Divan Mk2.

So another chair project ... of sorts.

Back a few years ago I did my first divan effort which I thought was quite good in sense of what I had to work with at the time, concerning tools and source materials.

Unfortunately with the passing of time I've started to look at it, thinking its a bit too bulky, and some design features a bit too flamboyant.

So I naturally I had to have another go at it, now that I had more toys in my little workshop collection.

Last time the material was limited to 18mm thick pine glue board, but this time I made my own glue board stock by re-purposing my pile of dismantled spruce paneling.

resulting in some 12mm thick pieces of material to start working with.

I wanted the design to be less bulky than before naturally, but still geometric in flavor. so I had a few basic components straight sticks, and round pieces to attach together.

I wont go into much detail in how these pieces came to be since the technique is very much the same as in the first edition, so you are interested, the first one should be still available in the depths of the forum.

Attaching them together I decided to try a new tactic with roughly 3x6 mm pegs I made from scraps I had laying around.

The alignment of the two sides were a bit more crucial, as you'd expect with the smaller material stock, but overall the joints went together quite nicely...

The biggest technical difference between the first and this second version is how I did the high side of it. where on the old version every component is more or less perpendicular to each other, for this new one I decided to make my life a little easier for the actual cushions by offsetting the back-rail from the main frame.

This naturally added a bit more dimensions into the slotting for the joint pegs, but in the end the result was adequate.

After the main sides were glued together it was time to think of how to put the lot together, and this time I thought up a cross brace that would tie the thing up rather nicely. Its made from three pieces, the main diagonal, which has a peg going through it attaching to the other two pieces that make up the cross. more slightly annoying marking and slotting for the pegs, and it was ready to be glued together...

After that it was back to the sanders to finalize the edges, and thicknesses overall, and then a quick oak-stain, and two coats of varnish:

After this it was just to upholster it... This time instead of making separate cushions, they are now tacked into place with normal thumb-tacks and strips of thick card-stock to keep the edges in some kind of tolerance.

In hindsight I should have added a bit more slack to the patterns, but I didn't have quite enough material for my liking, so ended up scrimping with it and it ended up a bit too tight, but overall half-decent result:

The only problem I have now is that it might have become a bit too petite... but I guess version 3 might finally be spot on ....

 

thanks for looking...

Oh, this new version has kind of a mid-century modern aesthetic. I like that interpretation, honestly. 

mmm, the original inspiration does fit into that time frame, which is Alvar Aalto furniture items, which are mostly from the 1930's to 1960's.

dunno will I be trying something similar or a completely different thing next ... but it will probably be a chair, or finally finishing off the highback one I still have in pieces...