Woodworking: January 2007 Archives
Sometimes Christmas brings with it more surprises than I expect. Not only did we have weather here in Chicago that was practically tropical, guess what my Dad brought for me this Christmas?
This chair is truly a work of art. It's made almost completely out of walnut (a wood that works well in my house) with some light wood accents. During the early summer, Dad and I went to a lumber yard that specializes in beautiful wood and we selected most of the boards he would use. He also went and found some additional walnut so that the seat of the rocker could be more dramatic.
The side profile shows off some the detail work on the runners and how the back slats curve to provide the perfect back support. Dad's rocking chairs are sized to match the person who will be using them. In this case, John is lucky that when it comes to leg length, he and I are not too far apart (even though he's about 6" taller than I am).
If you'd like to see a few more details of the chair, just click on one of the thumbnails below for some closeups.
I think it's so amazing what my dad can do with his tools. The seat on the chair is essentially hand carved using an orbital sander. All the joins are smoothed and shaped mostly by hand. It is entirely fair to say that dad sculpted much of this chair out of wood. I think the result is extraordinary. This chair has definitely become one of my most treasured possessions and will definitely have a special place in my heart and my home.
Clearly a chair this lovely is going to require a complementary handknit afghan, don't you think? I've been thinking that it might be time to get out my AbFab kit this winter. What would be better than knitting and rocking?
