Chair Disassembly - Milt?

[1990C4S]

I have two chairs that I want to reupholster, the fabric and foam are the easy part.

The way the chair is made the seat frame can't be removed without taking the chair apart.

Here is the chair, and what I am dealing with.









Is it practical to get the chair apart? The chair is glued and very sturdy, it's not just a matter of tapping with a hammer. Maybe I need to reupholster in place and give up the idea of getting it apart?

I'm leaning towards cutting the mdf frame (horizontally in the bottom picture) then gluing/screwing a plate on later, rather than risking disassembly and making the chair weaker.

The missing gusset in the bottom picture (top right bracket) was removed for 'investigation', it's not missing or broken.

[sc_rufctr]

The bottom cushion should come off once you remove the screws in the corners. If you think about it... What else could be holding it in place? The rear or back rest is a different story. It may have been upholstered in place after the cushion was built into the frame.

I wish I could see it IRL to get a better look (I've reupholstered a lot of stuff over the years).

That's a great looking chair with lots of potential.

[1990C4S]

No, it cannot come out. It is wedged in. It can pivot from the front or the back.



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[masraum]

Based on the photos, that does look like it would be trapped. If you unscrew the seat, and push the back up, does the back of the seat hit the bottom of the seat-back so that you can't get the seat higher than the seat-back? It looks like that might be the case. But based on the shapes (and not having access to the chair) that seems like the only way that the seat would come out.

If you lift the back of the seat, can you then rotate the seat? By lifting the seat, it should pull the front of the seat away from the arms, and once's that's happened (if it's enough) then maybe you could rotate the front of the seat right or left under the arm on one side enough to then rotate the back of the seat. No idea if that would help. I'm guessing that the seat was installed after the frame was put together, so it seems like there has to be a way to get it out without disassembling the frame.

[Zeke]

It's not an old chair and by the looks of the staples someone has done this once before. Who knows?

If you are redoing the seat I wouldn't be afraid of destroying that particle board seat frame.

If you absolutely can't figure it out after removing the seat frame (bottom, whatever you want to call it) then make it so it folds in like a hinge and attach stiffeners to hold it flat once wedged back in place.

The older method of supporting the cushion with webbing would make it a lot more comfortable.

Note, I don't do anything with upholstered furniture.



You could eliminate the springs in the above diagram. In fact, 3" is as short as they come and you'd really have to come up with a scheme to fit those.

[MBAtarga]

Might be a very snug fit - but I'm 99.9% certain that seat bottom can be removed without chair disassembly. No way was that seat cover installed before the final assembly of the chair.
Try lifting from the back only - or from one side only to get the bottom out.

[Zeke]

Steve: note the overspray on the gussets that was the antiquing glaze. There is none on the fabric or seat bottom suggesting that you are correct that the seat will wiggle out somehow. It is very unlikely that any chair was glued up after finishing surrounding a cushion. Never seen that, but as I said I steer away from this.

It is slightly possible that the fabric was pulled under the platform and stapled. Sorta looks like that could have happened. If there are no concealed staples that's a big clue.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by MBAtarga

Might be a very snug fit - but I'm 99.9% certain that seat bottom can be removed without chair disassembly. No way was that seat cover installed before the final assembly of the chair.
Try lifting from the back only - or from one side only to get the bottom out.

I'm still looking at this and I think for sure forcing it up at the back will release the cushion. As I said, nothing to lose if a new base has to be made.

[1990C4S]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try again tonight. It seems logical that the chair was not assembled around the seat, but it sure feels that way. Worst case I break the mdf base and repair it later.

The chair has not been recovered, I bought them new. It is a really poor upholstery job, there are about 1,000 staples.

[craigster59]

Time to break out the BFH and give it a whack. I bet it will come out. On the flip side, used furniture is very cheap right now.

If there isn't any sentimental value to those, I'd trash them and pick up something you like. If you want to spend some bucks, we purchase a lot of furniture from Chairish. We call those "Regency chairs" in the biz....

https://www.chairish.com/search?q=regency+chair

[Zeke]

Then it will lift out likely from the back as Scott said. You may need to lay protection on the chair seat rim and use a pry bar. Getting it back in will be a matter of simply sitting on it. Put some wax on the wood where the fabric will slide. Get a little down in behind even if you have to drip a candle. You are throwing out the covering because of the surrounding bead.

[1990C4S]

I was able to remove it using a thin piece of aluminum as a slide surface between the fabric and the bottom of the seat back.

It took several blows with a large hammer to push it out. I am not sure I haven't damages the mdf, but if I have I can fix it. I will have to modify the frame slightly for reassembly, I can't risk damaging the fabric.

Thank you for the suggestions.



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[Zeke]

Cut the MDF shape down a wee bit at the tight spot. It could have swelled.