Cushion down and cushion feather worki

[baileyuph]

This week, had some of both types work to do on furniture cushions.  That work has become rare over years.  I saved the filler in the case of both type and remade enclosures.

This work was found on very expensive domestic manufactured furniture.  The owners said their work was purchased several years before.

In the past much higher quality furniture was built - not sofa/couches with recliners from
Asian countries as today. 

Revisiting age old quality furniture can be a treat but does involve a deal of labor.

Just a comment I thought of sharing.

Doyle

[gene]

I use a company in NY to make my down/foam cushion inserts. I have a project I am working on now. The customer wants down/foam inserts to replace the ones she currently has. I'll show her the prices this coming week.

It's been a few years since I had a similar project. Most folks get sticker shock when they see the price.

I do occasionally revitalize down cushion inserts. I suck up the feathers with my shop vac (which has been thoroughly cleaned before hand. This plumps up the feathers and removes all the "dust". I then add additional new feathers to the mix.

I use the feather bazooka to put the feathers back into the coverings if it is a big cushion.

I get a lot of new down/feather pillow inserts delivered to me. They all come from China and they all smell like rotten eggs. I take them out of the plastic and let them sit in the open air and the egg smell eventually disapears.

A rather attractive lady I knew in business years ago would say to someone, if it were raining or snowing, "Tickle your ass with a feather?" The person hearing this would say, "WHAT DID YOU SAY?", in a totally shocked voice. The lady would then say, looking and sounding confused as to why the other person was acting so shocked, "I said we're having particularly nasty weather. Why, what did you think I said?" Twice I saw the other person apologize profusely for misunderstanding what the lady had said. I never found this funny, for some reason.

gene

[MinUph]

Gene, I have a bazooka and have tried it a couple of times. What a mess. Could you explain your way of going about using it? Do you poke a hole in a box of feathers, suck them out of a bag? how do upi allow the air to exit the casing? How much air pressure. all of the above please and thank you.

[gene]

I make my own bazooka. A 54" paper tube, an air gun, and duct tape.

Something like this:

http://kinetic.en.hisupplier.com/product-153584-gun-use-for-pneumatic.html

I make a small hole in the paper tube to insert the air gun. The hole is about 2/3 up from the bottom. I make sure the air gun nozzle is pointing up the tube. I duct tape the air gun to the paper tube making sure to cover the small hole. The air gun allows me to control the air flow.

I put the end of the paper tube in the box, bag, garbage can, or vacuum canister, where ever the feathers are. The fabric casing is made from a loose weave fabric such as lining that holds the feathers, and is sewn shut except for a small opening just big enough to get the end of the paper tube into it. If the fabric casing has 3 channels, for example, each channel will have a small hole in the seam that will allow the paper tube to fit in.

The fabric must be able to allow air to go through it.

I put the top paper tube end into the fabric casing just a few inches, and then hold the fabric casing onto the paper tube with my hand. My other hand works the air gun. I use both hands to help maneuver the bottom of the paper tube into and around the container that is holding the feathers.

If you are having trouble with the feathers being in a bag, dump them into a big garbage can or other rigid container.

If I don't let the fabric casing slip off the end of the tube with the air flowing, I am able to contain the feathers quite nicely.

My compressor is at 90 psi and this is what I use to suck up the feathers.

It's a bit awkward with the paper tube being stiff and not having any bend to it, but I can manage to get the bottom of the paper tube moved in and  around the container of feathers.

The important points seem to be to keep the fabric casing help on tight to the end of the paper tube, and to control the amount of air flow so it's just enough to get the job done.

I hope this helps.

Everything I know about this I learned from sofaD and Steven Winters.

gene

[MinUph]

Hey Gene,
  Thanks for the blow by blow. It doesn't sound all that different from what I have tried. Maybe I have allowed the casing to come off the bazooka when filling. I only use down proof ticking for down casings, it isn't very breathable but does have some breathability. I will have to try this again on the next df cushions. Thanks again. I have a store bought one. The tube is about 3" or so in diameter.

[gene]

I was thinking of down proof ticking as the material. That's what I always use. I've had some cushions from the factory that clearly did not have this material.

One time I had cushions come in where the 'down proof ticking' was so tightly woven that I couldn't get much air to go through the material so I hand stuffed the inserts.

Being able to regulate the air flow seems to be critical so too many feathers don't clog the entrance of the tube, not enough air to get the feathers going up the tube, or too much air that causes the casing to come off the tube.

gene