After a semi-fun week of vacation, I am ready to get back into the workshop and am determined to complete these chairs before our second Christmas party on February 11th. First on the list was a second coat of stain. Both frames got a light sand and a wipe down with the tack cloth, before a second coat went on. The red oak accepts stain really evenly and the colour was a pretty deep brown so there seems be no need for a 3rd coat.
While the stain set, I got started on stretching the wedding on the inner frames. This was a new experience; I read up online and watched a youtube video but was still a little hesitant that I had enough webbing. At the fabric store, the guy told me 3 strips of webbing in both directions were enough for a 24” square seat. I decided to trust his advice, however for the back, which are an extra 4”, I added a fourth horizontal strip.
Using my electrical nailer, I attempted to attach the first piece. After adjustments to the gun and attempts to push harder to counteract the recoil, I realized it was just not powerful enough to staple into the hard oak. Out came the finish nailer and compressor which had no problems stapling into the wood. The only staples for this gun that I had on hand were 1.25”, a little long and sometimes tricky to get all the way in, but I managed to complete the 2 seat frames.
I must say it was new and fun experience to use the webbing stretcher, the tool which allows you to pull the webbing tight. There will definitely be more projects using this technique in the future.
As for the cushions, 2 are now stuffed and ready to be sewn closed. The foam got wrapped in 2 layers of quilting batting before they were inserted into the covers.
And now we know: electric staple guns are not powerful enough for some woods, good thing the finish nailer can also be loaded with staples!
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