Vidar Chairs
Almost all measurements and patterns were taken from instructors Michael Burns' and Todd Sorensen's own Vidar chairs. Having the chairs there with me at the shop was invaluable: taking measurements is one thing, but actually getting a sense of the piece is another thing entirely...
These chairs are reproductions of ones originally built by Swedish furnituremaker Vidar Malmsten (and son of legendary designer Carl Malmsten). I built them as an exercise in chairmaking (having been too scared to attempt a chair before attending CR.) Luckily I had plenty of help: this chair has been built many times at 440 Alger St. (both by instructors and students), and Mr. Krenov himself lent me his own chair to take measurements/inspiration from.
White Oak, Danish Cord, Liberon Oil Finish
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Almost all measurements and patterns were taken from instructors Michael Burns' and Todd Sorensen's own Vidar chairs. Having the chairs there with me at the shop was invaluable: taking measurements is one thing, but actually getting a sense of the piece is another thing entirely...
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The back legs were the first parts to be cut, joined, and shaped. I ended up with a few more "practice" pieces than I had originally planned on (and a lot less spare wood.)
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The very last step was to weave the seat. Wrapping the cord over and over was both exciting and little sad. It seems like there is always a moment of "now what?" at the end of every project...
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By far the most challenging (and patience-testing) step of making the chairs was fitting the back splats (which are cut and shaped from solid stock, rather than bent) to the crest and lumbar rails. Each splat has two angled, shouldered tenons, and required at least ten solid hours of swearing a day before being persuaded into place.
Comments
I love your chairs and your wall cabinet. thank you for sharing your work with us.
Mike
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