Here is an update on the rocking chair that I’ve been building for Elisabeth.

After letting the glue dry for a few days it was time to get back to work. The back and the front were already done so I attached them with cross bars.

Next was adding the seat. The seat, along with the back panels and the arms, is made out of cedar. I added some angled braces to help support the weight so the seat wouldn’t break.

This is the chair, which looks more like a throne at this point, after adding the arm rests.

The easy part is now over. The final requirement is to make the chair rock. I used a 2×8 made of redwood and cut the rockers out. I traced the rockers from another rocking chair just to make sure I got them right. After cutting them out I hand to sand them down so they would provide a smooth rock.

Once the rockers were cut out all that was left was to attach them to the bottom of the chair. In order to get a good rock (not too far back and not too far forward) I had to cut a bit off the legs (more off the back).

The construction is now complete! The chair is pretty comfortable and rocks nicely. Elisabeth wants to make some cushions for it, which would look nice on the solid wood. I just need to sand it down and lacquer it.

Summary:

Weight: about 5 lbs.

Height: 50″

Cost: $65

Types of wood used: Redwood and cedar

Hours taken: Around 10

Power tools used: Miter saw, jig saw, scroll saw, biscuit jointer, belt sander, electric screwdriver

Broke: 2 drillbits, 1 jigsaw blade, 1 scroll saw blade

Non-power tools used: Tape measure, square, pencil, wood glue, clamps, pliers, muscles–although these probably belong under the list of power tools 😉

Times cut: 0–an all time low!

Trips to home depot: 1–another all time low!