A friend of ours has this beautifully fun, classic chair that she is not sure where it came from except that her brother has had it for over 40 years I believe. The lines are completely cool, the arms if you look at the end or fronts of the arms almost have the old colonial arm chair look with the slenderness and the round tips.

Since it was probably built in the late 50's or early 60's, during the height of the Danish Modern period, I am surmising that it is just that.
The problem with the chair are the joints are dry and loose. My mission is to pull the chair apart at the joints, and re-glue them and tighten the chair up considerably.

Afterwards we'll steel wool it to clean it up then oil it to bring it back. Nothing I do will disturb that fantastic patina it has built up over time, so rich and deep, just gorgeous.
 

The back rest is on a swivel of sorts, I have not sat in it yet, but I bet that adjustable back rest is very comfortable. A really cool idea.

Photo above, you can see some of the blemish's that are in the chair, most of these appear to be the chair bumping into a painted surface such as a wall etc. Those will rub out easily.

Photo above, I just love that graceful arm.

I'll keep the progress pics coming, this will be fun!

 

Looks like you are going to have lots of fun with this one John

Excellent! This is the sort of post I enjoy, vs "check out this card I put in my bike wheel!"

Are you any good scraping? I'm very successful at restoration damage like you mention, you can safely use a scraper to remove that paint without damaging the underlying finish, then buff.

Is that cherry? The hand work in those shapes inspires me, might save these pics and build one with Elm. I'd make a few changes, that bolt head needs to be hidden, maybe a wooden head over it.

I'd also like to see it without the weave, maybe laminated wood instead.

Once you scuff it rub Linseed oil into the wood and let it dry before you add anything else, it will seal the imperfections.

Mark, I am afraid I am not that delicate handed with the card scraper, I know for a fact I'd damage the finish underneath, I have had great success however removing marks like this in the past with steel wool.

Yes, Cherry it is.

I agree about that bolt head, that was kind of weird considering the elegance of the rest of the chair.

When you say "the weave" what are you referring too? Are you talking about the upholstered seat and back rest?

One part linseed oil, one part varnish, and one part mineral spirit is my favorite concoction for this type of work.

Thanks Mark!!

Just my personal preference, yes the fabric would go, try to picture a beautiful laminate of very thin strips of wood.

The way a lot of school chairs used to be made, some of which were never appreciated until the student fell in love with woodwork.

I think that would look splendid Mark. That will have to be a consideration when you create your own chair using this design! Keep us in the loop please when you start that fantastic project.