In this second Rocking Chair Q&A, Paul mostly addresses questions that have been asked in relation to the second half of the project. These focus in particular on the arm shaping and fitting, project progressing, upholstery and applying finish to achieve certain appearances.
Paul applies a shellac finish to the rocking chair. He discusses the cut or thickness of shellac that can be used. He starts by applying a thinner first coat, sands this coat to remove any nibbing, then applies a thicker second and third coat. The final step is to apply furniture wax using wire wool, then buff it out once it has set for a smooth and even finish.
This episode shows you how to upholster the seat. Paul starts with the corner bracing which supports the seat. Then the plywood base is cut to size and fitted leaving 1/16” (1.5mm) around the edge for the leather, then boring the air holes. The foam and leather are cut to size with a sharp knife, then the foam is compressed in order to stretch and staple the leather in place.
With all the joinery and shaping completed, the arms are fixed in place by boring through the legs before gluing and screwing them in place. Then the last detail to add is the corbels, which sit under the front of the arms. Then, with the holes in the back of the arms plugged, the chair is ready for it’s upholstered seat.
Before the arms are shaped, they are recessed into the side of the back legs. Special care is paid to layout and crisp angled cuts. Then the mortise in the arm is cut and fitted and the tenon rounded over. With all the arm joinery complete, it can be shaped using stop cuts, the chisel, rasp, file, spokeshave and plane.
In this first Rocking Chair Q&A, Paul addresses questions that have been asked in relation to the first half of the project. He discusses material choice and selection, adapting the design for specific circumstances and working practises. Paul then addresses a few measurement clarifications and corrections as well as discussing some of the new filming techniques employed.
With the rocker mortises fitted, Paul fixes them in place, also showing how to scribe the legs to remove any gaps. They can then be made flush with the legs using the spokeshave to get a smooth transition. Then we’re ready to move on to cutting the mortise in the front of the arms to receive the through tenon on the top of the front legs.
It’s time to lay out the rocker mortise and tenons. Paul goes through the layout process using the rocker to get accurate shoulder lines and the correct angle for the bottom of the legs. Then we can cut the tenon on the leg and mortise in the rocker.
With the dry run completed, we’re ready to glue up, being careful to make sure all the joints seat. With all the clamps evenly applied, Paul starts on the shaping of the rockers. He lays out the arches using the arching template, then shows a few techniques for shaping them. This includes ripping down some of the angles and using stop cuts and the chisel for others, paying close attention to grain direction.
Paul lays out the side frames by mapping out the angles on a board. First, he ensures the board is entirely square so it can be used to scribe square lines. He then lays out the mortice and rail positions before transferring them to the rail to scribe the correct shoulder angles for the side rail tenons using the sliding bevel. The tenon shoulders and faces can then be carefully sawn to the correct angle and then each tenon fitted to their individual mortise.