(continued)

Much of Modern's character came from the steam-bent pieces . Before the bending started, air dried stock was placed into a steaming box for a period of twenty minutes to an hour. Wood that had the appropriate moisture content was then bent by hand, or pressed and heated using hydraulic presses. (Despite all of Wakefield's skill in working with wood, 10 to 20 percent of all bentwood pieces were broken in the bending process). After being steambent, larger parts were machined and all the parts received their first sanding. 

The furniture pieces began to take shape during the assembly process. Joints were glued and screwed; nails were not used at any joints. The insides of all drawers were sprayed with a drawer coater.  After the assembly process furniture was sanded in order to blend drawers, tops, and sides together. Following this sanding, Modern pieces were bleached, producing a lighter as well as more uniform wood finish. Next the pieces were spray stained, with any excess stain removed through hand wiping. After pieces were placed in a drying oven, a sanding sealer was applied, and then the pieces further dried. Two coats of finish lacquer were applied, with the finish allowed to bake for approximately one hour. The pieces were then rubbed and waxed. After the pieces had been rubbed, they were wiped dry and polished. The furniture was then given a final inspection and sent to the shipping department for distribution. 

During the 1920s Heywood-Wakefield's expansion-in terms of both personnel and operating facilities-reached its peak. By the time of its 100th anniversary in 1926, Heywood-Wakefield was producing a wide variety of cane and wood seat chairs, school furniture, baby carriages, cocoa mats and matting, railway car seats, bus seats, reed and fiber furniture, opera and theater chairs, toy vehicles, fiber webbing, and a variety of miscellaneous cane and reed items. Those numerous products were a result of a workforce which had grown to more than 5,300 employees engaged in a manufacturing and distribution network which included seven factories and 13 warehouses amounting to a combined total of 4.3 million square feet in facilities. The Gardner plant, the oldest of the company's factories, was noteworthy in that it was using a wide variety of wood in its products, including oak, beech, birch, maple, elm, chestnut, hickory, and gum, as well as spruce for crating and boxing purposes.