Looking for input on fabricating drawers pulls in similar design as attached photos. These are taken from various dressers and cabinets from various Danish designers/factories, c.1950-1960.
While carving with hand tools would work for a single piece, how would you approach this if fabricating 10-20 handles per day for new construction? I do not know how the Danish factories constructed originally, but for sure it was some type of mass production with power tools. I hesitate outsourcing this for fear the wood used may not match the case/drawer fronts when finished.
Species considered for the casework and drawer pulls are Burmese Teak, Rift WO, Rift Ash, and Walnut.
Replies
CNC
Some of those designs, maybe all of them, are still in production and available and likely in teak. I purchased some somewhere once- the second one from the left in your photos - in teak for a project once. Try companies like Hafele. But if your doing it yourself, cnc, like mentioned in the previous post, or many router jig set ups.
Danish modern was pretty much all about mass production with power tools! Many of the better ( or more popular) designs from the 40s,50s and 60s never went out of production and can be purchased new today.
Do you mean 20 or 30 per day for one day? Or many days? Figure some days just figuring out and making jigs. There was an over arm router once in a shop I worked out of. One of those could make those and maybe you can find one somewhere, but then a cnc machine is pretty much the same thing. Difference being with the analog machine you do it, with a cnc, it does it.
I typed a response earlier but for some reason it's not posting.
Thank you for the good info! I work mostly with hand tools and spent this morning learning more about over arm and pin routers. Being able to see the work/cutting would certainly make it easier. This would work quite well I think, if a bit specialized (not sure how much I would use this tool otherwise). CNC would be great as well, but outside my skillset. I don't have the production to justify a CNC setup, but there are some local shops that could mill these out for me. They would want a drawing but doubt my hand sketches would suffice. Maybe? I don't know what I don't know and don't want to sound ignorant about CNC as it's something I really have little knowledge in. I do plan to model some of these in full scale using clay, so a 3D prototype would be available. Any advice on what is needed for CNC would be appreciated.
To clarify the quantity, I meant 20-30 pieces milled at once, every few weeks. If jigs and such are required, it makes sense to mill all at once vs. per project. That's probably on the high end, 10-20 pieces more likely. If outsourcing, the quantity would be higher.
I did see some good options on Hafele and maybe Richelieu, but I want to use my own material if possible. Then I know the finish will match the piece and all handles are from the same batch of wood.
I'd love to see the processes used at the factories in Denmark with the tools available at the time. I read somewhere recently there are approx 400 furniture makers in Denmark, big and small. Many have outsourced production to Eastern Europe and Asia. Carl Hansen & Søn has a large factory in Poland. Italian makers are the same, case work cut out and veneered in Poland and Czechia, shipped to Italy for assembly (just enough to qualify as Made in Italy).
Agree. CNC or buy commercial. I made 14 such pulls and although I enjoy the result the time spent is disproportionate to the yield.