Hello,

It's been a long time since I've posted here. Unfortunately, it's been a long time since I've spent any significant time in the shop. Uncomfortably hot weather, a newish daughter (now 8 months old) and other hobbies (music and recording) have kept me preoccupied. But enough about me....

I recently got this rocking chair from a distant family friend. Apparently it used to belong to my grandpa, and they had it since his death in 1988. They recently decided it should go back to the family, so I now have it. But unfortunately, it's in pretty rough shape. Most of the spindles in the arms are loose, and generally most of the tenons throughout the thing are loose. Additionally, the veneer on the seat is sorta in rough shape - cracked and split a bit. And the worse outward damage is on the back, where pretty big chunks of the top layer of veneer are missing. Most of this is evident in the pics.

I'd really like to repair/refinish the thing but I'm not sure even where to begin, how to fix either veneer problem, etc. My first inclination is to disassemble the thing, try to chemically remove the finish, then reglue it back together. That still doesn't address the veneer prob, though. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. As of right now, it is solid enough to sit in and rock, but it creaks and moan a LOT, due to all the loose joints.