Sunday, December 14, 2008

the sofa has begun




i've been working on an elongated morris chair for the last little bit. it's been interesting to work on something that is to be sat in. it's definitely a different ball game then what i'm used to. the lady i'm making it for is a seamstress, and is going to be taking care of the cushions, to be made out of leather and four inch foam. i laminated the arm out of five plies, and they have a nice grain graphic on the top of them. they appear to be hugging the sitter. all of the mortises have been punched for the frame of the sofa, except for the top curved rails. i'm going to fit the arm onto the legs and use that as the template for fitting the top rail. i'm still scratching my head as to how the back is going to be supported, but i guess i'll figure that out later, when i get closer to that part of the project.

9 comments:

LORD GODFREY said...

Not bad kid.

You're moving past boxes. Hahahahaha. Hey is your nephew gone to space yet? Maaike has, there and back a few times actually.

LORD GODFREY said...

I'll check some of my archives to see if I can find any solutions to your back. Is it still going to tilt? If so is it like a day bed or just for adjustable reclining?

Aren't chairs sooooo much more interesting.

jbreau said...

hey ian, the lady canned the recliner idea after i got my nephew to renegociate the price for me, it took a little while for him to get through to her from the american embassy in moscow, but he was able to squeeze her in between putin and the georgians. he's such a little peace keeper...
chairs definately add to the complexity, especially when one of my ucles weights a good 300 pounds, and there is the chance that he might want to sit in it with me. that makes me scared.
i was thinking of doing a kind of bird mouth joint at the back, with a tenon going in the back rail, and the mouth going onto the other face of that same rail... and then i was thinking that i could back this up with a stick going in between the two arms across the length of the back. i'll see when i get to that point. right now i'm going to get the side assemblies all done, and then tackle the seat and back.

Nick Brygidyr said...

I like my boxes just fine, chairs kinda frighten me. I'm pretty sure yours will be saxy mr.breau!

you know what i love? making 1/8 dowels only to find out they're made of oak and disintegrate when you pull them out of their holes. yeeeahhhh

Cody said...

Nice work on the sofa. I read a great article in the now debunked 'Fine Furniture' magazine by Ross Day about building a sofa. In my opinion a sofa is a difficult piece for a woodworker because the woodwork tends to be minimal, taking a backseat to the typically large amount of upholstery. Personally, I'm still using the old crusty futon I bought while in college. Sometimes I think I should build a nice frame for the damn thing. A guy I used to work with at a timberframe shop who lurks around on these blogs built a nice futon frame from fir once. Rane? You out there?

Cody said...

Hey Nick, you know what works awesome for tiny dowels? Bamboo skewers. They're cheap and wicked strong.

jbreau said...

bamboo skewers and round toothpicks are good too for really small work.

Nick Brygidyr said...

the bamboo skewers are working great! the cabinet is almost done, got some shellac on it and glued it up, looking effin' good!

Also wanted to wish you a merry x-mas Jacques!

LORD GODFREY said...

Hey Jacques,

Let me know if you change your mind about the recliner. I am at my parent's farm and found an article in a magazine on building a reclining chair like yours. It is a pretty good article. Looks like it would support some ass. Keep on keeping up with the updates. I am anxious to see this thing together. All the best!