The Mother of all Christmas Presents

Someone had a bright idea that, after our course in the woods, it would be a good idea for my brother and I to make The Mother a rocking chair for Christmas. This is the epic tale that followed...

The plan was to make a green wood, round framed ash rocking chair with a woven seat. The whole project took 3 months of odd evening and weekend sessions. Ingenuity will out, and we begged, stole and borrowed enough to pull it all together. 

Rocker HQ - my kitchen. This is how it stayed for 3 months.... All of the components were made by hand on a shave horse with draw knife and other hand tools and dried in the airing cupboard.

Baking and woodwork go hand in hand... 

Jack procured a log by hook and crook, this we split with sledge hammer, wedges and froe.

Homemade cleaving break

Homemade steam box that jack made with "borrowed" oil barrel boiler

Assembling the side panels

Completed side panel (back legs need to be cut down)

Mocking up with dummy rungs to measure the back slats

Cramping up 

Arms and rockers ready to be fitted.

The whole thing is held together with 6 small oak pins and 2 oak wedges in the arms.

Finished with a seat woven from Danish Cord- pattern produced from frantic scribbling on a note pad and trial and error!

The finished article.

A job well done.

Relax.