Handmade Rocking Chairs From Lumber

Plans

• Unlike conventional chairs upon which users place their weight centrally, rocking chairs have a range of motion that places weight over a span of points on the chair's structure. This means that you can't simply draw up a plan for a lumber rocking chair and expect it to balance properly. Use a carpentry plan, which includes dimensions and assembly recommendations, or take measurements from an existing rocking chair and use them as a template for your own chair.

Materials

• The most important material in any wooden rocking chair is the wood that goes into its construction. Pine, ash and cedar are all options for a lumber rocking chair, each with its own grain pattern and price point. For lumber rocking chairs that you plan to use outdoors, pressure treated pine is an affordable choice that will resist warping and rotting even in the presence of moisture and temperature variations. Metal fasteners and hardware, along with wood glue, provide ample support for the wooden elements.

Process

• Much of the process for building a rocking chair out of lumber involves cutting standard pieces of lumber to the appropriate lengths. Some chairs also require drilling and carving notches for side and back rails. Once the wood is cut to size, you must sand the edges so that the chair is comfortable and safe to sit in. Fitting the pieces together using wood glue and inserting nails to hold the joints together is the final step before painting or staining, which gives the chair its final look.

Benefits

• Some rocking chairs are made from elaborately carved and bent wood. Lumber rocking chairs, which are made from wood that you can buy at any hardware supplier and cut with basic tools, have several benefits over these more complicated rockers. Lumber rocking chairs are most cost-effective and the materials you need to build one are easier to find and work with. Lumber chairs also have a high degree of strength, depending on your design and construction methods, without compromising durability and balance.