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Tooling and techniques for chair parts

8/20/13       
mark

I'm working on a "professional development" project, i.e. some dining chairs for my wife, and I'm interested in acquiring a greater capacity to produce repeatable chair parts with complex shapes. The type of work that I'm interested in learning how to make would be similar to the back piece of Hans Wegner's chair below. How would this piece have been made in the factory in the 60's? I can see roughing it out on the bandsaw, and carving by hand, but I'm assuming that there is a shaper or over-arm router procedure for making a piece like this. Any thoughts?


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8/21/13       #2: Tooling and techniques for chair pa ...
GAW

Mark.
Try the web site www.pp.dk
These boys have their act together.

8/21/13       #3: Tooling and techniques for chair pa ...
GAW

Mark.
To be more specific. Look under Workshop. Technology. Templates. I hope you know how to run a shaper!
Gordon.

8/22/13       #4: Tooling and techniques for chair pa ...
mark

Gordon, thanks for the link to Mobler's site, really inspiring. I'd say that these folks have their act together for sure! Wouldn't it have been nice to work in that shop as a young'un?

8/22/13       #5: Tooling and techniques for chair pa ...
David R Sochar Member

Website: http://www.acornwoodworks.com

You might contrast what you see in the Mobler shop to the process Sam Maloof used for his chairs. Free hand bandsawing and using 'anything' you can to shape the wood was his style, and he did it very well. His shop mostly produced things one at a time, or small batches.

The difference is production vs art. Wegner's chairs come very close to art, even though they are somewhat a production item. I can afford a Wegner chair, but not a Maloof.

8/23/13       #6: Tooling and techniques for chair pa ...
mark

David,
That's an interesting comparison, and very much to the point. For the most part, my clients have been in a similar position in regards to the affordability of a Wegner vs. a Maloof, and those that weren't are loathe to let on. I live in an understated town. This has led me to the situation that if i can't produce it efficiently, then I won't propose it in a design. And sometimes I am limited by not being able to do sculptural pieces efficiently. I've assumed that the above piece, and similarly sculpted pieces of the same era were (and in some cases, still are) produced efficiently in a shop with reasonably skilled labor, using processes designed by highly skilled machinists. To me this is an attractive scenario.
Frankly, if value equaled only my own preferences, then I'd take a Wegner to a Maloof 9 times out of 10, but the actual relative values aren't lost on me. Presently, I'm just more interested in improving my aptitudes in process design and craft, then becoming a super-bandsaw-woodsman-hipster.

8/26/13       #7: Tooling and techniques for chair pa ...
Joe Romero Member

Website: http://www.advancewindowsanddoors.com/

The shared link by GAW is really very helpful specifically workshop, technology and templates categories. thanks for sharing!


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