"Flex-back" Rocking Chair

“Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.” -Salvador Dali

I finally finished the bucket list rocking chair! It only took...17 years.

I'm going to walk you through the steps to finish this chair. You will likely be able to finish it sooner than 17 years...

The greatest thing about this chair is the flexible backrest. Each back-slat is laminated for flexibility (similar to a wooden bow), and connected in a way that allows for movement and comfort.

I am going to give up some hard earned secrets, because in building this chair: “Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug.”

#1 resource for building this chair: Rocking Chair University. These are (in my opinion) the best rocking chair plans you can get.

#2: Find some wooden blinds for the bent lamination parts. As I detailed in this instructable: it's a wonderful shortcut. If you know, you know...

As with all woodworking, you can build this chair with a saw, a chisel, and some sandpaper. If, however, you want to complete it within this decade- I suggest the following:

1. Table-saw, Router, Bandsaw
2. Spindle sander, angle grinder, palm sander
3. All the clamps you have, including a pair of "pinch dogs"
4. Drill press and hand drill
5. Miscellaneous hardware, screws, bolts, nuts, dowels, glue, sandpaper

Start. That is sometimes the hardest thing. Conditions will never be perfect. You won't have all the tools or supplies. Just start today because:

Tomorrow (noun) “A mythical land where 99% of all human productivity, motivation, and achievement is

stored.”

In 2007 I worked in a carpentry shop and asked the more experienced workers if they would help me build a rocking chair- like a "Sam Maloof" style rocking chair. They didn't say no- they said #@!! No. Apparently, chairs - rocking chairs especially- are complicated.

No matter, I built a glider to start, a child's rocking chair, and copied David Haig's "Signature" Rocking chair. All of them were great, and all of them taught me something. David's chair was the best lesson- it doesn't matter if it looks nice. If you feel like you are going to fall backwards out of the chair...no one will sit in it.

The radius of a rocking chair has to be safe first, then comfortable.

Get some wood. Cut it into pieces and glue them back together.

In woodworking, there is more than one way to achieve something. My baby bandsaw was not big enough to cut the giant radius needed for the head rest- so I improvised and made a sled, similar to how folks flatten slabs, only I made mine curved to get the radius I needed for a comfortable head rest.

“If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way- if you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.” -Jim Rohn

“Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas, if your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down

people’s throats.” -Howard Aiken

A great idea in this chair is to have curves everywhere. It's great for comfort, something of a nightmare for execution. This step involves cutting the arms in a jig that you then run across the table saw- perpendicular to the blade. By raising the blade a tiny bit at a time, you get a nice gentle curve that your arms rest in for the final product.

Ah, mistakes. We all make them. The key is to know how to fix them.

If you make a mistake, all is not lost. A few times on this build I cut something...too far...glued a piece of wood in place, and made the cut again.

“The shortest distance between two points ...is under construction.” -Leo Aikman

If it doesn't fit- don't glue it yet.

Make sure all the parts fit nicely into each other. Do a few dry-runs. Glue-ups are like stepping on a rake.

“Critics Math: 1 insult + 1,000 compliments = 1 insult.” -John Acuff

This is where things get interesting. By gluing the back-slats in layers, you can get something that is remarkably thin, but flexible and strong.

Here is the secret magic to this chair- there is no glue attaching the back-slats. If you were to cut these out, drill a hole, and then glue them in- you would lean back into a rigid, concrete-like structure. Instead, the lower and upper portion of the back slat is coated in wax to allow for movement.

The lower section is seated into a rectangular hole, this makes sure it does not twist or rotate. The upper section is inserted into a hole that is drilled twice. The first hole is straight up, and the second has a slight taper toward the front of the headrest. This allows each back-slat to flex back and forth, providing a little "give" of comfort.

“Eternity is in love with the creations of time.” -William Blake

"When you are 90% done, you are half-way there" -UNK.

Don't give up when you are nearly finished. Cracks need to be filled, holes need to be plugged, and surfaces need to be planed and sanded flush and smooth. Once you are 100% sure it's finished, give it a little more attention, then add the oil and wax. Congrats- you made it.

“We are kept from our goal, not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal.” – Robert Brault