In the last week or so, I installed new wooden tack strips on the seat. Some of the strips were just 3/4″ x 3/4″ wood strips a couple of feet long, and Home Depot sold wood of the exact same size in oak. To attach those, I re-used the original screws, which were in perfect condition. There were two other strips that were originally make of some sort of fiber material, long since crumbled away. I made replacements from 1/4″ plywood. These had to be riveted in place. The correct semi-tubular rivets were easy to get, but I had to make a tool to properly set them. That was easier than it sounds- I just took a 3/8″ bolt that was lying around, cut off the head, put it in the lathe, and cut a donut-shaped depression in the end.
I still need to deal with the long metal tack strip that runs across the top of the seat back. There is no big rush for that- it will be at least a couple of months before I get the upholstery kit for re-covering the seat.
I decided to try making a new wooden base for the seat cushion. The original had been not terribly well fixed up by a previous owner, and I was thinking of buying a ready-made reproduction. But the reproduction is rather expensive, and I realized that Home Depot sells the same 3/4″ x 4″ oak boards that the base is made from. The base is just a rectangle made of 4 pieces of wood, with some fitted joints and a few holes of various sizes drilled in it.
The seat base springs are attached to the wooden base. I’ll be ordering reproduction springs. The original springs look usable at first glance, but several of the wire rods had been broken or badly worn, and a previous owner had tried heroically to fix it up. But if I re-used them and something later broke, all the expensive new upholstery would have to be ripped up and replaced to repair it.