The Chair is finished

[Derek Cohen]

The seat has been woven and now the chair is complete.


For those interested in the weaving process, details are included in the final chapter: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/WeavingSeatCompletingTheChair.html


For now, I present the final pictures ..


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/The%20Chair/2_zps955a5c85.jpg


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/The%20Chair/3_zps9108bd1e.jpg


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/The%20Chair/5_zps8bfcb5c4.jpg


A comparison with the original chair … I think the weaving creates a lighter feeling. What do you think?


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/The%20Chair/1_zpsd651a1b1.jpg


Thank you all for your support and encouragement along this journey.


Regards from Perth


Derek

[Chris Griggs]

Wow! Derek, that came out REALLY nice. Seriously. Very very cool build. Love the Danish cord seat. Fantastic! Certainly a build to be proud of.

[Dave Beauchesne]

Derek:

I can't add anything to what Chris said - superb job!

I love the figure - I am a sucker for figured wood, and the tight curl present is so wonderful to see.

Well done.

Dave B

[David Weaver]

I like the cord better, too. It's more classic but more appropriately modern at the same time, too.

Very nice and tidy, derek. Perhaps a jarrah mobius strip or klein bottle is next?

[george wilson]

That is a very tricky piece of woodworking,Derek!!

I think chair making,especially this type,is one of the most difficult areas of wood working. So many curved parts to fit together. I hope others appreciate the craftsmanship that must go into well executed piece like this. The seat weaving is great,too.

[George Bokros]

My word echo what everyone else has said. Great execution.

[Joe Bailey]

Breathtaking!

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Amazing, beautiful work, Derek! Is it as comfortable as it looks?

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Joshua

My wife says it is comfortable, and that she could not tell the difference with the original. For myself, I was just relieved that it did not feel uncomfortable! :) It is the first chair I have made, so I am amazed how well it works. Amazed.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Frederick Skelly]

Wow Derek! Thats gorgeous. The joinery looks great and I love the woven seat!
Fred

[Brian Holcombe]

Great work Derek! This is Tim's Vermeer of woodworking, fun to watch and spectacular result.

[Derek Cohen]

Thanks Brian ... I think? My understanding is that Tim failed in his recreation of Vermeer.

Your earlier comments about the use of cane rather than Danish Cord did have me on the verge of reconsidering ... until I recalled my reason for using it - I was not concerned about the final piece being technically correct, but being spiritually correct and aesthetically enjoyable. How do you view the Danish Cord now?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[mike holden]

"I think the weaving creates a lighter feeling. What do you think?"
Yes, it does appear lighter, but I think that is mostly the front rail being visually thinner.

In either form the chair is attractive, your version is spot on.
Well done!
Mike

[Brian Holcombe]

Not a backhanded compliment, I thought he did a fine job of recreating the painting, and the same here. I certainly enjoy paper cord, having moller chairs and wishbone chairs.

I think you did a good job with the paper cord and drawing it back away from the front and rear rails is a nod to how wegner did it.

[Sean Hughto]

Great! It is better than the original from grain to the seat to just overall presence. I would welcome it in my home (I always feel like covetous feelings are an indicator of sincere appreciation!). Huzzah!

[Shawn Pixley]

Beautiful work Derek! It turned out very nicely. Now that you have done it, would you do it again? If you did it again, what would you do differently?

Sometimes, I find these questions to be the most helpful and instructive.

[bill howes]

Super. This must give you a great feeling of accomplishment

[Mel Fulks]

I find your version far more appealing than the model. The seat treatment spaces harmonize with the open back and you have eliminated
seeing all that short grain on the front rail.

[Mike Holbrook]

Very nice Derek! Is there a little Tage Frid influence in that chair? I may have read that it was from another design you liked, maybe that maker was influenced by Tage? The design reminds me of Tage's corner chair in his Furniture Making book. Tage's chair is a three legged chair so it has major differences. It looks like Tage's chair has a cushion or wood seat, he used string seats in other chairs he made though. Much of Tage's furniture had a stark modern look. I like the modern influence in the more casual look of Derek's chair.

[Bill White]

I think that you are now qualified for your "Bodger" degree.
Well done for sure.
Bill

[Brian Holcombe]

Mike, the chair is designed by Hans Wegner who was a year older than Tage Frid, but similar to other artist cultures I'm sure that many ideas bounced around among the early Danish modernists. As an aside, these were what influenced Maloofs early work as well.

[Shawn Pixley]

Very nice Derek! Is there a little Tage Frid influence in that chair? I may have read that it was from another design you liked, maybe that maker was influenced by Tage? The design reminds me of Tage's corner chair in his Furniture Making book. Tage's chair is a three legged chair so it has major differences. It looks like Tage's chair has a cushion or wood seat, he used string seats in other chairs he made though. Much of Tage's furniture had a stark modern look. I like the modern influence in the more casual look of Derek's chair.

More likely Frid was influenced by Wegner. Wegner was an incredibly prolific chair designer and builder. Not trying to slight Frid as he was very accomplished. I think of Frid and an educator who made furniture (some very nice furniture indeed). Wegner was a pure chair designer and builder. Much of Wegner's work was done while Tage was focusing on education at Rochester and RISD.

[Dave Proper]

Derek,

Beautiful job on the Chair! I think your choice to go with the corded seat was a good one, more in the spirit of the originals. This photo was taken at the National Museum of Sweden in Stockholm.

Dave in Medford OR

293813

[Graham Haydon]

Excellent Derek, the final result is something to be very proud of.

[Jim Matthews]

I feel about our man Cohen's skillset and output the way
that Stephen Fry feels about Hugh Laurie.

"Generally, we admire the thing we are not."

Bravo

[ian maybury]

Nice job Derek. That's one of my favourite chair designs...

[Pat Barry]

Looks great Derek. Excellent craftsmanship on this project. I was curious about the finish. You mentioned it was several coats of Livos wood oil. Is that a tung oil or is it something like Waterlox? The sheen of the finish looks really nice on your Jarrah

[Christopher Charles]

Looks fabulous and I also really like the danish cord. Now the only question is: Do you feel a bit presidential when sitting in it? :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QazmVHAO0os

Cheers,
C

[Lori Kleinberg]

That's a great piece, Derek.

[Mike Holbrook]

Ahh, thanks for the info. Brian. I had problems with art history in college too. I do see the strong influence from those Danish modernists in work from guys like Maloof. I will have to look up Hans Wegner's work. I can see the more traditional Irish, Welsh and Windsor influence in there too. I lean a little more towards the traditional but I like a little modern flair.

[Derek Cohen]

Pat, the finish was 5 or 6 coats of Livos Wood Oil and then polished with Howard's wax. The Livos oil is a wonderful alternative, and now much preferred, to Danish Oil. It leaves a silky, matt finish after 400 grit sandpaper. The sheen comes from the wax.

Brian, I was teasing you. I know you were complementing the work. I am most appreciative of this as well as all your comments, which have added knowledge and experience to the threads. I did consider using cane at one time, but it seemed a hard surface, and I liked the softness of the cord. It seems like a good contrast against the hard wood.

And Sean, thank you for the biggest compliment - of desiring the piece for your home.

Many thanks to all of you for your kind words. This was my first chair and it really helped being pushed along the way.

Regards from Perth


Derek

[Peter Widders]

Really nice job Derek ....congratulations. A quick question that may have been answered somewhere else..... what finish did you use?
Peter
(Sydney , Australia - the dark side!)

[Kees Heiden]

Wow! I could see this one in my home too.

[Don Orr]

Magnificent in every way. Thanks for taking us along on the fantastic journey.

[Harold Burrell]

SUPER nice, Derek! Great job!

[Brian Holcombe]

Pat, the finish was 5 or 6 coats of Livos Wood Oil and then polished with Howard's wax. The Livos oil is a wonderful alternative, and now much preferred, to Danish Oil. It leaves a silky, matt finish after 400 grit sandpaper. The sheen comes from the wax.

Brian, I was teasing you. I know you were complementing the work. I am most appreciative of this as well as all your comments, which have added knowledge and experience to the threads. I did consider using cane at one time, but it seemed a hard surface, and I liked the softness of the cord. It seems like a good contrast against the hard wood.

And Sean, thank you for the biggest compliment - of desiring the piece for your home.

Many thanks to all of you for your kind words. This was my first chair and it really helped being pushed along the way.

Regards from Perth


Derek

Hah, it's not always easy to tell over the internet. Glad my obsession with Danish modern could come I handy, do you plan to tackle Finn Juhl next?

[Tom M King]

Very nice indeed! Did you keep up with the number of hours into it?

[Derek Cohen]

Very nice indeed! Did you keep up with the number of hours into it?

Hi Tom

I was asked about the number of hours on another forum. There is a issue here about how one works and how one uses time, especially as an amateur limited to the shop on weekends. So I am copying and pasting my reply here for your and others comments ..

About the time expended - I began working on the chair January 1st this year. Obviously I began thinking about it, planning my plan, obsessing and scheming long before this. How does one factor planning into build time?

I had leave from work in January. I specialise in the paediatric area and kids are on school holidays then, and no one wants to see me http://www.woodcentral.com/webbbs/smileys/frown.gif ... so I take off the time for vacation http://www.woodcentral.com/webbbs/smileys/smile.gif We do quite a bit of travelling and it was a pleasure to stay home, enjoy the beach and sun, and have a few hours every day in the shop. I was able to put in 3-4 hours every day for 4 weeks. That is why there was so much progress at the start.


Came the last week of January, and I was back in my practice, and once again left time on weekends for the build. Most weekends I can get about 4-5 hours each day (unless family arrangements are made first, which they were not in February).


Then came a long break until July, where I once again managed weekends.


I estimate that the build required about 175 working hours. I am not sure if that is long or short by the standards of others. What this does not take into account was the thinking (planning, scheming, obsessing ... ) that went on during the week, and so that on the weekend I was pretty focussed with what needed to be done. The time in the shop was not wasted.


This has been my most complex build to date. Woodwork is really about sawing or chiseling to a line. That is the easy part once the basics are mastered. The hard part has been figuring where the lines go. Even with a model in front of me the compound curves looked daunting to measure and reproduce. Learning to break down components, recognise where a line begins and ends, and how much waste to leave ... all that was a constant headache. I cannot say that this was a relaxing project as there were very few times where I was working within myself. Everything seemed a risk, especially the fact that I did not have any backup wood. Is that not what David Pye was referring to?


The end of the build was a race to finish to get it to the woodshow. It is really unimportant to me how it places in a competition. The judges cannot place the kind of value on this chair that you have done here.


Regards from Perth


Derek

[Tom M King]

Great effort, with great results!!