patiorocker1

Comment

Comment by steve kidd on May 2, 2011 at 2:31pm

i love the lines of the rocker. thanks for the insite of how to make the rockers. you do some great work

Comment by William Burton on November 23, 2010 at 8:24pm

Hi, Bob. No, no real plans. I made a few measurements and took a couple pictures of the original. For the curved pieces, I took a scrap of 1/4 inch plywood about 2 inches wide and 3 ft long, drilled a hole near each end, and tied a string to one end, stretched the string through the hole in the other end, kind of like a bow until I got a curve that seemed about right. I scribed the curve onto a piece of mdf which I used as my pattern. If you are interested in building one, I can try to get a few measurements together for you.

Comment by Bob Wieser on November 23, 2010 at 4:57pm

Nice Rocker! Have you got plans?

Comment by William Burton on November 22, 2010 at 9:22pm

It is actually pretty strong. I used a mortise and tenon joint where each curved piece (rocker, arm, and seat edge) attaches to a straight piece, so the joints are quite strong. If you take the side pieces off (the rocker and arms) the remaining seat and back piece isn't much different than might hang from a porch swing. The side frames attach to the seat/back assembly in 3 places, plus the stretcher adds further stabilization at the bottom of the rockers. I am about 190 lbs and it holds me fine.

I think that is part of the thing I liked about the design -- it does look kind of fragile with the rather skinny (2 in) pieces. Also . . . I managed to get a finished 7/8 in thickness from the 4/4 cypress I bought, which adds increased stability over something built from 3/4 stock.

As one who usually overbuilds everything to make sure it can stand up to any load, this was a different kind of project. My wife was excited that I finally built something she could move around!

Good comment, James - thanks!

Comment by William Burton on November 21, 2010 at 6:49pm

No, it was passed down in her family, but no one quite knows the history. I thought it was a neat design, though, and its pretty comfortable.

Comment by Al Barale on November 21, 2010 at 4:26pm

Excellent looking rocker, William. Well done.
Did your friend come up with the design for the porch rocker?