Expert: Mark H. Miller - 11/1/2007

Question
I recently purchased a L & J. G. Stickley Mission Rocking Chair Model No. 836.  It is missing the seat cushion.  Could you give us guidance on where to purchase or how to construct a seat for the chair?
Thanks so much.


Answer
Hi,  Stickley furniture is usually constructed with a seat that has a wood frame, on top of that webbing, coil springs, covered in burlap, padding, then muslin, cotton batting and then finally the upholstery fabric.  Construction of such a drop-in seat is not difficult but almost impossible to describe in detail without also including drawings.  So if you want to research books, what you are looking for is the construction of a drop-in seat unit.

However, there is a simple alternative using modern methods.  Cut a plywood base 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch thick that fits into the seat leaving approximately 1/8 inch space all around.  On top of that place a block of firm foam that is exactly the size of the wood.  On top of the foam glue an identical peace of foam that is 2 inch thick which is medium soft foam.  You can buy the foam from foamorder.com they will cut it to size or use an electric knife to cut the foam.  Over the foam place a piece of bonded Dacron that you wrap around the sides and staple or tack against the side of the plywood giving the whole thing some soft "crowning"  you can buy the bonded Dacron in most fabric stores.  Do not buy foam in a fabric store, the quality is often very poor,  when you purchase from foamorder.com ask for HR (high resilience) foam which will cost a little more but is well worth the extra expense.

Then cover the whole thing with a fabric of your choice, stapling the fabric at the bottom of the drop in base.

To determine the total thickness of the foam measure so that the height from the floor to the center of the seat is no less than 16 inches and no more than 18.

If you want to make the seat even more comfortable cut a hole in the center of the plywood base, leaving about 2 1/2 inches of wood around the perimiter and make sure your plywood is at least 3/4 inch thick,  then cover that opening with rubber webbing and on top of that place the foam.  

I hope this helps,  congratulations on your purchase I am envious since I myself do not have a Stickley Mission Rocking chair, they are wonderful.

Mark Miller.