Midcentry Granny Makeover

We found a set of six chairs--four armless and two with arms--in Alphabet City at a sidewalk sale while meeting some friends for brunch. Somewhere under that thick gold brocade and grandma plastic was a nice set of dining chairs.

I began by unscrewing the seat cushions and sanding all the surfaces with 180-grit sandpaper until all the scratches and imperfections were smoothed out, including the bizarre dirty-white/green paint and the faux-finish of gold "highlights" here and there. I discovered that the chairs were originally made in Pennsylvania by the Ebert Furniture Company in 1957. I was able to reuse the the foam cushion and the wooden seat, only discarding the gold fabric and protective plastic covering. I removed the unsightly metal feet and replaced them with low-profile felt pads.

On a trip to the Manhattan Bargain District to shop at Shepard Fairey's pop-up store, we came across Belraf Fabrics, and after sifting through shoulder-high stacks of textiles we found several styles that matched our vision for the chairs, including a green-on-ivory ikat print and a multicolored stripe. A good staple gun and some patience is all you need to do basic upholstery. We wanted to keep the original poplar seats which meant removing two layers (one for the original gold fabric and another for the plastic added later) of old staples by hand.

After I cut away the excess fabric this seat was ready to install. These chairs are sanded and headed to the spray booth.

I used a satin-black catalyzed-conversion varnish because the chairs will see some abuse, and I wanted them to look new years from now. I used a spinning table in the spray booth. It's easier to rotate the piece instead of circling it. A light first coat, a heavier second coat, and a final even coat will reduce the possibility of any runs. Since there was no chance of replacing the plastic covers, I decided to use Scotch Guard instead. (Fire escapes make great spray booths.) The black paint evens out the carved elements on the seat back, and the fabric adds a little pop. The chairs complete a comfortable, eclectic dining room that doesn't take itself too seriously. I like that. Plus the color and shape of the chairs pick up on the steel-frame elements of the table. There are two arm chairs that I haven't refurbished yet. They'll look totally different and you'll see them soon.

Industrial Dining

I found this metal cabinet on eBay for $25. A guy in Ditmas Park discovered it, originally used for machinist tools, while renovating an apartment building there. As soon as I saw it, I could envision it as an unexpected base for a dining room table. The 10 thin drawers would give a small apartment needed storage, plus it's a great conversation piece for guests.

I fabricated the top from walnut plywood with a solid walnut edge. The top is roughly 48" x 48".

The cabinet was only 16" high, and a table top needs to be at least 30" off the ground, so chairs and legs fit comfortably underneath. The chest also needed more visual heft to be in proportion to the square table top.

Therefore, I welded together pieces of 14-gauge, 1.5" square metal tube, forming two rectangular "legs." Then I blackened them to match the tones of the cabinet, so that the entire structure looks as if it were all made at the same time. Finally, I added rubber feet to the legs as a scratch-preventative for the apartment's wooden floors.


The steel rectangles are just wide enough to except the cabinet.

Fabricating custom steels brackets expedited the assembly process. I could have purchased some but they wouldn't have matched the black of the legs and cabinet.




I used self-tapping sheet metal screws in conjunction with the custom brackets to attach the two legs to the cabinet.

Eight total brackets hold the legs to the cabinet, while another four brackets attach the legs to the walnut top.

I'm going to replace the metal pulls on the cabinet drawers with small leather straps to add additional interest and to bring the tones of the walnut top into the base.

NOTE: The Heavy Chair is currently being fabricated, so I'll be blogging later about its final preparations.

Problem-Solving

I've decided on a configuration for the back rest of the Heavy Chair. My original thought was to keep it simple and shape it out of one piece of wood. Simplicity occasionally has its complications.

The wood grain that runs top to bottom on my chair would create a weak spot at the point where the seat back leaves the seat support, and it will eventually fail and begin to crack. By using a sliding dove tail joint and turning the grain of the seat back perpendicular to the seat support the weak point is eliminated. It could then expand and contract without compromising the joint.

I'll use a wooden dowel to keep one end to the joint static and let the opposing side travel freely. No glue will be used in the joint except to secure the wooden dowel.

I'm still considering the species of wood for the seat back assembly. I'd like to use something other than walnut as it find its way into most of my projects. You'll know as soon as I decide.

Knock-Knock Joke

Find a vintage door you like. A skinny solid wood door is the best. Ours had slight smoke damage but still has the original copper latch hardware. We found our solid birch door at Build it Green in Queens (www.bignyc.org) for $45.

Compile the correct tools! Several clamps and a circular saw with a sharp blade are vital. In addition, it's easier to clean all of the surfaces with Murphy's Oil Soap prior to construction.

Mark a line where you will cut the door to form its legs. Wood glue and 3-inch screws will fasten it after the two cuts

Use an object with a straight edge to guide the saw cleanly through the door. Make sure the circular saw is set to a 45-degree angle.


You can use a utility knife to clean up any splinters.

Pre-drill holes to accept the 3-inch screws, two on each leg. Don't forget to use ample wood glue in the joints.


Use a good wipe-on wood preserver.

Add some bespoke magazine carts (two square pieces of Baltic birch, 8 casters and 2 cabinet pulls) and voila.

CNC, Bends and Flame Cuts

For the metal elements of the Heavy Chair, I created a CAD drawing. This rendering tells the CNC machine exactly where to cut the metal to produce my desired shape. The main body will receive two bends. The bend at the front will be 87 degrees, and the rear bend will be 93 degrees. The first drawing shown here incorporates the measurements and a layout to help the machinist understand how the piece will assemble. The second drawing is specifically created for the CNC router.


The machine will cut out four small pieces and two horseshoe-shaped pieces. These elements, together, will become the structure that hold the wooden uprights. First, I'll TIG-weld the pieces into place and grind flat the joints. Finally, I'll blacken the exposed steel.


After witnessing a process called flame-cutting, I've decided that it would add some subtle interest. I'll leave the sides of the chair slightly long from the CNC-machining and then flame-cut the piece to width by hand. The process leaves what look like perpendicular saw marks in the metal. Flame-cutting the entire surface area would be too much, but doing just the sides makes it quietly textural.


Finding a solution to the final shape of the chair back has been challenging. My intuition is to leave it flat and simple. I may go that direction, but I've sketched some alternative ideas that I'll show in my next entry.

Fine Tune the Heavy Chair

The Heavy Chair is ready to move from the pencil to the computer. In the past, I began to build any piece by drawing the front and side full size views on a big piece of paper and taping it to the wall to get a sense of scale. Now, I find it much easier to produce a three-dimensional drawing in Google Sketch Up.

The program is free, intuitive and fast, and it allows me to see my ideas from all angles. Plus, if the piece has complicated bends and intersections, I can obtain important measurements and angles directly from the Sketch Up drawing. After viewing the Heavy Chair in three dimensions, I made some alterations, angling the seat and tilting the back rest to the rear about three degrees.

Now that I'm settled on the renderings, I've begun working on the CAD drawing, so that I can have the body CNC-milled from a singular raw-steel plate.

Fabricating Form

My struggle to make it in New York manifests itself in a chair that is hard, angular and visually heavy. The wood and steel work together or, depending on your perspective, they may be using each other. Neither is a useless decoration.


The steel comes with a factory finish, meaning it still shows the varigated scales leftover from the firing and forming processes. For the most part I will leave it, except in an arced area where the body meets the seat bottom to add interest and age. Chemically blackening all the metal surfaces will even the overall tone.

At this moment the wood will be a reclaimed long-leaf pine, with minimal machining other than the glue-up for the seat back. It's not intended to serve as a cuddle-up-and-read-a-book chair, but as a focal point in an entry way or a nook on a patio, a place for an abbreviated sit.

Simplicity is a paramount. I'm not interested in my furniture becoming a showcase for my fabrication skills; the form should be what one sees first. Additionally, because of the limited hand work involved in its production, the retail price will be lower when compared to other bespoke chairs. I envision The Heavy Chair as accessible and artistic, perhaps a customer's first piece of handcrafted furniture.

A City Inspires; A Chair is Born

Inspiration comes in many forms, and New York seems to have a surplus. I guess that's why I find myself in Brooklyn fresh from balmy Austin, Texas, starting my blog in the middle of a blizzard.

Publicly documenting my first project in the city serves a handful of purposes. It forces me to think thoroughly about each step and record it for future reference. Even though formulating my aesthetic into words isn't easy (as I'm a very visual person), I hope that this blog also elicits feedback from the creative public.

My first project's working title is the Heavy Chair. As the name implies it's substantial. I've worked on the piece for several months, so I'll be posting drawings, photos and descriptions in several entries. You'll witness the birth of an idea and follow it to conception.

Raw ideas floating in my head eventually find their way to a sketchbook that I carry with me constantly. I keep the books for about a year before they are full,and the following conceptual thumbnails for the chair are from one of these journals.