The back cushion for a Morris chair – is it curved?
Gene_Davis
| Posted in General Discussion on
I am building two, per the American Furniture Design plan, the bow-arm Morris with 5-slat adjustable backrest, and four vertical “pickets” between the side rails.
We’ll get the cushions made by an upholstery pro, and will go with fabric rather than leather. We want to stop in at the Stickley Audi showroom when we are downstate at Christmastime, to see some details of the cushions they have on their bow-arm Morris chairs.
The back slats are curved, and we were wondering whether the back cushion has matching curvature. Anybody know?
Replies
Morris Chair upholstery
Gene
I too am in the middle of building of couple of these chairs. Some inconsistencies in the plans/article - not hard to sort out and have asked for Greg Paolini's comments/thoughts but haven't rec'd. any.
Concerning upholstery you might find the Prairie Settle article by Kevin Rodel interesting and you can see a couple of his videos on FWW where he shows how to make the seat support and upholster the cushions. I really like the look of his approach so will likely do that - the other more formal approaches seem to cheapen the look in my opinion.
I am also using some of the types of details that Kevin Rodel used in his Settle in my chairs - the slats, corbels and ebony plugs.
Good luck - Bill
I watched the series of videos Greg did, which are available for "rent" at YouTube, or they can be watched with the paid online subscription to FH.
The inconsistency I saw and questioned him about in an email, was the issue of tenon interference in the legs, where the front and rear rails meet the lower side stretchers. It was apparent to me that he moved the front and rear parts outboard to lessen the interference, and I did the same. He got back to me after a few weeks wait and said he could not remember what he did.
If you go to his website, you can see the chairs he builds now. All have their side stretchers down low, so as not to have the tenons crashing.
If I had a Festool Domino, I would be doing all the M & T work using it. IMHO, it would not compromise the strength of the assembly at all.
Tenon Inteference
Gene
As I was getting ready to start the build process I went back and watched the videos on FWW site and there was a note in the side bar about the tenon interference issue. They indicated that their solution was to insert the side rail and mark on its tenon the mortise for the front and rear rails. They would then mortise the side tenons as needed to accept the tenon from the rails. Rodel addresses this issue in the Settle with slightly bigger legs.
Yeah the Domino would be great for this project.... as they say "Pick the projects that need a sweet new tool" - in this case I really need the chairs!
Cheers
For anyone picking up this old thread, the answer is no... The backrest cushions aren't curved when new. They take on the curved shape of the chair over time. I've built backrest cushions with 1" foam glued together in a curved fashion, and it made no difference in the looks or comfort of the chair. Just use 3-4" thick foam and knock off the hard edges with scissors. Then wrap the foam with 1 or 2 layers of polyester batting before the finished upholstery goes on.
Built 12 chairs,kept 4.two for each of 3 kids and 2 to a charity auction.Leather cushions except 2 in vinyl as the kids of that daughter were small.Designed by Phil Testimale of Victoria BC.They dismantle for shipping.See them on my wifes website carolynprue.com.Phil might still have the drawings if interested.I junked a case of jigs unfortunately
When I built 2 Morris chairs I took them to a professional upholsterer. They made the cushions flat. One in leather, one in fabric.
UGH, YOU GOT ME!! 10 year old thread.
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