Furnished content.
(from Lumberjocks.com)
I saw a nice Rocking Chair that Mike Pekovich from Fine Woodworking presented in the last issue and having never made one, I thought I'd give it a shot.Lots & Lots of curved and angled joinery and more mortise and tenon work then I've done in a long while.
And not having a machine for that made for lots & lots of drilling and chisel work…lol
He made his out of oak and I made mine from cherry.
I took my time and it turned out to be a really fun build. There are bending jigs you have to make for the rockers, and there is a whole class on upholstery for the cushion.
(I used a couple of patio chair cushions after I regained consciousness from looking at what a thick leather cushion would cost to make…holy smokes…lol)
I followed the instructions as best I could and only deviated when his plan called for use of tools or materials I don't have.
All in all it was a lot of work, but I have to admit that it sits super comfortably, and is a pleasure to sit in.
Well balanced and keeps rocking after you stop pushing for a long time.
I finished it in liberal amounts of linseed oil and then I let it sit in our Florida sunshine for a couple of days and boy o boy did that ever turn it a beautiful brownish amber which everyone here likes. Cherry is really cool that way.
I've included a bunch of process shots below in no particular order.
Thank you for looking at it.
And have a great day.
Then, the neighborhood gang showed up to see what was going on. A tough bunch but if you have a couple of bugs laying around to pay them off, they leave you alone…lol
If I ever start making more chairs, I'm going to invest in a nice mortise and tenon machine.
Gave my scrappers a good sharpening and that cherry turned out smooth as a baby's butt.
The bending form for the rockers took a day to make out of MDF and some scrap cherry for the base.
(currently on Craigslist because it's too nice to throw out and I don't have room for all the jigs I have now!)..lol
Then my grandson hung out with me for a while and to do some laps around the driveway.
This chair took a pretty good chunk of my cherry.
I'm going to have to make a run to the lumber yard when management isn't looking.
Enough pictures. You get the idea.Thanks again and have a great day.
Eric