseat frame, be careful as it will bond on contact, hold it there for a few seconds carefully pressing it to make sure you have a smooth bond. work your way around, and smooth your hand over the foam towards the corner, these need to be done carefully to get a smooth finish. (Working with 1" foam would probably be a bit easier than 2".) If there are any bits overhanging the frame trim them off.

FABRIC
Lay the slipseat upside down on the fabric, and starting from the centre tack it to the underside of the slipseat, smoothing it and working from side to side and end to end. Thicker seats will have to have the fabric pleated at the corners, thinner seats may not need to be, or if you use stretchy fabric. Trim the excess fabric off.

Continued in next post....

[flynnsart]

CONT...

DUST COVER
Cut a piece of fabric (use your upholstory fabric or calico, or whatever) to cover up the underside, and iron under the edges. Tack this on with upholstory tacks, making sure they will be clear of the rails that the seat is to sit on.

Pop it in your stool/chair

note: A staple gun could be used instead of tacks. If your foam is only 1" thick, make it only 20mm wider than the frame not 30mm.

Donna

[Harry72]

Nice WIP coverage Donna.

Ever tried using 2 types of foam(soft and hard density) to get a soft to touch but firm once weight is applied? I did some barstools a while back with solid tops(no webbing)which worked out well using this principal, a pro upholster recommended using a slippery material between the layers of foam.

[flynnsart]

Sounds like a good idea to try Harry. Will have to build something new to try it with Maybe after I finish my backlog of unfinished projects!

Donna

[bpj1968]

Donna attached is a rough drawing of what the tool for stretching the webbing looks like. It is easy enough to make one. A piece of timber as wide as eth weebing and about 6" long. A row of nails with the heads cut off act like claws and grab the webbing. Levering the tool under the frame gives the tension.

Once tight enough put a few nails/staples across the webbing. then fold it back over itself. A full row of nails/staples across teh doble thickness. then trim off the excesss. Folding over stops the ends from fraying and slipping under the nails.

for a nice soft feel on the top you can use the white polyester wadding that you get from Spotlight/Lincraft and stretch that over.

[Arch Stanton]

Nice WIP coverage Donna.

Ever tried using 2 types of foam(soft and hard density) to get a soft to touch but firm once weight is applied? I did some barstools a while back with solid tops(no webbing)which worked out well using this principal, a pro upholster recommended using a slippery material between the layers of foam.

Harry,

I like the two foam idea but why do you put the slippery material between the two layers?

I also hear people talking about putting muslin or some other fabric over the foam before attaching the final fabric. Can you tell me why this is necessary and what would happen if I don't do it.

Regards,

Brian

[Harry72]

I think it was to allow the two layers to slip and stretch independently?

[Arch Stanton]

I think it was to allow the two layers to slip and stretch independently?

I've got a lot to learn. I think I might have to do a short course in upholstery.

[zenwood]

Very useful WIP, and so clearly presented.

I tried to repair some chairs and got pretty crappy results. This WIP will help alot.

[neilb]

As a retired upholsterer, I am willing to answer any questions concerning the trade. With the seat that is being done at the moment, there are a few misconceptions in some of the previous posts.
Some upholstery fabrics such as velvets ect. require a calico underlay fixed before the top cover is applied. This is only required where there is concern of pile wear. This is because of the wearing of the pile (underneath the fabric)on the velvet would not be as great as if it was to be placed on bare foam.
When glueing, it is much easier if you have access to a spray gun and sprayable contact. A large nozzled spray gun is all that is needed and you will use far less glue and there is more control over where and the amount of contact applied.
Nowadays jute webbing is only used mainly on antique jobs. For what you are doing , elastic seating webbing is a more viable option. Make sure you get seating webbing, usually 50mm , black and with a few coloured stripes down the edges. There are varying grades of webbing from quite stretchy which is used on backs (white) to quite firm grades for seating.This is also available from Clarke Rubber but whatever type of webbing that is used, you MUST sand all sharp frame edges round where any webbing will be going over. This will help prolong the life of the webbing considerably.
Any other questions, just ask.
Neil.

[zenwood]

Cool...Good to have you aboard, Neil.

I've got a collapsed armchair I'm thinking about taking apart and repairing. Be nice to have some advice to hand

Can you buy sprayable contact in aerosol cans, or do you need your own spray gun?

Is it possible to get replacement springs for old armchairs? Never seen them at bunnings.

[Arch Stanton]

Can you buy sprayable contact in aerosol cans, or do you need your own spray gun?

For gluing foam I use 3M #77 spray adhesive. It is fantastic, I couldn't imagine anything else being better. I've bought it from upholstery suppliers and pakaging suppliers. They are big cans and cost just over 20 bucks.

Neil, thanks for the info.

[neilb]

You can buy sprayable contact in aerosol cans at Bunnings and Spotlight but that is quite expensive if you have a fair area to spray.

Firstly the can types are ok for light stress jobs but are generally inferior to the industrial strength types. Look under Upholstering Supplies in the Yellow Pages and you will find a few places where there are 4 ltr or 20 ltr drums . If you were in Brisbane I could give you some company names . Or you can go to your local upholsterer and take an empty 1 or 2 ltr can or jar with you and he may sell you what you need.

The glue is available in Green, Orange , Red and a few other colours. Get the clear if at all possible. This one will not come through some of the lighter coloured or lightweight fabrics. Some contact adhesives are heat - sensitive which means that you can apply it and leave it and when you are ready to bond it, apply a bit of heat from a heat gun and it will re-activate the glue. This type of contact is very usefull for items that take a while to complete one section and move on to another section such as car consoles and door trims.

Now on the subject of sporings. Are we talking about coil springs or zig-zag springs ? With the old fashioned vertical coil springs, you need to work out the finished height that you want it at and the grade of thickness of the wire. The thicker the grade, the firmer the spring will be, hence the smaller and thinner ones are generally used on backs and the more thicker and higher ones are used for seating purposes.
With the Zig- Zag springs (known as non-sag springs) you get it in a continuous roll of about 20 metres and you cut each spring to the required length. If you are only after a few springs, go to you local upholsterer and get him to cut you some. To cut them you can use an angle grinder if you haven't got the proper bench cutter and you have to always allow for an extra "s" turn on each end to bend the ends inwards again. You will also need 2 clips to fasten each springs onto your frame. They are called "G" clips.
Any other queries just ask.
Neil.

[zenwood]

Thanks a bunch Neil.

I guess I'll know more about my requirements after I take the old seat apart.

Got one or two other projects to do before that though . . .