Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Learning Isn't Always Easy

Fast forwarding a number of final and finishing steps, here is the seat webbing. I ended up using #4 screws to fasten the webbing. I wonder if certain tacks would work as the screws were a bit more difficult and therefore a bit more time consuming.
This slightly elastic webbing was urged by the upholsterer I've been in contact with, who is basically the guy around town for Danish/Mid Century Modern stuff.

The woodwork is all done and here it is giving all the knock-down hardware a go.

This was a sizeable undertaking for me in terms of things to learn.
That being said, it is "certainly" not perfect. I say certainly, my lady is more forgiving ha. She has a point though, it was meant as a learning tool.
Here's the run-down...
It's too wide by maybe 1-2".
I would like the seat deeper 0.5-1".
I want to kick the angle of the back leg a bit more.
With the variables of webbing and upholstery involved in the sitting height, it sits a smidge  low.
A related note the lower sitting position effectively closes the back angle a tad. I'd like to adjust that. Though I need to wait to try the real foam which will be softer for the back, opening it up a bit.
The seat and back frames are pretty chunky for a single chair. I think they would be decent for a sofa. I was hoping to keep all the dimensions the same except width between chair and sofa. That may not work out, as I would like to build a sofa that I'm not afraid to use.

On the more positive side... The chair feels rock solid and I thought of a couple techniques along the way to use next time.

This was certainly a learning and humbling experience. After this sofa, I don't know that I'll be working on many more chairs heh... Though I still like the idea of a dinning chair / chair to go with that Walnut Desk. I do know that I would like a make a fairly simple bench with danish chord.

what to do now. I feel a little jumbled up... Perhaps finishing that plane will help.

2 comments:

Nick Brygidyr said...

looks great so far! i like how you got the webbing in with a through mortise!

how exactly are the seat supports attached to the chair?

building a chair still freaks me out

Nicholas Nelson said...

Thanks, Yeah the webbing through the frame was used in a lot of Danish Modern pieces. I decided to give it a go myself.
The back frame is connected with one knock down fastener where it crosses the arm. It's a bolt through the frame and into the arm. Then there's a dowel at the bottom of the back.
The seat frame has the same bolt through towards the back into the side stretcher. Then two #8 screws holding the front down to the front rail.

Yes, though still using the same methods of work chairs are kind of another game. Making a solid and nice fitting chair to someone who hasn't made one may be like making and fitting a nice dovetail drawer for someone who hasn't before.