Messages

Well shucks...looks like next year I'll have to hit y'all up earlier.

Mike--thatd be you =)

Kody--a bit too far north though we did get up to Gainesville. Traveled down from WI ....

Wondering who all is near Cape Coral/Fort Meyers? In the area for a visit thru Monday..would love to come stalk your shop and meet group peeps.

Interesting Paul, I have actually had luck steaming leather cushions where the foam failed and the leather stretched due to it.

Steaming from the underside not the facing side and then allowed to dry. Sometimes it takes a couple rounds to shrink it back up but most often much improved compared to when the cushion arrives . . . and of course new foam cores go in to prevent recurrence right away.

Not the same same as your problem Chris as I can at least turn a cushion inside out . . . but thought I would share anyway since you were asking  ;)

Not sure whether this might be an avenue for finding someone but thought I would throw it out there anyway.

Do you have any retail fabric stores in the area like Hancock Fabrics? Maybe they know of someone they could put you in contact with? If nothing else maybe one of those employees would be willing to moonlight temporarily until you could get the position filled . . . good luck.

Hi Karen,

Somewhat of a newbie to this site and haven't had much time to post often . . . what Darren posted hit home for me (thanks Darren) as this seems to be a current struggle of mine too and this bit of advice is very timely to my current mind set.

Repeating the serenity prayer this morning has begun to release some of the strain/stress/brain-workings to some degree . . . and the Blue Angels will be performing an air show over our area today so seems like a great time to do as Darren suggests - - distance my brain from the issues at hand.

Will me sitting in the middle of the Mississippi River in a few hours then . . . y'all are welcome to come join us! There is plenty of room  :)

West Coast of Wisconsin . . . Mississippi River bluff-lands . . . just north of LaCrosse  8)
by way of West Coast of Illinois (Quad Cities)

Been to Dennis' shop in Greenville en-route from Louisiana to Wisconsin (he is about 30 minutes from husbands side of family) . . . bad news is I was out-numbered by Cowboy fans that day :)

FYI - - a little known fact about baby powder . . . it works wonders on sunburn!!

Yup, that is right . . . sprinkle on sunburn to absorb the sub-surface sweat that builds up under the damaged tissue. It also relieves the itch, cools the burn, and adds a buffer layer to clothing that reduces the rub effect.

Only thing is, make sure you do this over carpet as it is really dangerous on smooth surfaces and may cause a slipping accident next.

P.S. Not to get too far off topic: When I have chalk 'stay and stick' to the face fabric I have had success with using a small piece of the same fabric to rub it out . . . not sure why it works better than brushing or vacuuming, just know that it does.

Pretty sure Gigi is looking down and feeling proud to have had an owner like you that will do for others as you had done for her . . . double the trouble :)

Let the mischief begin! Bow-wow

Recent project completed and delivered. We spoiled our oldest daughter with an upholstered headboard and platform bed.



The headboard profile is thickest at the smocked pattern point and tapers towards the 3 outer corded edges. Hidden from view is a bottom row of six spaced buttons on the headboard. One unplanned happening relates to the fabric repeat being similar to the smocking pattern . . . another are the leg contours (Mr. H's improvisation) as a tapered leg cut was requested.

AND the biggest issue overall was when it came time to load the platform frame . . . found out the staircase angle in our quad-level home was too short (by about 1/2")!!! Good thing they used 5/8" drywall at the ceiling corner point . . . bit of a repair will be required though :) Decision made: any future builds done in the garage!

Recently I was asked the same question by an owner who claimed the current vinyl was not lasting as long as the original. Did a college level research of cause and effect and learned that anything but warm water will and can reduce the life of the vinyl. Soaps having a drying agent, chemicals have a drying agent and compounds not compatible, grease is one of the factors that can impact longevity.

However, when taking into account the chair seats were done in the same vinyl and NOT showing the same signs of degradation I came up with a different conclusion for the bench seats. First off, the base is not the same chair to bench . . . the chairs are foam to board whereas the benches are open framing with foam over stretch fabric. Secondly, while visiting the restaurant it was observed the cleaning people had to kneel on the benches in order to clean . . . the tables are wall mounted and unmovable so this is the only way to reach the pictures, window ledges, etc. Taking into account the difference in weight distribution of kneeling versus sitting it was obvious to me that the vinyl was being stretched in these areas and the failure rate was increasing. Thirdly, the repairs that were being done were 'covers only' . . . with the above information and after a discussion the owners could see the benefit in replacing the foam and adding more support to the stretch webbing that has lost resiliency over time. We also discussed at length that any compound other than clear, warm water will cause shorter life expectancy and unless they could guarantee that nothing but water would be used I could not warranty the cover.

We have been repairing these benches as they fail and just recently were told they are pleased with the results (probably because 6 months have come and gone and the first bench seat is still pristine). This amplifies for me the importance of taking the time to educate the client.

My take on working with nap is that the seat smooths forward as discussed . . . but to keep the color the back smooths upward. A variation is to have the nap run right to left or on the bias to maintain a consistent color . . . most of my cording is cut on the bias for this reason.

Here's the one I settled on after the first one I purchased was way too noisy, constantly ran when stapling, wouldn't seat a 1/2" staple completely, and smelled as if a bearing was going out on the first use.



This unit has been handy for those occasional on-site jobs. Works great for staples, brads, and spraying glue . . . only thing it doesn't do well is using a bazooka for fill. Used it exclusively for about 5 weeks while waiting for repair parts for my primary unit.

Here is a site that has it on sale for less than I bought mine off the shelf . . . http://www.factoryauthorizedoutlet.com/bostitch-cap1512-of?CA_6C15C=230005750000000566.

Hi Kim and welcome . . .

I would say it is not a bad thing when one figures out a second set of hands is needed . . . though I agree with the suggestion of taking care in handing out titles from the git-go as once given titles are harder to take back and sometimes to fulfill.

I was lucky last year to have needed more than one 'helper' in order to meet the project requirements . . . thankfully I was able to line up family members to fill the need (husband, daughter and BIL). None of which (including the daughter) wish to be an apprentice, though they all have a better appreciation for what it takes to do the job and comment on how they now look at furniture differently with their underlying experiences. AND each of my helpers now is an adversary for spreading the word of recovering when it makes sense (great W-O-M advertising peeps).

Heck, my BIL even agreed to continue to come and go based on my business needs (well at least he was up until the cold hit and he headed to Cape Coral for a break-away). He even drives 50 min one way to my location; for some the distance may be an issue, but he lives in a smaller town and comes to my larger community for groceries and such so it was no big deal to coordinate those trips with my needs. Even better, he has no interest in becoming an upholsterer so there is no threat of him setting up shop as a competitor . . . 

Good luck to you and let us know how it works out for you.

Marlo

So here again numbers only tell part of the story :)

56% drop off in New Topics BUT only a 29% dip in overall posts . . . perhaps we should do some additional regression analysis to see if this is truly a trend or just an outlier year (Yo Keith can you pitch in here?)

As a newbie to this forum I have limited experience overall BUT truly enjoy the camaraderie it lends to those of us in this profession. It's hard for me to fathom what my current exposure and thought processes would be like without this forum, Carr's Corner, and the Facebook group. Sure, I like to showcase some of my work on Facebook as it is EASY in comparison to this and the other forum site. Plus, because Facebook flows visually as soon as entered it is possible to SEE images faster than here where one must click through multiple 'word pages' to get to the guts.

I can appreciate what it takes to manage over sites like this and Carr's Corner for OUR BENEFIT. However, these have a different 'feel' than Facebook so is not only somewhat less inviting to newcomers but perhaps also intimidating (just thinking out loud). I do use the search field for past posts here and at Carr's; but I must confess it is cumbersome as one sifts through multiple topics whilst looking for an answer.

And then there is the willingness to 'put oneself out there' to ask questions of colleagues (or experts from some viewpoints). I am far from having the years of service in this field compared to long-timers such as Dennis and Mike. And although I enjoy reading your posts at times I am uncomfortable chiming in for fear of being ridiculed or kicked around (and then are those days where it's like 'oh what the hell').

The above rambling does not explain the current decrease in activity . . . it may however, bring about an awareness that quantity of posts does not equal quality of posts (just saying :)

Update . . . hubby dismantled and reassembled the unit . . . dang he's G-O-O-D!!! All better again - whew.

Gene . . . that just plain sucks . . . your knee and loss of power :)

Sure hope it improves sooner than later . . . yah know spring is just around the corner (at least that is what I keep repeating to self for the next 90 days . . . mind over matter I say :)