Building a Sofa

Entry posted by minime August 28, 2007

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Building a Sofa

I am using 1/8” plywood because I have plenty on hand and this will make a sofa sturdy enough kids to use. Cardboard, foam core or thicker plywood could be substituted with minor adjustments. Several of my parts will be built up to the thickness that I need. I am also making the cushions out of plywood. I use a utility knife to cut my parts. Three or four scores and I’m through it.

I chose a style that has straight lines and looks fairly simple. Please go the the La-Z-Boy site and look for the Dexter to see my choice.

Using my own real life sofa for dimensions and the picture as my guide I came up with a parts list. I’m going to make this as a loveseat so it won’t be quite as long as the one pictured.

Parts List

Body

2 Backs 4 1/2” X 2 1/2”

4 Ends 3” X 1 1/2”

1 Bottom 4 1/2” X 11/16”

1 Seat 4 1/2 “X 2 3/4”

1 Front 4 1/2” X 1/2"

Cushions

6 Backs 2 3/16” X 1 3/4”

4 backs 1/4” X 2 3/16”

6 Bottoms 2 3/16” X 2 13/16”

Using yellow wood glue I glued the two backs together with the best sides on the outside. The same with the ends, two sets of two. This makes each of the three pieces 1/4” in real size or 3” in 1:12 inch scale size.

There are two bottom cushions, built up to three pieces, making them 3/8” in real or 4 1/2” in scale. I wanted a slight slant for the back so I glued 2 pieces then I put in two 1/4” pieces and added the third piece. I used gorilla glue at the top.

After giving them plenty of time to dry I glued the ends to the back and bottom using gorilla glue.

Again, waiting for it to dry, I used gorilla glue on the front and I glued a popsicle stick on the back to hold the seat at the right height when it goes on.

I then glued the seat on using gorilla glue.

I trimmed off the gorilla glue and sanded a little so that my surfaces would be smooth.

All I need now to do now is upholster and add legs, it looks pretty good so far.

The reason I use gorilla glue on the body is because I feel it is a lot stronger and it is easier to remove the excess when dry.

I have already finished this particular sofa but don’t have pictures of the upholstering process. Within the next couple of days I will be doing another one and will blog the upholstering at that time. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.