Another Danish Modern Chair #1: Introduction

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This is part 1 in a 10 part series: Another Danish Modern Chair

  1. Introduction
  2. Design and Approach
...
  1. Finished!

On the heels of completing a second deck chair based on Wegner's GE-375 from pressure-treated decking, I still had some scraps left over.  Enough for another chair, but a different design this time.

This one is based on an apparently obscure design by Danish designer Ib Kofod Larsen sometime in the mid 1950's.  I say obscure because I've only been able to track down two examples of this chair in photos on the web.  Both sites attribute the design to Larsen, but given that I could only find the two examples, I do wonder about the attribution.   Barring any evidence to the contrary, though, I'll call it an Ib Kofod Larsen design.

The design is interesting in that it doesn't have a seat or back frame.  Instead, it relies on parallel bands of Pirelli webbing attached between the front, seat, and upper-back stretchers as the cushion support.  Here's an example photo from one of the sites I found:


I thought that the narrow frame members made it a good choice given the dimensions of my leftover scraps.  Also, this chair is all straight lines, which meant that I could cut the pieces to shape on the table saw rather than relying on router templates.   Perhaps this chair would go together more quickly than the Wegner replicas.

I used the opportunity to practice modeling in Onshape.  I'm still learning, but it's making more sense to me the more I use it.  Here's the model I came up with.


I didn't try to model the webbing support - I won't be using webbing anyway.  The plan is to use paracord instead, which won't require any hardware like the Pirelli webbing and will hold-up better outside.  With the model suitably complete and the dimensions worked out, I could get started on the glue-ups for the parts.

11 Comments

looking forward to this one ross !

working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.

Nice design Ross. 

Main Street to the Mountains

Thanks for taking the time to document your builds. This should be a good one!
It'll be fun to follow along.  I wonder if one reason that there are not many examples is that the angle of the seat was so steep that they didn't sell many or the ones that they did sell did not stay around long.  It look like it would be hard to get up out of the chair.  

--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.

Thanks, All.  I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.  

@Lazyman - The seat angle puts the design squarely in the lounge chair category.  It is a bit steep, but hopefully comfortable.  If it's too much, I can lower the front stretcher a bit.  I do plan to glue-up the side assemblies and then fit all of the stretchers temporarily, along with the paracord lacing so I can do a test sit prior to the final glue-up. 
It looks really comfortable.  I just wonder if I would ever be able to get up.  😀

--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.

Looks like another cool, stylish chair to add to your collection. I’m looking forward to seeing your progress.

 Lazyman
 commented about 9 hours ago
It looks really comfortable.  I just wonder if I would ever be able to get up.  😀
Maybe I could use that excuse to my advantage.  "I'm sorry, I'd really like to help you, but I just can't seem to get out of this chair."


 Ron Stewart
 commented about 5 hours ago
Looks like another cool, stylish chair to add to your collection. I’m looking forward to seeing your progress.
Thanks, Ron.  It has a bit of a formal, boxy look (IMO), but the visible paracord lacing will add some playfulness.  I'm looking forward to the build as well.
I know you like a bit of whimsy in your project posts, and this chair might give you an opportunity to reproduce an iconic print/TV ad from the 1979/1980 when you post your final photos later.



The ad campaign was for Maxell cassette tapes. If you Google “Maxell blown away”, you can see the TV commercial.
Ha!  I remember that campaign well.  That would be a fun photo to re-create.    
yeah that was a great ad. i used there tapes all the time. kids today probably dont know what a cassette tape is.

working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.