hillbillydan
Member
Thanks in advance for your answers.
Who designed the Hoover model #450? Was it Henry Dreyfuss? I did a google search and did not find a definitive answer.
I am a 71 year old former shop teacher (1971-85) and for the first 2 years besides woods and metals, I taught classes on architectural drafting and design. Over the years I have developed a particular appreciation of the Art Deco / Streamline Moderne periods of design. I have remodeled a spare bedroom in our house to be my home office and have for the most part populated it with original Art Deco / Streamline Moderne items. I also have designed and made my impression of art deco crown molding and 3 false beams, etc. I say mostly art deco because I have other items that may not fit exactly in the aforementioned classifications of design, but yet they appeal to me......anyhoos I want to call attention to a few outstanding industrial designers of those periods and want to display a few of their designs/inventions. Henry Dreyfuss has been one of my favorite industrial designers of that period and I already have picked up a neat old Big Ben clock designed by Henry and I thought it would be cool to display an old vacuum also designed by him and also use it to clean the room. I really like the industrial design of the Hoover 450 so I purchased one that I am restoring presently and plan to keep it even if Henry didn't design it, but if he didn't design it I will try to find a Hoover model 27 and if that doesn't work then a Hoover model 28. I am currently restoring the 450 and need a Hoover item number 40939 wheel as one of mine has about 1/3 of it broken off and I will also post this need in the classifieds section. If I can't find one I will turn one out of black Delrin on my metal lathe.
I have never seen a desk top designed like the one I am going to discuss, but I have had this idea rattlin around in my head for a decade or so. It was never a priority until I got ready for it and that project was that I restored an old tanker desk and painted the mainframe a root beer color and the drawers a fine metallic silver. I then decided to use "rail and stile" construction and built a 3 layer/off-set series of 3 shadow boxes that inter-connect as a top for the desk. I used some beautifully "figured" quarter-sawn white oak that I handpicked and in the inside top edge of each of the "shadow boxes", I cut a 1/4" x 1/4" rabbit and that design was so I could flush fit 1/4" glass panels in each shadow box and be able to remove those glass panels with the proper tooling. All of the glass and white oak are on one "plane" to serve as my desktop. I can then place an antique knife collection down into one of the 3" deep shadow boxes........a collection of old pocket watches in another, etc. and while I am using said desk, I can glance down through the glass and into the the shadow boxes and enjoy some of my collectibles.
Thanks ~ Dan
Who designed the Hoover model #450? Was it Henry Dreyfuss? I did a google search and did not find a definitive answer.
I am a 71 year old former shop teacher (1971-85) and for the first 2 years besides woods and metals, I taught classes on architectural drafting and design. Over the years I have developed a particular appreciation of the Art Deco / Streamline Moderne periods of design. I have remodeled a spare bedroom in our house to be my home office and have for the most part populated it with original Art Deco / Streamline Moderne items. I also have designed and made my impression of art deco crown molding and 3 false beams, etc. I say mostly art deco because I have other items that may not fit exactly in the aforementioned classifications of design, but yet they appeal to me......anyhoos I want to call attention to a few outstanding industrial designers of those periods and want to display a few of their designs/inventions. Henry Dreyfuss has been one of my favorite industrial designers of that period and I already have picked up a neat old Big Ben clock designed by Henry and I thought it would be cool to display an old vacuum also designed by him and also use it to clean the room. I really like the industrial design of the Hoover 450 so I purchased one that I am restoring presently and plan to keep it even if Henry didn't design it, but if he didn't design it I will try to find a Hoover model 27 and if that doesn't work then a Hoover model 28. I am currently restoring the 450 and need a Hoover item number 40939 wheel as one of mine has about 1/3 of it broken off and I will also post this need in the classifieds section. If I can't find one I will turn one out of black Delrin on my metal lathe.
I have never seen a desk top designed like the one I am going to discuss, but I have had this idea rattlin around in my head for a decade or so. It was never a priority until I got ready for it and that project was that I restored an old tanker desk and painted the mainframe a root beer color and the drawers a fine metallic silver. I then decided to use "rail and stile" construction and built a 3 layer/off-set series of 3 shadow boxes that inter-connect as a top for the desk. I used some beautifully "figured" quarter-sawn white oak that I handpicked and in the inside top edge of each of the "shadow boxes", I cut a 1/4" x 1/4" rabbit and that design was so I could flush fit 1/4" glass panels in each shadow box and be able to remove those glass panels with the proper tooling. All of the glass and white oak are on one "plane" to serve as my desktop. I can then place an antique knife collection down into one of the 3" deep shadow boxes........a collection of old pocket watches in another, etc. and while I am using said desk, I can glance down through the glass and into the the shadow boxes and enjoy some of my collectibles.
Thanks ~ Dan
