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About
two years ago, I began what was to be my most challenging
woodworking project to date—a Mission-style rocking
chair. I incorporated design ideas from a variety of sources
including a published plan, a few existing chairs and
a photo of an antique rocker I found online. The chair
was a wedding gift for my sister, but both my wife and
I found we missed it after giving it away. So, about a
year later,
I began my second rocker.
I started with the same basic design as my previous rocking
chair and even used many of the same measurements. However,
I made some minor design modifications to add comfort, such as a taller back, and removed a few elements I found structurally
and aesthetically |
The
author's Mission-style rocking chair. |
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unnecessary, such as lower stretchers between the seat and the rockers.
This rocker was made using walnut and cherry and several key
parts were resawn and bookmatched to show symmetrical grain
patterns. These design changes were interesting, but I specifically
wanted to challenge myself with this second rocker by trying
some new techniques, rather than just making a copy of the first
one using different woods. I decided to incorporate more complex
joinery, most of which was not used in the construction of the
first rocker, and some of which I had never tried on a furniture
piece. This did indeed result in a challenging project, which
took at least as long to build as the first rocker. However,
it also resulted in a very rewarding process and turned out
to be one of my favorite projects so far. |
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