Hans Wegner chair- trying to figure out plans- it's all Brian's fault

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Hello all,

Thanks to Brian Holcombe, I now have a need to build a Wegner Valet Chair or two. I am figuring out the lumber and can get local mahogany fairly thick for the legs, including the rear leg that continues up the back. Likely I would use the same for the hanger. I just purchased two pieces of flamed maple for the seat and "wings" on the splat. Hopefully I have not made my first mistake, but my thought is to cut a slight angle on the center strip so the wings glue on slightly angled prior to blending and shaping. I want to resaw one 2 1/8" thick board into a book-matched set that will also match a book-matched seat. The angled wings would be shaped to a curve after gluing. I hope 1" thick will get me there.

Below is a screen grab from the eBay listing I just won for the maple, and the chair I intend to somewhat copy, along with a surfboard to give you the vision I have of a surfboard stripe up the middle. I have some Peruvian walnut to add a contrasting stripe between the center strip and the wings, or perhaps an abalone stripe. I love this chair for the function and style, and the stripe looks like a wood surfboard, so I intend to do it with that thought in mind, accenting the center stripe. I will probably inlay my logo that I do on my surfboards in abalone. The top rail, if you use your imagination, is like the nose of a surfboard.

I also have have an affection for cuff links, so the one I build to keep will have little drawers for storing cuff links. I am thinking tiny drawers for each pair with tiny dovetails.

Thanks Brian Holcombe for the inspiration and it's all your fault.

[Brian Holcombe]

It's alive!!! It's alive!!!

Looking forward to seeing the progress.....also, I think it only fair to send me one too :p

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Just checked the tracking and the maple has arrived and hopefully at the right moisture content to get started soon. I will go buy the mahogany today when I pick up the maple. Beautiful stuff i get locally. I really have a lot going on but hope to do this in the evenings when Petra (17 month daughter) goes to bed. This is also a good cover for the wood-geared Mora clock I am building as a surprise for Amy. She knows about the chair, but not the clock, although I suspect she may have seen the plans in my shop. She probably thought they were just one of my many boat plans.

[Brian Holcombe]

Cool, I'm definitely interesting in seeing how it progresses.

[Frank Bizley]

Taking a seat.


Frank.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

12% moisture, which where I live is dry. We do not use A/C, so the house is as humid inside as outside. That said, this will likely go to the states as a gift for my sister-in-law so who knows what will happen when it arrives. Fortunately there are few joints and if the Maple and mahogany are the same moisture then hopefully they will expand and contract similarly enough.

I stopped by and checked on my mahogany source yesterday but due to time constraints I will have to come back today to pick out a board. The local stuff I get has beautiful ribbon striping but often has unusual mineral streaks in it. I am hoping to get a nice figured piece. The seat and splat will be flamed maple and the rest mahogany. The maple also has grey mineral streaks. Picking the wood is one of my favorite parts of any project I do.

By by the way, I am going to use this chair as a model for the curvature of the back, as I like the curve it has.

[Brian Holcombe]

Picking the wood is such a great part of this for me as well, I picked up a 10/4 AAA grade 8" x 8' piece of walnut yesterday, simply because I couldn't resist doing so. I plan to use it for table legs next year.

the chair you picked is similar, but be mindful that the top seems to curve back to upright on the wegner chair.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Project update: I was going to go with Mahogany and Flamed Maple, but then thought I might use some douglas fir that I salvaged from an old sailboat mast. I have a big chunk that is about 4" square and plenty long, but the wooden coat hanger that I am using as a guide for that part of the chair dictates that I need a bit more than 4". So now I am back to Mahogany that I can get in very wide widths, but not in thickness. UGH> so I think what is going to end up happening is the top rail, aka coat hanger, is going to be laminated curved out of mahogany with a center piece of thin flamed maple to end up with an accent stripe down the middle. The main goal is make the most of the wood, and laminating saves a lot more wood than if I try to carve it from one chunk. Wood is a very scarce resource here.

The two chunks of maple I will split and book match to make the splat and seat. The seat is going to be done a bit different because I think the book matched maple will look better with grain running front to back. Wegner did his with grain running across. I am going to use a piece of mahogany for the pants hanger "wings" on the seat, and make it tie into the maple seat. Hard to explain. Ultimately the seat will be maple with a mahogany piece running across to make the wings for the pants hanger. My idea is they meet in a curve rather than a straight line so that it doesn't look like I just stuck a piece of mahogany on the end, but rather it will be an integrated piece and add to the visual contours of the overall piece.

That's the best I can explain it. I have little time left. UGH, how did it get to be almost December already?

[Christopher Charles]

Looking forward to seeing progress. All the decisions above sound reasonable to me.

Also having trouble conceiving that it's almost December!

[Brian Holcombe]

I am looking forward to seeing the progress!

[Malcolm Schweizer]

300922I get great mahogany deals locally, but I have to buy it as they have it, which is long rough milled boards. Here is a 2"x8.5"x14.5' piece of ribbon striped mahogany for your viewing pleasure. What I don't use for the chair I will use for accent strips on a kayak.

[Prashun Patel]

Looking forward to seeing the progress on this. I'm wondering if you're underestimating thickness of the back wings. The leg is 2" at the seat joint up to at least where it meets the bottom of the wings. So, the wings will have to be at least 2" there.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Prashun, you are absolutely on point, and that's why I am open to thoughts on the design. I am set on the fact that I want to use this gorgeous flamed maple for the splat and seat. Contrasting and figured woods are kind of my signature. I could make it out of just mahogany very easily, but it just wouldn't be my style. I figure everyone here gets that, so on to my resources: The maple I have for the splat will yield two pieces just over 1" each fully dressed. When I look at images of the original chair, it seems that the rear leg, which I will call the "spine" because I feel he was mimicking a spine with this design, actually sticks out from the splat most of the way up, and then flattens out at the top. It does appear he used thicker wood for the splat, but I am hoping to slightly alter the design due to wood availability. I want to make the rear leg triangulated so that it angles each "wing" of the splat towards the front of the chair slightly. Then I would shape it to a curve using a spokeshave. Ultimately I will have a bit thinner splat, and a bit more "spine" in the back than the original, and I am okay with that. I am doing an interpretation and not an exact copy. I am going to try to make the legs more freeform in a triangulated shape rather than round.

Now, as for the coat hanger/rail, it is very thick on the original, and I like that, but of course that takes a lot of wood. I initially had hoped to get a really thick piece, but the only one I can find locally is 3" thick, but 12" wide and 14' long, and I can't afford it. SO- I have two options for that: (1.) make it thinner, or (2) laminate it. I have enough flamed maple that I could make a thin center lamination of 1/4" maple, and the rest could be cut from the mahogany board. The center stripe will make it look more like a creative detail than just a bunch of mahogany laminated together. It will also go with the theme of contrasting woods. I normally hate laminations, but in this case I think it will look nice.

The seat is hard to explain, but if you look at the original and how it has the wings to hold the pants, I want to do that in mahogany, which will mate to the flamed maple seat in a nice curve. So the seat will be maple with a mahogany piece at the back, but it will mate in a nice curve and not look so "stuck on."

Hang on, let me switch to the iPhone so I can post a pic.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Okay, imagine we are sitting at a table having coffee and I am drawing on the sketch pad here since we can't do this face to face. Thumbnail shows my thought.

Aaaaand of course it is going to upload crooked :-(.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Please keep in mind that this is an interpretation, not a copy. I had a second thought on the coat hanger/rail. I was looking at this wood hanger and thought, "Well that would be easier just to put a mitered joint in the middle, and I can cut two triangles from one piece of wood." Wood is a very scarce resource here, and also I believe as woodworkers we need to be mindful of our designs to use the least wood in the most efficient ways. I am realizing that Wegner's design as built is horribly wasteful of wood.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Oooh, oooh.... This just happened. What if I put f-holes in the back? I love it. Please vote with your comments.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Yesterday I resawed the wood and cut out most of the parts.. Sorry, but I do not have a saw good enough for this, so I broke the neander code of conduct and used a bandsaw. In my defense, a treadle saw would have done about the same. Actually I was really wishing I had made the handle for the Wenzloff rip saw blade that I have. I could have done a much better job resawing with it.

By the way, cutting that 14' long piece of mahogany really hurt, but it is for a good cause, and I still have 10' that will go towards two kayaks I am building.

[Brian Holcombe]

Nice Malcolm, it's coming along nicely.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Clamping is no fun, but planing is a breeze with a LV low angle jointer. By the way, the splat will be just fine at 1" thick. I was worried it may be too thin to shape to the curve of the back.

By the way, as I don't have time or tools to fashion the Wegner hardware, I am just going to use a wood dowel with a drilled piece of wood for the front hinge. I have a full set of LV dowel makers so I can make the dowel quite thick to support weight. (Not to be confused with a dowel plate- these are the ones that work like the tennon cutters and you feed stock into them and it comes out round.). I'll make the dowel out of mahogany to match.

[Brian Holcombe]

I would imagine that hoop used has a purpose as well, I would guess that it's due to the distance from the hinge to the top of the leg being shallow. The hoop likely helps to mitigate the chance of both the hinge deflecting and pulling away from the leg as well as breaking out of the short grain the leg.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Tought I would post an update. Nothing has happened. :-) having a 20 month old, a job where I often travel, and teaching on Saturdays has made this difficult. I am traveling next week to present this. Oh my. I guess I had better get busy. I took the day off tomorrow to get'r done.

Epic fail on my part was trying to split up the top rail (the coat hanger) in order to save having to use a huge piece of mahogany. I am scrapping that and doing over the coat hanger. I am laminating two 2" thick pieces of mahogany. This gives me a 4" thick piece to work with. The original plan was glue the wings to the middle strip, but that leaves end grain and makes attachment difficult. Honestly I do not know what I was thinking. The only way to get this thick wood is I have to buy a 12 foot long board. They do not sell shorties. 2x10x144 ack! I can use it for the next project.

I made a mistake chopping a mortice but it is fixable. Working at midnight took its toll on my thought process and I measured backwards. The rail will still cover the mistake. Only we will know! It was so good to be chopping mortices again. Oh how I love chisel work. To me it is the essence of woodworking to be tapping a chisel along a scribed line or hammering it into a mortice.

The seat looks awesome so far. I get to use my new toy from Veritas on this one. I am really proud of how well the two parts mated. I love the look. I got the book matching down the middle that I wanted but no end grain on the "pants hanger" part. I also think it sets the seat off well to have the contrasting woods.

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[Malcolm Schweizer]

Picked a nice piece of ribbon stripe. 2×7×169.5 got 15% off for a slightly crooked one. 307769307770

[Brian Holcombe]

Coming along nicely!

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Thanks! I will sleep well tonight knowing I changed the top rail (coat hanger). It would have ruined the piece the way I was going to do it. The blank for the new one is gluing up now. I am hoping to have this ready for assembly tomorrow.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Glued up a 4" thick chunk of mahogany today and made sure to match the grain so that the glue line doesn't show. Oh my am I happy. It looked like one piece of wood after cutting. I misjudged my thickness and the face ended up with some glue line show g but the grain matches perfectly. More on that later.

Sorry folks, but I had to cheat this one on the band saw. I cannot cut 4" thick mahogany by hand with this deadline. Forgive me. I have sinned! :-)

I am very happy because I drew the outline but free handed the curve and then freehand shaped the whole thing. It is symmetrical. Hooray.

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[Prashun Patel]

Following this with relish. So are you saying when you resawed the blank you cut through the lamination? If yes then beware. Those glue lines have a way of showing up in short order especially when cut on a bias like that. Further, A visible glue line may mandate perfection in that contour because it frames the penetration. If not symmetrical, it can look like a mistake.

You are more skilled than I so perhaps i am reading it wrong or not realizing you have already thought of this.

[Christopher Charles]

I too am very familiar with the phenomenon of "nothing" happening :)

Thanks for taking time to share the progress. Build threads are my favorite, esp. those with a bit of sin. Good luck with the deadline.

c

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Following this with relish. So are you saying when you resawed the blank you cut through the lamination? If yes then beware. Those glue lines have a way of showing up in short order especially when cut on a bias like that. Further, A visible glue line may mandate perfection in that contour because it frames the penetration. If not symmetrical, it can look like a mistake.

You are more skilled than I so perhaps i am reading it wrong or not realizing you have already thought of this.

No, you are quite correct. I planned it so the glue line was on the back and with the taper it would barely be noticeable. Well I went too deep shaping and the glue line showed up on the front lower middle. Fortunately it is a perfect match. I was careful to match the grain when I glued it up. I cut both pieces from the same board and flipped them face to face so that the grain was matched. The second image in my last post is the bottom and you can see how well the grain is matched and how thin the glue line- that is the bottom but it gives an idea.

Actually the plus side is as you said the glue line mandates perfection, but it also makes a good reference line for shaping. This is where building surfboards pays off. Shaping fair curves eventually comes naturally. Fortunately due to the curvature the line makes a hump that mimicks the shape of the top. I took a picture but it is too large to upload. I used epoxy so the glue line will practically disappear with varnish. I will ensure to get pics when done. It is not nearly as bad as it sounds. I have to press on. Just put the baby to bed and giving her time to get into a deep sleep so I can chop the mortice in it.

[Brian Holcombe]

Very nice work! Wegner's mastery of blending carpentry and furniture design really shows through as you build the piece, there are quite a number of details that present themselves upon the detailed investigation of the piece as you progress through it.

The wood you have picked is really a fine choice, it will shine!

[Prashun Patel]

Got it. Epoxy. Good tip. Face match the glueup. Great tip. Noted.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Let's try this again. My post disappeared.

Thanks for all the comments. Here is the glue line issue. First image dry, second spritzed. It almost disappears and since it follows the curve it looks like part of the shape. Normally I would start over, but glue line versus trashing perfectly good mahogany; glue line is the lesser of two evils.

307898307899

[Brian Holcombe]

Looks fine, there is no way I would start over.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

This is going fast now. Pulling a midnight shift tonight. Morticing the top rail and working on the seat shape. I may leave this lip. I like the look of the angle and the way it plays with the light. 307970307971

[Christopher Charles]

Agree with Brian, as much as you might wince, you'll be the only who ever notices the glue line...let her be.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

The power went out today... But who cares?!?! :-) Thank goodness for neander tools.

I spent today getting everything fit together. The wedge in the back to which the stretchers mount will double as a cup to put your ring or cuff links. I made a tenon joint so that it holds weight with ease. It will get epoxied on as well. Note that everything is a compound curve. Nothing is flat on this thing, so mortices are curved, and the splat meets the top rail in a curve that also angles front to back. Also note that I will final shape the splat after gluing because it is so brittle.

I Have two days to finish this. I can varnish it when I get to the states- flying Wednesday to visit family and give this to my sister-in-law. It is cold where I am going and I hope Mom doesn't mind the smell of Goldspar in the house. I don't think it will cure outside, and it is clear I will not get this varnished before I leave.

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[Malcolm Schweizer]

308207Showing off that glue line. (WHAT glue line?) Also some creative clamping.

308205

[Brian Holcombe]

Awesome work! Two days is going to pretty tough,

[Christopher Charles]

A knuckle-biter to the end...