Chair Weave

[barneysox]

Hi, I am new to the forum!

Most of the time I do woodworking only, but recently I have been trying a leather chair like the one above. I am using 5-6 tooling leather that will need to be dyed.

Here are some questiosn for the pros.... Can I wet the leather first, then attach it to the wood frame, in hopes that the leather will shrink as it dries and make the seat super tight?

Also, how would dying work if I wanted to attach wet leather to the seat. Would the dye bleed? Or should I 1)dye, 2)seal 3)let dry 4) wet leather 5)attach to chair 6) let dry again.

Or should I attach the leather dry....(but I need the seat as tight as possible).

Thanks

Craig

[barneysox]

anyone?......

[Dwight]

If it were mine, . . . I would cut the pieces, . . . they look to be about 3 inches wide, . . . dip dye them, . . . buff them like there is no tomorrow, . . . burnish the edges, . . . and apply a light coat of Resolene, . . . cut 50/50 with water.

Then I would weave them onto the chair, . . . I'd also make a little grabber out of two small pairs of vice grips, . . . and a turnbuckle in the middle, . . . they will pull it every bit as tight as you could ever want it.

Truth be known, . . . you CAN put the leather on there wet, . . . and when it drys, . . . it will be taut, . . . but the first time anyone who is, . . . uhhh, . . . ummm, . . . "not undernourished" sits in the chair, . . . all that special planning and stretching will be for naught. It will loosen up and sag a bit, . . . that is the nature of leather.

May God bless,

Dwight

[TomG]

I've actually done one of these. Do all of your strap prep work. Then take some upholstery chair webbing. Contact cement it to the back of the straps.

Here's the rub. I used only 3 - 4 straps per direction and made them slightly wider than the webbing. I'm not sure how it would be if you narrowed it down. If I remember, it was 2 inches wide... Maybe a bit wider.

But for construction, you staple one end under the bars on the inside. Then just clamp the other end in a vise grip upside down and use the chair bar to roll it under and pull tension on the strap. Staple in place. Sorry if it sounds confusing. It's really quite simple. They make a tension tool for the actual webbing and you can see one online at most upholstery supply shops. I don't think it would work for the web/leather combo as it has spikes that pierce and grab the webbing. But looking at it will help clarify how it works.

If I can find my pics, I'll post them for you.

[silverwingit]

I'd just like to call attention to what are called "sheet metal vice grips." They have wide jaws that would be ideal for gripping leather as described above.

http://www.wurtec.com/products/Hand%20Tools/8R-3.jpg

Also, saddle makers use cantle pliers to grip leather to pull it tight.

http://www.ranch2arena.com/R2A-CTL-PLIERS.JPG

Good luck and let us know how you do.

Michelle

[barneysox]

Thanks for the replies.

I did a test stretching wet leather but I may have damaged the leather by stretching it too much. Also, it did not seem to shrink as it dried.

I will try some dry strips with long jaw vice grips and see how it goes,

Pics of my progress coming soon.