Wondering if anyone has info. regarding the production processes employed in the Hans Wegner #501 chair.
Resources? Books? Web? Photos?
I’m especially interested in the back/arm joint but having never seen one in person any information would be appreciated.
I have some sculptural pieces coming up and want to see how a larger production shop was able to execute Wegner’s work rather than fumbling with hits and misses on my own.
Thanks.
Replies
You can find a photo of the joint here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6581592131&category=63568
A second photo is here: http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:4YirR8LAAZ8J:www.kadec.dk/pp/the_chair.htm+wegner+chair+501&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=20
Looking at the joint in the photos, it was almost certainly made on a shaper with a custom cutter, with custom made jigs to hold the workpieces. It would be very difficult, and time consuming, to cut this joint with hand tools and achieve the seamless fit in the originals.
From what I can gather on a quick search, Wegner's work was designed for industrial manufacturing, so making exact copies of his work would be difficult in a lightly equipped shop.
John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine
Edited 2/15/2006 4:02 pm ET by JohnWW
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