These chairs are reproductions of ones originally designed by Swedish furnituremaker Vidar Malmsten. They are light, strong, and comfortable, and quietly proud of their Scandanavian roots. In other words, just about everything you could ask for in a chair. A challenge to build, but (in my opinion, anyway) well worth the effort.

Dimensions: 17″ (Seat Height) x 33″ T x 18″ W x 18″ D
Materials: White Oak, Danish Cord
Finish: Wiping Varnish

Photos by David Welter, CRFW

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Sawing the solid stock into laminates for the curved door rails.

Gluing up one of the door rails over a one-part form. I use UniBond (a urea-folmaldehyde glue), a ton of clamps, and at least as many cauls. Each lamination will need a full 24 hours to cure.

Meanwhile…Here’s a neat trick (that I can in no way claim as my own) - Glue a backer board and “spine” to the board you plan on resawing into veneer. It keeps the board rigid as you slice veneers off (meaning you can take fewer passes on the jointer, and ultimately end up with more veneer), plus it has a built-in handle! Bonus!

A few slices of teak veneer, laid over the Alaskan yellow cedar that will be used for the interior of the cabinet.

Gluing up the door frame. Long bar clamps are used to bring the bridal joints home, then smaller clamps are used to squeeze the joints themselves closed.