"Bending instead of breaking" was Michael Thonet's motto even during his lifetime. The man from Boppard is considered a pioneer of furniture production; his bentwood process revolutionized chair design, as the bending of solid wood was revolutionary in the 19th century and has lost none of its fascination to this day. Thonet's invention was to shape beech wood using steam and muscle power.

Armin Ludwig, a wood mechanic from the Thonet company, shows us how this works in a welding process on coffee house chair no. 214. Basically, there are only 6 parts that have to be made and screwed together, but a total of 124 work steps are necessary to create the elegant end product, then the classic Viennese coffee house chair is finished.

IN THE VIDEO:
Armin Ludwig, wood mechanic from Frankenberg/Eder

CREDITS:
Author: Jürgen Schmidt
Camera: Markus Windmeier
Sound: Sören Peter
Editor: Michael Zeigermann
Sound mixing: Angela Öztanil
Narrator: Rolf Hüffer
Editors Office: Dorothee Eisinger/ Rolf Hüffer
Social Media: Land und Leute RP Online

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In "Craftsmanship", a craft is presented in each film - from the first step to completion. With long takes, precise observations, calm editing sequences and no distracting background music, everyone can understand how things are made and understand why good craftsmanship is also great art.

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#craftsmanship #DIY #bentwood chair