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| THE THONET No14 CHAIR - CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES |
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| Thonet’s steam ‘bentwood’ construction techniques took years to develop. Earlier versions of Thonet chairs were constructed from thin construction veneers. Thin veneers / plies of beech were steamed to soften them and then placed in a former to dry. When taken out of the former, they retained their formed shape. Over many years, Thonet developed a technique, whereby solid beech could be steamed at 100 degrees centigrade and then clamped into a cast iron former. The beech was then dried for at least twenty hours, at a temperature of 70 degrees centigrade. This ensured that it retained it’s formed shape, without splitting. |
| BASIC TECHNIQUE - STEAM BENTWOOD |
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Solid beech is taken out of the steam vessel, after hours of steaming, at 100 degrees centigrade. Clamped into a cast iron former and allowed to dry at 70 degrees centigrade, for twenty hours. The same technique is repeated for each of the parts. The six parts are then assembled with ten screws and two nuts. The quality is checked and the chair disassembled for distribution. |
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