A Woodworker’s Guide to Upholstery: Tools and Materials
In this episode, learn about the tools you'll need to start upholstering, and the anatomy of a well-constructed chair cushion.
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Upholstery might seem intimidating at first, but making a comfortable seat cushion is well within the skillset of any woodworker. In this video series, upholsterer Michael Mascelli takes you through the process of upholstering the drop-in seat cushion frame for an Arts & Crafts rocking chair built by Mike Pekovich.
You’ll learn how to:
- Assemble a simple yet effective set of basic tools for upholstery
- Create a sprung foundation with zigger springs
- Build up a base of various foam and Dacron layers to get the right shape and comfort
- Top it off with a folded and tacked show cover of leather or vinyl, and a simple neat dust cover on the bottom.
In this introductory episode, Michael explains what goes into making a long-lasting, comfortable upholstered seat. He also goes over the simple tool set that you need to get the job done.
Video by Jeff Roos and Ben…
Videos in the Series
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A Woodworker’s Guide to Upholstery: Tools and Materials
February 7, 2018
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A Woodworker’s Guide to Upholstery: Making the Deck
February 7, 2018
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A Woodworker’s Guide to Upholstery: Building Up Foam Layers
February 22, 2018
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A Woodworker’s Guide to Upholstery: Show and Dust Covers
March 8, 2018
Comments
Is it too late to re-edit 1a? The ending seems really abrupt. 1b doesn't "finish" Mike's explanation.
I was an upholsterer for 20 years. All the tools he shows are good, but he really misses the boat on For one the tack hammer. There are two very different types the standard type, with the magnet, but the italian one is a lot harder to learn. It has a tapered end horizontal instead of a magnet. It it just wide enough to fit between your fingers and has a wide enough edge to tack the tack between your fingers. I have used both. with effectiveness. With both, you put a small handful of tacks in your mouth, then move them with your tongue to make the point go toward your mouth and the head toward your lips. With the magnet you simply slip the hammer into your mouth with the magnet toward the head of the tack to stick the magnet on the head of the tack. Then you make the one strike to place the tack, then spin the hammer to hammer the tack home. With the italian hammer you grab the tack with two fingers, place the tack and strike between your fingers to place the tack, then spin the hammer and hammer the tack home. Obviously the italian hammer takes a little more practice, but it works just as well. I had an old italian guy that worked on cruise ships that taught me how to use it, and how to stretch jute as well as weave reed and tie an 8 way spring system and do caning. He could actually write his name or anyone's family crest into the caning on the back of a chair or even the side door to a surrey for a horse drawn carriage. Upholstery is such an increadable art form. If it wasn't for a sensitivity to glue fumes and other nasty crap that is currently used in the automotive and boat industry I would still be doing upholstery. Too bad people will not pay for good upholstery. They would rather go to a furniture outlet that sells crap furniture that only lasts 5 or 6 years instead of heirloom furniture done with actual springs , horsehair and real upholstery fabric. We are such a throw away culture, no one cares.
I also use a wiss 33 shear Scissor. It will give you carpal tunnel after a few years, but it is big enough for leather as well as cloth and you can sharpen them forever. I also have both an Osborn tack remover AND a Berry staple remover, that is made in Lubbock Texass which looks a LOT different. Still have my Button needle, but lost all my blind stitching needles. I actually made $200 blind stitching a Mercedes seat one day. Took me ten minutes, but it was a Mercedes! :) Check out the tack removers and the stripping hammer. I had two, but sharpened one to nothing one day. And you will see my leather knife at the top of the layout. I did a LOT of leather for Kanowsky Furniture. I might add that ALL the furniture made at that factory was made with Alder. It is a great, even grained wood that you can use for leather or cloth upholstery fabric, and it is relatively inexpensive. A lot of guitars are made from alder as well. Almost ALL Fender Guitars are made from Alder. It was a great place to learn, because we had Portuguese, Italians, Mexicans and of course a couple of pitiful little white guys like me, trying our best to do the craft we were being taught. Upholstery is a craft, an ART CRAFT. And if you decide to do it, make sure the State Prison System in your state doesn't use it for rehabilitation, or you will only be able to live hand to mouth. I did upholstery from the ages of 19 to 30. I did boats, cars, airplanes, and home furniture. After I destroyed my rotator cuff, I went back to school and did Architecture from the ages of 30 to 66. I am now retired and I do upholstery as a hobby as well as building guitars and doing woodwork. I LOVE Upholstery and if I could have made a living at it I would have done it instead of Architecture.
The information provided is top notch but the loading speed, which I can only conclude is a function of the FWW servers is infuriating. It takes forever to let it load and if you don't pause and let it sit for a very long time it's constantly loading.
Sorry to hear about that 7211029. Usually load speeds aren't a problem. Let me know if the problem persists. [email protected].
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