Finishing and assembly
Before assembling or sanding the panels, round off the corners of the top edges of the back and side panels and the front edge of the seat panel with a jig saw. If desired, you can round off all the edges (except the bottom edges of the side panels) with a spoke shave. Or you can simply remove the sharp edges with glass paper.
Smooth all the panels, using coarse then fine glass paper, taking particular care to ensure that no irregularities are left on the surfaces of the slots. Once you have achieved a smooth, plane finish, trial assemble the chair, having first lubricated the slots by rubbing candle grease in them. If you have cut out the slots correctly, all the panels should fit together easily to give a stable unit. If any slot has been cut undersized, do not force the panel home, but dismantle it and trim the offending slot to size.
Before painting the chair, first apply strips of the gummed paper 16mm wide on a line extending from each slot. This helps prevent the panels sticking when the chair has been painted. Apply a good quality undercoat, followed by two coats of hard wearing polyurethane gloss in the color of your choice. When the paint has dried, assemble the chair.
The cushions
Nowadays, with the wide range of foam rubber padding’s available, it is a simple job to make your own cushions. You can either buy foam in varying harnesses and densities, or you can cut up an old, unwanted foam mattress. Poly-ether foam with a minimum density of 1.5 lb per cu ft is most suitable, and is available in different textures. The ideal thickness for a chair of this type is between 100mm to 150mm.
Cut out two foam bases, using a fine-toothed hacksaw, a sharp cook’s knife or an electric carving knife. You can cover them with a washable material to match both the color of the frame and your overall decor.
If the foam base is the latex rather than poly ether, it is advisable to make a non-removable inner cover from calico. This will act as a barrier for any fragments that, inevitably with this material, break loose. Cut both the inner and outer coverings slightly undersized, so that when they are fitted they compress the foam slightly and so prevent any wrinkles forming.
There are several different methods of making up covers and if you decide to tackle one of them, a good upholstery or sewing magazine should be consulted.
Once you have made up the cushions and experienced how comfortable the chair is, you might consider making a matched suite to the same design. You can easily adapt the design to produce a couch which can double as a bed for the unexpected guest. The only structural modification required to make such a couch would be the addition of some form of full length batten to support the length of the seat panel. A whole suite made to this design would not only be inexpensive and easy to make, it would also suit perfectly a rather low room, which can look cramped when fitted with conventional furniture. You would have little difficulty in finding matching furniture, such as casual tables, and the resulting decor would strike a bold contemporary note while being very comfortable.
