cotton pickin' cotton

[gene]

I find it difficult to reuse cotton in places where it does not get compressed, for example, on the wings of wing back chairs. I just pull it off when I am taking down the old fabric and use new cotton or poly batting.

When I try to reuse the old cotton I get a lot of bumps in it. Am I just not spending enough time to get it smooth? Or is this a problem others have?

Does anyone, maybe everyone, find it easier to reuse the old cotton in this situation?

Thank you for your thoughts.

gene

[MinUph]

  I've always reused cotton fill unless it smelled or was very dirty. You need to be careful when taking the old fabric off so as not to disturb the cotton. The more careful you are the less repair needs to be done. If you do find some messed up peel it off. Not alot but small amounts. Also leave the old fabric on the piece with a few tacks or staples to hold it in place until you get to that section. Adding another layer over the top of the old cotton either cotton or no-a-days dacron will smooth out any imperfections.
  Throwing away the old fill is an expensive way to work. You can even save the fill for the outsides and reuse it.

[sofadoc]

Sometimes, if the outside arm/wing cotton is in good shape, I'll use it on the top arms, and replace the OA, Ow padding with Dacron scraps.

My helper savagely rips the cotton off when he strips furniture. If I make him pick it off carefully, he takes forever. 2 reasons why I use him as little as possible.

I also re-use skirt lining if it's in good shape. And sometimes, I use the old fabric as inside lining (substitute for burlap).

I've never took the time to re-use stuff like zipper, or welt cord.

I have an auto trim shop nearby that saves his new headliner scraps for me. They're great for front panels and bands. And a nearby carpet store saves his new scraps of carpet padding for me. I sometimes put them over springs as a sub for a sisal mat. Can't use them on everything.....just depends on the piece.

[kodydog]

I think it's great when the stripper carefully saves the outside padding for me. I feel the time spent by the stripper saves the extra time it takes me to cut and shape a new piece.

Like Sofa, our stripper would rather just rip it off. I've discussed it with him and the boss to no avail. So most pieces get new padding. I'm from the "penny saved is a penny earned" generation. Could be my down fall seeing penny's are pretty much worthless these days.

[sofadoc]

Kody:
If your stripper is getting paid by the hour, I don't see why he wouldn't want to take the time to save outside padding.

If your boss doesn't seem concerned, perhaps he has determined that the extra salary-time is costing him more than the savings in cotton is worth?
But based on some of your previous stories about him, I tend to doubt that his thoughts run that deep.

I've thought about putting my guy on an incentive plan. Such as 25 cents for each whole piece of padding that he saves.
But hell, I can't even get him to remove all the broken, protruding staples.  That's why I only use him for stripping when I really get far behind.

[kodydog]

He was also bad about destroying panels. I got onto him big time about that. Panels are a big enough PITA without having to cut new ones.

Now if he wrecks one he quickly runs to the band saw and cuts a new one. :)

[gene]

Wow. Thanks for the replies.

I saw myself throwing away good cotton and using up time to cut/form new cotton pieces.

Taking down fabric takes time. I'm constantly looking at ways to do things faster and easier without sacrificing quality.

I was wondering if it made sense to try to save the old cotton, and I appreciate the feedback in that it does.

Also, I've got a carpet guy several doors down from me. I'll check with him to see if he has padding scraps. That's a great idea for sisal.

Thanks again,

gene

[sofadoc]

Does it make economic sense to save the outside padding?
Depends on several factors.

If you pay a helper $10 hr. and it takes him an extra 10 minutes to carefully pick the old padding off, then that padding cost you $1.68. Makes sense.
If you do your own stripping, and say for example, you try to average $30 hr., then the saved padding costs you $5. Probably doesn't make sense.

When I'm doing my own stripping, I try to save any padding that comes off fairly easy. But I don't let myself get bogged down on it.
When my helper does it, I expect him to save it. But he's such an idiot, I just take what I can get. BTW Kody, my guy also wrecks panels. But unlike your guy, mine is way too stupid to make a new one.

I used to pay him $15 hr. But as his performance has continued to decline, so has his salary.
I'm sure that he tells his friends that as his salary has declined, so has his effort.

Viscious cycle?