Does anybody cut corners? I mean, literally.

[JaneNYC]

Things are progressing slowly here at the QA8 Project (newbie recovering 8 Queen Anne Chairs made by White Furniture of Mebane North Carolina RIP)...

Thanks for the tip about rounding the sharp foam edges by using quilt batting between the foam and the fabric.  HOWEVAH,
when I took a chair apart, I noticed there wasn't any quilt batting.

Does anyone ever just shave/carve off the sharp edge on the foam?  Round it out a little?

Got the electric knife, the quilt batting, the foam.  Still need to get the fabric, staple gun, and weed guard nonwoven.  I AM READY TO START SPITTIN' TACKS!

Steve A: the lead on Gramercy Supply is GOLD.  I can't thank you enough.

Jane in NYC

[SteveA]

NY in spite of all it's hustle and pressure is still a great place to find anything you're looking for - Love the HOWEVAH - Bronx ?

Anyway sounds like you asked and mostly answered your own question -
if you want to make an investment in a good electric staple gun - check out the duo fast -

SA

[JaneNYC]

sounds like you asked and mostly answered your own question -
if you want to make an investment in a good electric staple gun - check out the duo fast -

SA

Steve, if I buy that Duo Fast ELECTRIC staple gun, I'm going to have to go into the business...

DO you carve off the sharp foam edges?

"Howevah"...BROOKLYN GIRL!  Our motto:
"We're scrappy.  We're funny.  And we recover our own dining room chairs. Yeah."

j.

[Darren Henry]

Personally I don't round off foam---the dacron (batting) and/or the fabric does that for me when I pull it on. In fact I do the opposite---I round off the corners of a plywood base or the top and bottom plates of a cushion and leave the foam square to get nice full, rounded corners.

[kodydog]

Y'all will have a much better result if you invest in a little Dacron. (Florida boy here). Not only will it round off those corners but it'll help prevent dimples, puckers and unevenness that newbies have a hard time with. It will add a slight crown that will make the whole job look better. Sounds like the manufacture took a short cut. Not unusual these days.

I "ALWAYS" add Dacron when the manufacture neglects to use it.

I wouldn't cut the edge. You need that foam to prevent feeling the edge of the wood when you sit on the chair.

[sofadoc]

when I took a chair apart, I noticed there wasn't any quilt batting.

Factories have techniques and equipment that most small shops and DIY'ers don't have for achieving a rounded edge without using any batting. And also, factories don't always use batting mainly because they're being frugal.

I'm with the others. Use Dacron.

[gene]

I'm with others also.

Another issue is that foam is very abrasive. It will wear out fabric sooner than having batting on top of the foam.

Have you ever seen a chair or sofa seat cushion that has wrinkles running across it? This is because big butts sliding off the seat cushion pull the fabric forward and without batting underneath, the fabric gets hung up on the foam and cannot slide back to it's original position.

I've wondered if furniture manufactures might test fabric and if it slides "good enough" across foam then they won't use batting. I think there are times when it seems like the furniture mfgs just don't care as long as it saves them a few bucks and the fabric doesn't become worn from the foam before the warranty ends.

gene

[JaneNYC]

Oh, gosh, thanks muchly, all.  And I just want to hit this once more: when you say Dacron, you mean quilt batting, right?  I actually bought the batting already.  But I may need more of it.

[kodydog]

The batting for quilts is a little thinner than the batting we use for upholstery. But I would go ahead and use it anyways.

[SteveA]

Bronx Boy Here !  - the duo fast is an investment and in the long term it won't break the bank. Quality tools have a resale value if you don't continue on with  projects. 
Anyway - I do sometimes round edges and sometimes use cotton, poly fill and Dacron wrap - and sometimes edge roll. I don't have a specific technique - rather I build up until it seems right usually coping what was there with new materials of course.  I have found that a muslin wrap before the fabric gives you a good idea of the final feel of the seat.  Good luck - but not as easy as Spumoni Gardens
SA

[JaneNYC]

Spumoni Gardens
SA

OH. MY. GOD.

My sister and I were once at Spumoni Gardens when we were kids and while we were walking in the parking lot, I looked down and saw a $20 bill!  A lotta dough in those days.  Like finding $100 now!

My mother remembers that the old guy who owned the whole place started out in her neighborhood with a pushcart.

That was gooooooood 'za!

Steve, I'm amazed.

j.

[JaneNYC]

the duo fast is an investment and in the long term it won't break the bank. Quality tools have a resale value
SA

Oh, also, Steve: HOW much are you offering me for the Duo Fast that I haven't bought yet...?

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

I LOVE my Duo Fast.  Ace asked me nicely not to purchase any more staple guns from them.  I kept returning them as they couldn't handle the wood I was working with.  Some carpet layers were also working on site and heard my mumbled cursing and nicely offered to let me experiment with their Duo Fast.  (This was when I was working on The Upper Deck which sadly went out of business lately -- not due to the quality of their furnishings for darn sure!).  I went home and told hubby how FABULOUS it was.  He was on line in 30 seconds purchasing it as well as a life time supply of staples for it.

Worth its weight in gold!

Virginia

[Unicorn]

Just thought I'd throw in a couple of bits.  My preference for staple guns is air, (I love my air tools), but the cost is prohibitive for a set of dining chairs.  Go electric.   I did my first chair with a manual stapler and vowed never again.  Manual staplers are only good for paper, IMHO.  They lead to more frustration than they are worth when trying to upholster.

Quilt batting - if you bought the really soft stuff, not going to be very effective on the seats.  You'll need the coarser batting, which (at least here) can be purchased in two thicknesses.  I usually get the thicker of the two.  I'd buy a roll of dacron, but storage is a real issue for me so I buy what I need as I need it.

[BobbyD]

Dacron is pretty much mandatory at our shop as well. It has a nice way of puffing out to smooth any "terrain features" that may be in the foam. We have a lot of space, so we buy big rolls from here: http://www.albanyfoam.com/images/AFS_2014_catalog_Page_22_.pdf