JOYRIDE II

Sofa

The Joyride II sofa was designed and built by master woodworker Brent Applegit. Brent and wife Denise are the owners of the Joyride I sofa and they have been enjoying the piece for over seven years now. The piece to this day looks as good as the day it was finished. True heirloom quality... The inspiration for this design came from two different sources. the compound curved back was inspired by Bombay cabinet that Brent saw at a good friends wedding. The complex curves of the cabinet and the fact that the piece was veneered with marquetry fascinated Brent. The design of the arms came from a scroll being pushed out of itself. The arms are solid mahogany. They are made by using a technique called coopering. This technique is used to build wooden barrels. There are six pieces of two different mahogany boards used in the left arm. The same two boards are used in the right arm which has seven pieces. The back of the piece is fabricated in a vacuum press. Layers of one eight inch bending plywood are pressed over a one of a kind compound curved form. The back is then carefully refined and veneered. The veneer used on this back is ribbon stripped mahogany and it is laid up and pressed in a twenty piece sunburst pattern. This was done in four separate pressing, each one more technical than the previous one. The front skirt is six pieces of ribbon stripped mahogany veneer laid up using a book matching technique. The veneer is pressed onto a solid piece of popular that has been previously shaped. The upholstery is dyed and sanded caribou hides. Brent and his father worked together on this difficult feat. There are five adjustable rubber leveling feet  inlaid into the arms and back. The sofa was built using some of the best adhesives and finish available. The finish is three coats of OS Hard wax oil. This a hand rubbed and hand buffed finish. The finish leaves the grains of the wood looking and feeling rich and soft. To create such a piece there is a high level of dedication and devotion to getting every detail to look the way Brent had envisioned it in his mind. The process of every step takes time...Over four hundred hours of time intensive labor went into this one of a kind hand made sculpted sofa. Construction details and some process photos of this piece can be seen at www.wetzler.com look under gallery II also www.vacupress.com.