Woodworm, broken frame/ cotton substitute

[65Buick]

Hi Folks,

Just wondering what everyone does if they take a commission re-upholstery piece and discover woodworm or a frame so badly damaged it is not reparable.

And on a different topic: It seems that cotton batting has gone the way of the dodo bird.. I have been using densified dacron as a substitute. But recently I have been ordering food from a company that uses recycled denim as their padding. It's quite thick stuff and I really thought it might have a use as batting/padding, even if only on backs and not seats.

[MinUph]

There aren't very many frames that are not repairable. Cost prohibitive maybe but not unrepairable. Parts can be made and old parts can be repaired.

As for the cotton 65, it is still available. We use it. I don't know what your getting as a denim padding. Maybe a pic would help.

[65Buick]

http://gdurl.com/QRgb
http://gdurl.com/kGpn

[MinUph]

That stuff is ground up rags. Not a very good fill although it is pretty good on top of springs over burlap. I wouldn't buy it for much money though.

[65Buick]

I'll stick with my foam/dacron.

[Mojo]

OK what is worm wood ?

I have 10 pieces of rough sawn old oak 1" thick x 8 " x 10 FT long and it has worm holes in it. I bought it from a guy who had a saw mill years ago and never got around to using it. Someone told me it was very expensive to buy and hard to find.

Is this worm wood ?

Chris

[MinUph]

Chris, I'm not sure what 65 is referring to as wood worm. It might just be that a section of the frame had been infested by something like termites or some other wood eating bug. Worm holes in good wood is more of a feature than a type of wood. People somehow like it. So its worth more to use it in some furniture.

[65Buick]

Wood worm: You can search for it if you want. It's beetle larvae that burrow holes into the frame of the wood. It can devastate a frame, or just cause minor damage.

In my limited upholstery experience, I have seen this already a number of times.

Some woods like cedar naturally have grooves, that's different.

[Mojo]

The worm hole oak I have are just small tiny holes. I am trying to go off memory ( which is not good ) but years ago this wood was supposedly used in furniture such as dressers, etc. It made a come back in later years and is supposedly sought after. In some markets it was actually more expensive to buy then regular Oak.

I really do not know for sure. I have seen some wood with long holes but the stuff I have is small holes and not a lot of them.

One of these days I will get my woodshop back up and going. I never made anything to sell but rather made gifts for people. I really miss woodworking and I have every machine under the sun.

Chris

[MinUph]

Wood worm: You can search for it if you want. It's beetle larvae that burrow holes into the frame of the wood. It can devastate a frame, or just cause minor damage.

In my limited upholstery experience, I have seen this already a number of times.

Some woods like cedar naturally have grooves, that's different.

Yes these tubular holes are around 1/8"- 1/4" in diameter. I've seen them a couple times in 48 years. This might be more prevalent in certain parts of the country.

[gene]

European furniture has a tenancy to have worm holes in it. My first exposure to this was head and foot boards shipped to me from France. It had worm holes all over it. The worms, which may be boring beetles, I'm not sure, had been killed before shipping. I put my air hose to a hole and saw dust would fly out of 5 or six other holes. Structurally they were fine. Just a lot of holes all over them.

I've seen several other chairs that had the same issue, all coming from Europe.

65Buick: If it's not repairable it is replaceable. Charge accordingly if you are going to do that type of work.

gene

[Darren Henry]

Worm holes in good wood is more of a feature than a type of wood. People somehow like it. So its worth more to use it in some furniture.

Years ago the company I was working for starting carrying a line of rustic pine furniture made in Mexico out of reclaimed wood that had worm holes. Mostly tables and armoures etc... not soft furnishings. A couple of years ago , on a visit back to Kenora, I spoke to the new owner and apparently it is still a good seller there. I have never seen it here in Brandon. Different market.

That stuff is ground up rags. Not a very good fill although it is pretty good on top of springs over burlap. I

Up here I order it as "Uni-deck", and as Paul suggested I use it over springs to protect the deck fabric etc...It is handy for adding dimension as well. classic example is the front of an arm where you want the arm plate to be inlaid into a rounded/over stuffed arm. Fold a strip of it in half and staple to the outside perimeter of the arm front. When you wrap your 1"foam from the arm over it you have a nice deep pocket for the arm plate that won't pack down.