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Thread: Restoring old rocking chair

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Oakland, CA
    Posts
    9

    Restoring old rocking chair

    This rocking chair was donated from a neighbor who said I could keep it if I can find a way to reconstruct the missing seat. Does anyone have ideas on how to this? The seat is an S-curve in the style similar to a Boston rocker. I was thinking maybe bent lamination, but I'm not sure the best way to go about it. Any other ideas?
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  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    St. Louis, MO
    Posts
    91
    The existing back should be your key. Can't quite make it out, but it appears to be a bent lamination, and if I remember correctly, that's what I've seen on similar pieces from that era. Winds up looking very much like bent plywood, though I don't think you can bend contemporary commercial plywood, can you?

  3. #3
    I agree with Wayne in that it looks like bent lamination is what you're looking at. Plywood can be bent via moisture & clamping. You will have to experiment and see what works for you. For the really tight curve portion, if the bending approach doesn't work, you may be to score the back.

    Another approach might be to carve the front portion of the seat and mate it with a curved plywood seat. That approach might look the best.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Chico, California
    Posts
    998
    Check out VanDykes 'rocker seat'#CM-02250281. Cut it to fit and veneer with QWO if wanted. I've used these and it makes it a lot simpler.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Oakland, CA
    Posts
    9
    Thanks! Didn't know about Van Dyke's. Looks like a great resource.

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