Messages

Bobby,

There are many things I used to do that take me a lot less time today. I learned on my own so I did not have the benefit of someone elses' experience.

I remember spending 6 hours on a boxed seat cushion cover, once. Ouch!

I pay a friend to 'prep' my furniture for reupholstery. He strips the fabric off, except for the inside back and inside arms, which he leaves on, loose and all the staples pulled out, so I can more easily reupholster. I remove them off as I go along.

I pay him for each piece he does. My pay is based on 2 hours for a chair (wing back, club, over stuffed, etc.), and 4 hours for a sofa. He is usually within this time frame. Occasionally we get a bear of a piece of furniture, for example, a hard wood frame with thousands of unnecessary wire staples. I still have him stop at the maximum time and I finish the prep. He benefits from getting a piece finished sooner, but I do not want to punish him for running into a difficult piece that is not his fault.

I always try to keep track of my time so I can know how much per hour I am making.

As for getting all the staples out, it depends on the wood, the type of staples, and the fabric. There are usually a few left that need to be pulled out.

Gene

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xr5/R-100647809/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

I have a pair of these that I use a lot, in addition to regular wire nippers. It gives me a different range of motion when I am pulling staples. It also helps to pull welt cord off, especially around the bottom of furniture. I grab the welt cord and roll it forward, pulling up the welt cord along with the staples.

Gene

Cheryl,

Here's a link to what I call chip strip. They call it chipboard tack strip.

http://www.diyupholsterysupply.com/tacking-strip.html

On this particular sofa, 5 layers of chip strip were stapled on top of each other all around the sofa, 3 inches up from the bottom of the wood frame. The front deck fabric (we just had a long topic on what people call this part of the sofa), was pulled down and stapled under this chip strip. The skirt was attached under the chip strip also. I was able to pull the skirt off with my hands. I then ran my air chissel around the sofa taking off that built up chip strip. 30 seconds is all it took.

FYI: When I started upholstery, I would spend easily 30 to 40 minutes taking off a sofa skirt. I used the staple puller, mallet, and plyers. With my air chisel, I never spend more than 3 minutes on a sofa skirt.

Gene

I have not used the stripbit. From what I have read, it would work well in specific applications, such as hard staples in a soft wood.

I also use the air chisel. I love it. I take off all my skirts with it. I take off all chip strips with it.

This week I stripped two wing back chairs that were upholstered with quilted fabric - quilted onto foam, not poly batting. It is a hard wood frame with way more wire staples than was needed. I couldn't even see the staples burried in the quilted fabric. I used the air chisel and it was a breeze.

I also had a sofa this week where they layered chip strip 3" up from the bottom of the frame, all around the sofa, so the skirt would hang under it for this particular look. 30 seconds walking around the sofa with the air chisel and all that chip strip was off. (I'm not putting a skirt on the reupholstered sofa.)

I use the V notched chisel that I sharpen on a grinding wheel. I never tear up the wood. I just need to be careful I do not hit any finished wood.

There is a learning curve to using the air chisel, but wow, it does save time.

Gene

Thanks for the chuckle. I had a long day today. I appreciate your sense of humor.
gene