Rocking Chair

Cody Colston

Member
Messages
336
Location
Tyler, Texas
Well, there aren't too many flat places on this chair but there was no turning involved, either. :)

It's Walnut with 4 coats of Minwax Wipe-On poly finish. The design is from the plans by Hal Taylor. I tracked my time and ended up with 80.75 hours in this project.

I have a 7 month old grandson now and had to finish it while he was still small enough to rock! Thanks for looking.
 

Attachments

  • Rocking Chair 002.jpg
    Rocking Chair 002.jpg
    114.9 KB · Views: 74
  • Rocking Chair 003.jpg
    Rocking Chair 003.jpg
    101.7 KB · Views: 54
  • Rocking Chair2 003.jpg
    Rocking Chair2 003.jpg
    92.7 KB · Views: 51
Thanks for the comments, y'all.

Vaughn - Yep, that's appropriate. I actually favor Southern Rock (think Allman Bros.) or Country Rock (think Eagles) but I actually like AC/DC, too...along with Metallica. I guess I watched too many Beavis and Butthead episodes. :D BTW, the rockers and back slats are bent laminations.

Jay, the plans are worth the money IMHO...and I'm not just saying that because I purchased them. They are very detailed although there's some stuff in there that is simply clutter. There's loads of photographs demonstrating all the steps and best of all, Hal provides e-mail or phone support if you hit a snag.

I wasn't clear on how to cut the upper portion of the back legs so I e-mailed Hal for help. The next morning he e-mailed me several additional pictures showing how to make the cuts. That's the only part of the plans that weren't clear immediately and he took care of that pronto.

I think anyone with a well equipped shop and intermediate woodworking skills could complete one of the chairs. Hal has already worked out the dimensions and design. The woodworking itself is not that difficult...just a bit time consuming.

Thanks again for the comments, y'all.
 
That chair ROCKS!!!:D I love that style and your craftsmanship is excellent. How did those Hal Taylor plans work for you? I've heard they are quite good, but $$$.
 
That is just beautiful work Cody. Bent lamination is something I need to get around to. I have always found it a very cool means to an end. The gloss came out really well. Did you have to buff it out as all or was it pretty cooperative? Once again, beautiful work.
 
Again, thanks for the comments. They are truly appreciated.

Barry, the plans worked great for me. (see my above reply to Jay about the plans). You get full-scale patterns, templates for the back slat tops and bottoms and even a template for the rocker ends. The plans, including a template for routing the seat holes for the back slats, was around $300 IIRC...not inexpensive but worth the price IMHO. I think Hal gets $5k for a one-week school and his rockers sell for $10k each.

Glen, a fellow turner got me to using wipe-on poly as he uses it on the wine bottle stoppers he makes and the finish looks great. The initial sanding must be pretty meticulous but after that, it's just a matter of applying thin coats of the finish until you achieve the shine you like. I sanded lightly with 400 grit between coats to promote adhesion.

I've found that the 3rd coat usually starts to shine but there will still be some dull areas. The fourth or fifth coat will eliminate the dull areas and the entire piece will be glossy...no rubbing out necessary. It's a "hand rubbed" look too, which I take to mean that it is glossy without looking plasticy. It is, however, a hobbiest finish because of the waiting time and sanding between coats. I don't think a pro could afford to let a piece sit for 12-24 hours while each coat of finish dried. That's why they favor lacquer which is quick drying with 100% burn-in...no sanding between coats necessary. ;)
 
Top