adding rocker blades

This video won’t win an Emmy, but at just a little over a minute, it shows the process I follow when adding rocker blades to a chair.

It’s mostly handwork, which I enjoy and gives me control of things along the way, and this entire procedure is around an hour or two in total. Plenty of other chairmakers utilize the router here, and I may get there eventually, but I’m still adapting the design and the critical steps. Plus I don’t like making fixtures until the final design is determined. Hand work provides a thorough understanding of the process and is adaptable, before going about mechanizing things.

The most awkward part of the entire process is clamping the chair solidly while sawing and removing the waste. The rest of it is fitting and fine tuning the blades until they are in alignment. The dowels are necessary for durability.

I enjoy this piece of making the chair and am not yet ready to share it with a router. I’ll get there eventually.