JOAT has been telling wannabe wood dorkers to build a rocker, rather than a
crib or cradle, for children on the way. He's right.

We have one grandchild approaching two years old, and two more due by mid
summer. Their cribs are taken care of. I'd like to build a rocking chair.
Actually, maybe three or four.

I've got the plans for a Craftman style rocker recently published in
Woodwork magazine. I could play jazz with that design, I suppose, but I
don't want to build a Craftsman rocker. Neither do I want to build a
ladder-back Shaker style, although that is a beautiful heritage.

Chairs in the style of Sam Maloof are pretty, but not what I had in mind.
And there's a shop down in Texas that makes a rocker vaguely like that,
that I'd buy in a heartbeat, if buying a chair was what I had in mind. At
the prices they charge, I'd be paying myself minimum wage or less, to make
two of them.

What I'd like to build is something in the Scandiavian style. Something
Hans Wegner would have done. Or one of the fellows Krenov studied with.
Something spare, strong, flowing, delicate and elegant.

What I'd like to do is buy plans. Short of that, I'd like recommendations
on the best books on the genre. (As Kassay & Becksvoort are to Shaker,
etc.) And experiences and tiplets (tmKB) on the chair building process.
If I had time and budget this spring, I'd take a class from a chairmaker in
San Francisco or Ft. Bragg, but I don't see that right now, much as I'd
like to.

So, waddaya got to share?

Patriarch

a source for free and fee plans
http://woodworkersworkshop.com/resou...hair&andor=and

Patriarch,
Chairs I've done were from design/plans by Hal Taylor (www.haltaylor.com).
They're obviously Maloof inspired but with some nice modifications to the
Maloof design. He builds a really unique rocker he calls a StoryTime Rocker
that has room for grandpa and the kids.
Might be someplace to start for some further inspiration.

Gary in KC


"Patriarch" wrote in message
7.136...
JOAT has been telling wannabe wood dorkers to build a rocker, rather than
a
crib or cradle, for children on the way. He's right.

We have one grandchild approaching two years old, and two more due by mid
summer. Their cribs are taken care of. I'd like to build a rocking
chair.
Actually, maybe three or four.

I've got the plans for a Craftman style rocker recently published in
Woodwork magazine. I could play jazz with that design, I suppose, but I
don't want to build a Craftsman rocker. Neither do I want to build a
ladder-back Shaker style, although that is a beautiful heritage.

Chairs in the style of Sam Maloof are pretty, but not what I had in mind.
And there's a shop down in Texas that makes a rocker vaguely like that,
that I'd buy in a heartbeat, if buying a chair was what I had in mind. At
the prices they charge, I'd be paying myself minimum wage or less, to make
two of them.

What I'd like to build is something in the Scandiavian style. Something
Hans Wegner would have done. Or one of the fellows Krenov studied with.
Something spare, strong, flowing, delicate and elegant.

What I'd like to do is buy plans. Short of that, I'd like recommendations
on the best books on the genre. (As Kassay & Becksvoort are to Shaker,
etc.) And experiences and tiplets (tmKB) on the chair building process.
If I had time and budget this spring, I'd take a class from a chairmaker
in
San Francisco or Ft. Bragg, but I don't see that right now, much as I'd
like to.

So, waddaya got to share?

Patriarch

Patriarch wrote:
JOAT has been telling wannabe wood dorkers to build a rocker, rather
than a crib or cradle, for children on the way. He's right.

We have one grandchild approaching two years old, and two more due
by mid summer. Their cribs are taken care of. I'd like to build a
rocking chair. Actually, maybe three or four.
[snip]

So, waddaya got to share?

Patriarch

Gee, if you are starting from no place in particular then I'd like to write
a word or two about the rocking chair back. The back of the rocker should
be easy on the human back, those round dowel-type spokes are pretty tough
on the back if you stay in the rocker a while.

Josie

"Patriarch" wrote in message
7.136...


JOAT has been telling wannabe wood dorkers to build a rocker, rather than
a
crib or cradle, for children on the way. He's right.

We have one grandchild approaching two years old, and two more due by mid
summer. Their cribs are taken care of. I'd like to build a rocking
chair.
Actually, maybe three or four.

Personal experience chiming in... I've got a 4 1/2 yr old and two 3 yr old
twins. We have a "rocker" in every room. I too agree with JOAT, that they've
been invaluable, but they certainly have seen a dramatic drop-off in use.
Seem's like aroun 2 1/2, for all three, the rocker was used less frequently,
in lieu of them climbing into directly into bed for book-reading-time.

We actually have one rocker and two gliders. Far and away, the gliders are
preferred here. The motion is preferred and they don't squeak.

I spent a bunch of time designing and building a rocker before myu first
child was born. I have details on my website:
http://the-wildings.com/shop/furniture/rocker/

The finished picture can be found by backing up a directory.

Let me know if you have any questions.


--
Joe in Denver
my woodworking website:
http://www.the-wildings.com/shop/




"Patriarch" wrote in message
7.136...
JOAT has been telling wannabe wood dorkers to build a rocker, rather than
a
crib or cradle, for children on the way. He's right.

We have one grandchild approaching two years old, and two more due by mid
summer. Their cribs are taken care of. I'd like to build a rocking
chair.
Actually, maybe three or four.

I've got the plans for a Craftman style rocker recently published in
Woodwork magazine. I could play jazz with that design, I suppose, but I
don't want to build a Craftsman rocker. Neither do I want to build a
ladder-back Shaker style, although that is a beautiful heritage.

Chairs in the style of Sam Maloof are pretty, but not what I had in mind.
And there's a shop down in Texas that makes a rocker vaguely like that,
that I'd buy in a heartbeat, if buying a chair was what I had in mind. At
the prices they charge, I'd be paying myself minimum wage or less, to make
two of them.

What I'd like to build is something in the Scandiavian style. Something
Hans Wegner would have done. Or one of the fellows Krenov studied with.
Something spare, strong, flowing, delicate and elegant.

What I'd like to do is buy plans. Short of that, I'd like recommendations
on the best books on the genre. (As Kassay & Becksvoort are to Shaker,
etc.) And experiences and tiplets (tmKB) on the chair building process.
If I had time and budget this spring, I'd take a class from a chairmaker
in
San Francisco or Ft. Bragg, but I don't see that right now, much as I'd
like to.

So, waddaya got to share?

Patriarch

On Thu, 10 Feb 2005 08:56:21 -0500, the inscrutable "firstjois"
spake:

Patriarch wrote:
JOAT has been telling wannabe wood dorkers to build a rocker, rather
than a crib or cradle, for children on the way. He's right.

We have one grandchild approaching two years old, and two more due
by mid summer. Their cribs are taken care of. I'd like to build a
rocking chair. Actually, maybe three or four.
[snip]

So, waddaya got to share?

Patriarch

Gee, if you are starting from no place in particular then I'd like to write
a word or two about the rocking chair back. The back of the rocker should
be easy on the human back, those round dowel-type spokes are pretty tough
on the back if you stay in the rocker a while.

TIP: Leave the very center of the back open.

I've never understood why chairs were made with a dead-center slat or
dowel. These hit you right on the bony part of your spine. I came to
realize that chairs were much more comfortable when built with even-
numbered vertical slats than ladder or odd-numbered v-slat chairs for
that very reason.

Oddly enough, most chairs are built the uncomfortable way.


--
STOP LIVING LIKE VEAL
-----------------------
http://diversify.com Veal-free Websites

Thu, Feb 10, 2005, 2:22am (EST-1)
(Patriarch) claims to say:
JOAT has been telling wannabe wood dorkers to build a rocker, rather
than a crib or cradle, snip So, waddaya got to share?

You're allllllmost right. I never said anything about cribs.

My personal peference is Stickley. But, I'll post this for ya.
Check Tauton on designing a rocker, Black & Decker, and Inspiration - go
down to chairs. I don't recall if I've got more stuff there or not.
http://community-2.webtv.net/Jakofalltrades/WOODSTUFF/



JOAT
Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong.
- David Fasold

Thu, Feb 10, 2005, 8:56am (firstjois) says:
Gee, if you are starting from no place in particular then I'd like to
write a word or two about the rocking chair back. The back of the rocker
should be easy on the human back, those round dowel-type spokes are
pretty tough on the back if you stay in the rocker a while.

No prob. You get (or you could probably make) one of those chair
pads for your back, and one for your butt. Amazing how comfortable they
can make an otherwise not so comfortable chair.



JOAT
Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong.
- David Fasold

Thu, Feb 10, 2005, 2:44pm (EST+5)
(patrick=A0conroy) says:
Personal experience chiming in... snip rocker was used less
frequently, in lieu of them climbing into directly into bed for
book-reading-time.
We actually have one rocker and two gliders. Far and away, the gliders
are preferred here. The motion is preferred and they don't squeak.

Also personal experience. After they kiddies are in bed, the
rocker is for you, to collapse in. I prefer a rocker over a glider, and
try a small rug under the chair if it squeaks.



JOAT
Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong.
- David Fasold

The 2 rockers I've built use curved, laminated back slats. Probably 1 1/4"
wide with total thickness probably just under 3/8" or so. The curve gives
tremendous lumbar support and the thickness gives a small amount of flex for
comfort. A real nice trick is how they are inserted into the seat and the
crest rail. The top and bottom of the slats are shaped down to round dowel
shapes. Then the mating holes in the seat and crest rail are drilled twice.
Once dead vertical, then a second time slightly offset and at about an 8
degree angle. This gives the slats some built it flex and stress relief to
further help the slats conform to your back.
Overall, everyone who has sat in the chairs has been surprised how
comfortable they are for a solid wood chair and that you can sit in them for
a great length of time without fatigue or discomfort.

Gary in KC

"firstjois" wrote in message
news

Gee, if you are starting from no place in particular then I'd like to
write
a word or two about the rocking chair back. The back of the rocker should
be easy on the human back, those round dowel-type spokes are pretty tough
on the back if you stay in the rocker a while.

Josie

A" Wood" Magazine had plans a few years ago, maybe 8, for a child's rocking
chair with a cut out Teddy Bear design in the back. I have made several for
grandchildren and others, using my variations. They have been big hits.
Children don't actually sit in one long enough to get uncomfortable. Plans
may still be available at their web site. They are for size about 1 - 4,
maybe 5, years old. BEWARE, the engineering is terrible. Revise the seat to
rocker geometry so that seat is level when load is put on it, not level when
empty, then tilted forward with load as child slides out and back bonks them
on back of head.

Walt Conner


So, waddaya got to share?

On Thu, 10 Feb 2005 13:49:30 GMT, "Gary A in KC"
wrote:

Patriarch,
Chairs I've done were from design/plans by Hal Taylor (www.haltaylor.com).
They're obviously Maloof inspired but with some nice modifications to the
Maloof design. He builds a really unique rocker he calls a StoryTime Rocker
that has room for grandpa and the kids.
Might be someplace to start for some further inspiration.

Gary in KC

Great link! Thanks.
TWS

"Joe Wilding" wrote in news:371ct4F57gaioU1
@individual.net:

I spent a bunch of time designing and building a rocker before myu first
child was born. I have details on my website:
http://the-wildings.com/shop/furniture/rocker/

The finished picture can be found by backing up a directory.

Let me know if you have any questions.



I have tons of questions! First, thank you for the link. I'd seen your
site before, but hadn't recalled the Eastlake style rocker.

Your plans for sale section mentioned a 'coming soon', postponed due to a
promotion. Did the forthcoming plans include a measured drawing for the
rocker? And is that still a someday project?

Patriarch

"Gary A in KC" wrote in
. com:

The 2 rockers I've built use curved, laminated back slats. Probably 1
1/4" wide with total thickness probably just under 3/8" or so. The
curve gives tremendous lumbar support and the thickness gives a small
amount of flex for comfort. A real nice trick is how they are inserted
into the seat and the crest rail. The top and bottom of the slats are
shaped down to round dowel shapes. Then the mating holes in the seat
and crest rail are drilled twice. Once dead vertical, then a second
time slightly offset and at about an 8 degree angle. This gives the
slats some built it flex and stress relief to further help the slats
conform to your back. Overall, everyone who has sat in the chairs has
been surprised how comfortable they are for a solid wood chair and
that you can sit in them for a great length of time without fatigue or
discomfort.

Gary in KC


I've seen similar techiques used for dining chairs - in Woodwork magazine.
Haven't built those yet either.

Any posted pictures of your work you'd care to share?

Patriarch

(J T) wrote in news:2251-420B9652-282@storefull-
3157.bay.webtv.net:

Thu, Feb 10, 2005, 2:22am (EST-1)
(Patriarch) claims to say:
JOAT has been telling wannabe wood dorkers to build a rocker, rather
than a crib or cradle, snip So, waddaya got to share?

You're allllllmost right. I never said anything about cribs.

My personal peference is Stickley. But, I'll post this for ya.
Check Tauton on designing a rocker, Black & Decker, and Inspiration - go
down to chairs. I don't recall if I've got more stuff there or not.
http://community-2.webtv.net/Jakofalltrades/WOODSTUFF/


Thank you, again. I've bookmarked the Taunton article, regarding the
physics. My guess is that I'm going to need to draw my own plans.

Hal Taylor wants a bundle for his, and I'd still need to revise it to be
close to what I want. Not the path I'll choose this time.

The child's rocker from plywood I found on the FWW site looks like
something to make in a Saturday session for the first grandchild...

Patriarch

BTW, I'm usually almost right. Which means, I suppose, generally wrong
somehow. ;-)

"Walt Conner" wrote in
nk.net:

A" Wood" Magazine had plans a few years ago, maybe 8, for a child's
rocking chair with a cut out Teddy Bear design in the back.

I saw that one, I think, doing a Google search. That, or one that you or
another woodworker had made. I appreciate the note on the engineering.

What I want to do first is make a chair for my daughter-in-law. Easy to
sit in. Easy to get up from.

Thanks for the help, Walt.

Patriarch

"Patriarch" wrote in message
. 97.136...
"Walt Conner" wrote in
nk.net:

A" Wood" Magazine had plans a few years ago, maybe 8, for a child's
rocking chair with a cut out Teddy Bear design in the back.

I saw that one, I think, doing a Google search. That, or one that you or
another woodworker had made. I appreciate the note on the engineering.

What I want to do first is make a chair for my daughter-in-law. Easy to
sit in. Easy to get up from.

Thanks for the help, Walt.

Patriarch

We have a rather large rocker that my wife absolutely loved when our kids
were small ... it was from an unfinished furniture place in CT. While I
don't have a detailed, measured drawing, I can take scaled photos and
forward to you. You'll have to drop some spaces and hit reverse on the
address below; ignore the local machine address.

Regards,

Rick

mirrormirror

127.0.0.0:80


m o c t o d r r t o d d a i r t t a c d k - g n

Thu, Feb 10, 2005, 6:46pm (EST-1)
(Patriarch) sayeth:
snipThe child's rocker from plywood I found on the FWW site looks like
something to make in a Saturday session for the first grandchild...

I've made a kids puzzle chair for years now. Got plans out of a
magazine, but made so many changes, it's not the same chair anymore.
Six pieces, a kid can take it apart, put it back together, then sit in
it. The inspirations page has some there, to give you the idea. One
nice thing about that, you can take one apart for storage (when the
grandkids go backhome), or to take on trips. They cost pratically
nothing to make, and once you've got patterns, probably not even half an
hour to make. And, I've often seen them vastly overpriced, at least I
consider $100 vastly overpriced for one. No prob.



JOAT
Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong.
- David Fasold

On Thu, 10 Feb 2005 18:40:59 -0600, the inscrutable Patriarch
spake:

I've seen similar techiques used for dining chairs - in Woodwork magazine.
Haven't built those yet either.

I sent an email request to them wanting to start my subscription to
their mag a few issues earlier. It has been 5 days and I've heard
nothing back from them. I guess they don't want new subscribers.
Go figure!


--
STOP LIVING LIKE VEAL
-----------------------
http://diversify.com Veal-free Websites

I have built a few based on Norm's children's rocker he did quite a while
ago. Two thinks though. It take a long time to make all the jigs to get the
correct angles, I found the video a great help.

Second he used a laminated back. My first one crept because it got left in
a hot car and I used yellow glue. I recommend thinner laminations and use
epoxy glue.

"Frank J. Vitale" wrote in
link.net:

I have built a few based on Norm's children's rocker he did quite a
while ago. Two thinks though. It take a long time to make all the
jigs to get the correct angles, I found the video a great help.

Second he used a laminated back. My first one crept because it got
left in a hot car and I used yellow glue. I recommend thinner
laminations and use epoxy glue.

I found myself with a quiet hour to spend at the Leebrary last week, and
found a compilation of late -80's Fine Woodworking articles, in book form.
There was a really complete, illustrated article, including measured
drawerings, by Brian Boggs, on making a bent wood rocker. That one passed
the SWMBO test.

As soon as the bathroom is finished being painted, I'm going to start on
making the bending and lamination forms.

Everyone has to have 5 concurrent projects, right?

Patriarch

On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 19:35:35 -0600, Patriarch
wrote:

I found myself with a quiet hour to spend at the Leebrary last week, and
found a compilation of late -80's Fine Woodworking articles, in book form.
There was a really complete, illustrated article, including measured
drawerings, by Brian Boggs, on making a bent wood rocker. That one passed
the SWMBO test.

As soon as the bathroom is finished being painted, I'm going to start on
making the bending and lamination forms.

Everyone has to have 5 concurrent projects, right?

Patriarch
I couldn't find that article in the FWW archives. What was the book
title?

I did find an Oct. 1983 article by Sam Aloof entitled "How I make a
rocker" that may be of interest.

TWS

TWS wrote in
:

On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 19:35:35 -0600, Patriarch
wrote:

I found myself with a quiet hour to spend at the Leebrary last week,
and found a compilation of late -80's Fine Woodworking articles, in
book form. There was a really complete, illustrated article,
including measured drawerings, by Brian Boggs, on making a bent wood
rocker. That one passed the SWMBO test.

As soon as the bathroom is finished being painted, I'm going to start
on making the bending and lamination forms.

Everyone has to have 5 concurrent projects, right?

Patriarch
I couldn't find that article in the FWW archives. What was the book
title?

I did find an Oct. 1983 article by Sam Aloof entitled "How I make a
rocker" that may be of interest.

TWS


"Building a Bent-Back Rocker" Soft rock from hardwoods, Brian Boggs

from Fine Woodworking magazine, Sept 1989, 78:40-45

I found it in the compilation Traditional Furniture Projects, The Best
of Fine Woodworking, 1991, ISBN 0-942391-93-4

Typical Boggs attention to detail and respect for traditional form,
without slavish copying.

Patriarch

On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 22:20:13 -0600, Patriarch
wrote:



"Building a Bent-Back Rocker" Soft rock from hardwoods, Brian Boggs

from Fine Woodworking magazine, Sept 1989, 78:40-45

I found it in the compilation Traditional Furniture Projects, The Best
of Fine Woodworking, 1991, ISBN 0-942391-93-4

Typical Boggs attention to detail and respect for traditional form,
without slavish copying.

Patriarch
Found it. Thanks (especially for the complete reference including
ISBN - although Amazon's artless search engine couldn't deal with
dashes in the number or, for that matter, tell me that was a problem).

TWS