Cedar rocking chair restoration.

[dustytools]

My youngest daughter dug out her rocking chair that my late grandfather made for her several years ago. It was damaged from a move and had several pieces missing and the seat caning was brittle and cracked beyond repair. She asked me to repair it for her so she could put it up for a keepsake. I took a few pictures of it and will add pics as the project progresses. The first pic is of it as she found it in storage, the second one shows a couple of pieces that I turned out this morning (right side rear post and top piece for back rest). The third picture is the old seat caning that I removed. View attachment 71016

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[dustytools]

A little progress. I made a mis-lick when drilling for assembly so I cut a tapered plug and installed it. Doesnt look too bad but it seems to be the first thing that I notice when I look at it. My wife said that it adds character but I think that it looks like a ----up. View attachment 71056

 

[BobL]

A little progress. I made a mis-lick when drilling for assembly so I cut a tapered plug and installed it. Doesnt look too bad but it seems to be the first thing that I notice when I look at it. My wife said that it adds character but I think that it looks like a ----up. View attachment 71056

What you say is, "that's where the ---- up fairy visited and distracted you". That fairy is a regular visitor when I'm working in the shed.

Nice work BTW!

Cheers

 

[dustytools]

Thanks Bob. Ive already been to the drying shed digging around for another piece to cut a blank from. Ill be turning a new post next weekend. That damn plug would haunt me for the rest of my life if I left it as is. The wife just shook her head and said that she will never understand why I am so damn picky, LOL.

 

[TNMIKE]

Nice looking repairs

Terry tell your wife Im just like you. Even though most people would never notice it I would and it would bug me forever.

Nice looking turning on the post...It will look great when you are done

 

[BobL]

It was the same thing when I made my FIL's ashes casket. I cut one of the dovetails the :censored: wrong way ! I just know if FIL is out there watching he would be shaking his head (he was a perfectionist - either that or brilliant at hiding his mistakes) and having a good laugh. That mistake is going to haunt me till I pass away but it will also serve to make sure I double check when I make my next set of dovetails!

 

[dustytools]

It was the same thing when I made my FIL's ashes casket. I cut one of the dovetails the :censored: wrong way ! I just know if FIL is out there watching he would be shaking his head (he was a perfectionist - either that or brilliant at hiding his mistakes) and having a good laugh. That mistake is going to haunt me till I pass away but it will also serve to make sure I double check when I make my next set of dovetails!

I hear ya Bob. Im usually good about double and triple checking and for some reason I didnt this time. Oh well, live and learn, no better teacher than a mistake was what my grandfather would say. Thanks for the replies guys.

 

[big daddio]

hope i have someone who cares enough to take the time, care and skill to do what you're doin' there dusty. great work.

 

[Zodiac45]

Nice work Dusty,

My neighbor down the road aways is always caning stuff. He's pretty good at it. Question for you/(anybody) I have an old oak rocker that has a busted (rocker?) the bottom curved piece. What's the standard procedure for cutting one? Just layout the old one on a piece wide enough and cut it out with a jigsaw?

 

[dustytools]

Nice work Dusty,

My neighbor down the road aways is always caning stuff. He's pretty good at it. Question for you/(anybody) I have an old oak rocker that has a busted (rocker?) the bottom curved piece. What's the standard procedure for cutting one? Just layout the old one on a piece wide enough and cut it out with a jigsaw?

Thats how I would do it. A bandsaw would work nice also if you have one. Thanks for the reply!

 

[TNMIKE]

Is the cedar coming from the logs youve milled?

I was also wondering if you were going to recane the bottom yourself. That chair will be a real heirloom when you get it done. Good work Terry

 

[dustytools]

I was also wondering if you were going to recane the bottom yourself. That chair will be a real heirloom when you get it done. Good work Terry

Thanks Mike. Yes I will be doing the seat too. I have a few pictures posted here somewhere of another that I built from scratch, ill try to find them and repost them for you. EDIT- Yes this came from Cedar that I milled.

 

[slabmaster]

Nice lathe work to save a charished chair Dusty! It's always great to be able to extend the life on a nice chair like that. Mark

 

[dustytools]

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=41255&highlight=child+sized+rocking+chair. Here ya go Mike.

 

[woodshop]

Nice restore work dusty, and for what it's worth, like many of us here, I too get carried away and am a perfectionist when it comes to things like that. I have been known to walk over to the bandsaw and turn something I just spent half a day on into firewood... because it just didn't look right, and if my name was going to be associated with it, like you it would haunt me. Like I think I said back when you did that other rocker, caning is a labor or love. I just don't have the patience for it... simple as that. Be glad you do.

 

[TNMIKE]

Nice canning job

Thanks for posting that. Ive never done any chair canning...Im sure its time consuming...Good job on the rocker.

 

[dustytools]

Nice restore work dusty, and for what it's worth, like many of us here, I too get carried away and am a perfectionist when it comes to things like that. I have been known to walk over to the bandsaw and turn something I just spent half a day on into firewood... because it just didn't look right, and if my name was going to be associated with it, like you it would haunt me. Like I think I said back when you did that other rocker, caning is a labor or love. I just don't have the patience for it... simple as that. Be glad you do.

Patience? LOL, Im lacking in that category as well. A couple of hours at a time is about all I can stand at times. Its especially tough learning on the go, I remember watching the old man (grandfather) turn on the lathe, cane seat bottoms, etc.. and thinking "Nothing to it". It was after he passed and I inherited the contents of his humble shop that I truly became interested in woodworking. Im somewhat teaching myself to turn and weave and the learning curve is starting to straightan out a bit. Thanks for all of the kind replies everyone, It means a lot coming from you guys!

 

[dustytools]

A quick question for all of the woodworkers in the house. Is there a certain type of glue that works better on softwoods such as Cedar than the Titebond 2 that I normally use. I dont know what type was used originally on this chair but it seems like a lot of the pieces come apart too easily. Thanks again.

 

[woodshop]

A quick question for all of the woodworkers in the house. Is there a certain type of glue that works better on softwoods such as Cedar than the Titebond 2 that I normally use. I dont know what type was used originally on this chair but it seems like a lot of the pieces come apart too easily. Thanks again.

As long as you're not trying to fill gaps (in which case only certain kinds of epoxy will do ya) you won't do much better than PVA glues like Titebond. (I use Titebond III almost exclusively for just about all my glueups). They are already stronger than the wood itself, which I have proved to my self many times. If you're using a PVA and the wood is coming apart at the glue joint, there are other issues, it's not the glue.

 

[dustytools]

As long as you're not trying to fill gaps (in which case only certain kinds of epoxy will do ya) you won't do much better than PVA glues like Titebond. (I use Titebond III almost exclusively for just about all my glueups). They are already stronger than the wood itself, which I have proved to my self many times. If you're using a PVA and the wood is coming apart at the glue joint, there are other issues, it's not the glue.

I agree. As I said I dont know what was used originally so I thing I will totally disassemble the chair and re-glue with Titebond. Are there any advantages by using TBIII over the TBII other than moisture resistance?