T" he greatest stresses in a rocking chair occur where the legs meet the rockers. These joints need to be strong and solid, otherwise the seemingly gentle act of rocking will eventually pull the chair apart. There are several effective methods for attaching legs to rockers. The simplest way is to turn a blind or […]
Category: BUILDING CHAIRS
MAKING THE ROCKERS
ROCKER DESIGN
W hile the balance of a rocking chair can be fine-tuned at the assembly stage (page 132), a few key principles and dimensions are worth noting before you begin. As shown in the illustration below, these include the height of the seat off the floor, the angle between the seat and the backrest, and the […]
ROCKING CHAIRS
Glued to the rockers, platforms are a way of fine-tuning the balance of a rocking chair before installing the rockers. In the photo at left, waste wood is removed with a rasp, smoothing the transition between the rockers and the legs. ANATOMY OF A ROCKING CHAIR t
BACKS
Caned and panel backs are two popular and attractive options for frame chairs. To make a caned back (below), all you need is some stock for the rails and mullions and a piece of prewoven cane. You can weave the back from individual strands of cane, following instructions starting on page 83. Cut tenons […]
STRETCHERS
Turned stretchers span the gap between the legs of the rocking chair shown at left. Apart from enhancing the appearance of a chair, stretchers provide structural support and can occasionally be designed to serve as footrests. Stretchers are usually made in the same way as the legs; in the example shown, the legs and stretchers […]
LEGS
Three different leg styles; (from left to right) a tapered leg, with two adjacent sides sawn on a table saw; a cabriole leg cut on a band saw and shaped with a spokeshave; and a turned leg fashioned on a lathe. CABRIOLE LEG Designing the leg For a template, cut a piece of […]
LEGS AND STRETCHERS
4 The sweeping curves of a cabriole leg are cut on a band saw. Since the shape of the leg must be outlined on two adjacent sides of the blank, short bridges of solid wood are left in the kerfs when the cuts are made on the first side. This way, the outline […]
RUSH SEATS
Traditionally, rush for chair seats was made of twisted cattail leaves. Nowadays, it is more common to use a tough-grade, fiber paper twisted into long strands, known as “fiber rush.” It is sold by the pound and comes in three sizes: %i inch for fine work, inch for most chairs, and %: inch for larger […]
SCULPTED SEATS
Begin by making a seat blank that is a few inches larger than the seat frame by edge-gluing pieces of 1-to 1 ^-inch-thick solid stock; for a typical chair, a 20-inch – squarc blank should be sufficient. Arrange the boards so that the grain of the scat will run from front to back. A sculpted […]