Sofa progress.

[Mark Singer]

The sofa I am making for my Guest House is almost complete. The wood is Padauk . I have 4 coats of Daly's Ben Matt on it. I have built 3 of these and each time they seem to get easier. I think I did a tutorial on building one on SMC . I also did a Teak Sofa with mitered dovetails about a year ago. Here are some progress pics...

[Mark Singer]

Here is my 6 year old sofa in the living room.

[Greg Heppeard]

Mark,

Looks great as always with your work. How do you like working Padauk? I find that when I work it, I'm ending up with pink underwear from the dust.

[Pat Germain]

Boy, my two beagles would absolutely love that sofa. Of course, after a few weeks, the cushions would match the woodgrain.

Very spiffy sofa, Mark. Thanks for sharing. I hope to someday make projects that nice.

[Bob Childress]

Mark,

For heaven's sake, will you please quit posting your furniture? Every time I think I'm making progress in my skills, up comes another Singer Special and I have to go back on the Prozac! :rolleyes::D:D Shoot!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Nice joinery Mark!

[RickT Harding]

Wow, that is very cool and interesting looking. Sure makes the lay-z-boy in my living room look like it needs a big update. :)

[Pat Zabrocki]

Great work as usual. You're an inspiration to many (if not all) on the creek.
Bravo!
Pat

[Kyle Stiefel]

Mark,

As always great work. Beautiful wood, wish I didn't respond so unfavorably to the blasted orange cloud. My question is do you have a company you regularly use to do the cushions, upholstery work?

The reason I ask is I haven't made a few chairs just because the cushion was going to cost nearly double or triple what the chair was going to cost in the wood. I have searched the internet to no avail.

[Mark Singer]

Here it is in the Guest House with the seat boards installed. Thanks for the nice comments!
I use Universal Upholstery of Laguna for most work. Raul is very good and has good prices. I have used many different guys over the years. Dela robia did
http://www.dellarobbiausa.com/collections.htm

my work for a while after I finished David , the owners home. Many of my chair seats are wood with no cushion.
My next project are 4 lounge chairs with an oak frame. (Quartersawn white) I can do a tutorial if there is interest. It is an intermediate to advanced project since the back is curved formed in a vacuum bag. The rear legs are hand shaped after bandsawing. It is a good project requiring full scale drawings and a prototype of poplar. It is a new design and I need to check the geometry just to make sure.

[Tom Ruflin]

Mark, amazing work. Not my style but the joinery is amazing. I would be very interested in a tutorial on the lounge chair as I'm building some chairs right now and have just started messing with vacuum bagging.

[Mike Cutler]

Very nice Mark. The padauk is very striking in appearance.

Yes, I would very interested in a lounge chair tutorial.
It's a lot of extra effort on your part. So thank you in advance.

[Jim Becker]

Another wonderful rendition, Mark. That's going to look wonderful in the guest house with the light and space you have. Good choice on the Paduk.

[gary Zimmel]

Mark

Beautiful piece of furniture...

I to would like to see a tutorial , Thank you in advance.

[Mark Singer]

Thanks for all the nice comments.

I will post some pics of the sketches I have been working on for the chairs. It all starts with design and the thought of construction. I then sketch the joints and details. Then the assembly sequence. Assemble back, assemble front, joint front and back. or assemble one side and then the other , then join the 2 sides.

[John Michaels]

Very nice Mark. Do you expect the color of the Padouk to change much, if so how long do you think it will take?

[Brandon Shew]

Looks good Mark. Only comment that I would add is that I think that it would look nicer, and follow the contemporary lines better, with a single cushion that runs the length of the back. (Just $0.02 from a guy that doesn't care for the "poof" look.)

[Mark Singer]

Very nice Mark. Do you expect the color of the Padouk to change much, if so how long do you think it will take?

John,
The Padauk with some age can be seen on the Living room pics on this post. Yes that is Padauk! It browns in sunlight and becomes very much like wenge. Easier to work and hard with similar color after exposure to ultra violet. Maybe a year to fully turn depending on exposure. I have made peces and left them in the sun to speed it up

[Kyle Tucker]

Beautiful work Mark - it really looks great!

[Roy Wall]

Mark -

It appears you've put a gentle "arc" on all (at least many) of the edges - beyond just rounding the edges. I don't think I've notice this before -- this is a terrific touch!

Thank you for sharing your talent.......I learn much from you.

[FRITZ STOOP]

Mark,
Let's see a pic with a warm body on it.

That must be a hell of a joint between the back rest slab and the arm rests.
What lies therein? Despite the massive elements, it has a certain lightness to it, even frail.

When I first put my 200 lbs on a Nakashima Conoid chair I instinctively expected it to crumble beneath me. I sort of get the same buzz off that back rest joint.

[Don Bullock]

Boy, my two beagles would absolutely love that sofa. Of course, after a few weeks, the cushions would match the woodgrain....

I was thinking the same thing about my basset hounds. They'd love it.;):D


Great work as usual. You're an inspiration to many (if not all) on the creek.
Bravo!
Pat

Mark, you are definitely an inspiration for me. I greatly appreciate the projects that you share. BTW -- The zebrawood coffee table looks great with the new couch. I'm still amazed at how you designed it.

[Bill White]

As always, GREAT. I love working the padauk though I have never really felt comfy with finishes on it. I mostly just oil and wax, then let it darken naturally. I am not familiar with the finish about which you spoke. Shed some light ther old boy?
Bill

[Dave Hale]

Mark,

For heaven's sake, will you please quit posting your furniture? Every time I think I'm making progress in my skills, up comes another Singer Special and I have to go back on the Prozac! :rolleyes::D:D Shoot!


Prozac???? Never thought of that. I usually respond with forehead on cast iron repeatedly. Then I have to sand, coat, wax again. Luckily I don't bruise easily. :)

Love your work, Mark.

[Mark Singer]

As always, GREAT. I love working the padauk though I have never really felt comfy with finishes on it. I mostly just oil and wax, then let it darken naturally. I am not familiar with the finish about which you spoke. Shed some light ther old boy?
Bill


Bill,
Here is a link to Daly's finishes. They are very natural and easy to use. If it is a table I usually go with General Arm R Seal and Seal A Cell for protection. Sometimes I use wax only, But of the Tung oil finishes , I like Daly's, First I apply the oil and wet sand with 220 wet and dry (3M) Then next coat I wet sand to 400 grit with the grain . Then the next 2 coats are oil wipped out with paper towels and buffed. I can give it a wax coat after a few days.

http://www.dalyspaint.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1

[Mark Singer]

Mark,
Let's see a pic with a warm body on it.

That must be a hell of a joint between the back rest slab and the arm rests.
What lies therein? Despite the massive elements, it has a certain lightness to it, even frail.

When I first put my 200 lbs on a Nakashima Conoid chair I instinctively expected it to crumble beneath me. I sort of get the same buzz off that back rest joint.

Fritz,
All the Joints are loose mortise and tenon. The back has a single tenon about 4 1/2" wide that is within 1/4" of the face of the arm. The hardest part of the sofa is the arm-back glue up. It must be done at one time. Everything is shaped and sanded or planed at that point. The arms each have three tenons and it is a long grain to long grain lamination although at 90 degrees. Those 3 pieces add a lot of rigidity ...its really solid. Two long clamps across the back and 2 on each arm to the stretcher below with tightBond II and it is solid!

[Mark Singer]

Mark -

It appears you've put a gentle "arc" on all (at least many) of the edges - beyond just rounding the edges. I don't think I've notice this before -- this is a terrific touch!

Thank you for sharing your talent.......I learn much from you.

Roy,
If you use a 1/8" roundover bit in a router for each edge it has a mechanical feeling when you are finished. I use a few card scrapers and fine rasps and files including sandpaper in blocks and fids to create a hand crafted look. It is subtle and is not exaggerated. I also really like using a utility knife blade as a scraper. I roll and burnish the edge and that is a great detail tool. I can quickly make a radius with it and I am not stopped by the router base. I did use my Bosch Colt on the lower portion and then detail it with scrapers. The back was completely hand scraped after shaping. It is easy to change direction with a scraper unlike a plane

[Danny Thompson]

Beautiful work, Mark. Is that "day-bed" deep?

[Mark Singer]

Beautiful work, Mark. Is that "day-bed" deep?

Danny,
Yes! That is the beauty of this piece. It sleeps one adult comfortably. And makes a great sofa for up to four adults. Want to change the look? Just change the covers or rear cushion fabric. We have 3 sets (as soon as the new ones are done)