How to Make a Shaker Rocking Chair

Enjoy a bit of America's early beginnings and make a Shaker rocking chair. Founded in America in the 18th century, Shakers, a religious sect, took pride in their simple, unadorned furniture. With a four-rung ladder back and woven seat, a Shaker rocking chair has both function and beauty. Shake up a little history and make a Shaker rocking chair.

Difficulty:

Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Oak wood
• Wood glue
• Spokeshave
• Plywood, one 4-by-8-foot sheet (optional)
• Band saw
• Block pane
• (2) Side rails, 1 by 5 1/4 by 33 3/4 inches
• (2) Back posts, 1 9/16 by 43 inches
• (2) Front posts, 1 3/8 by 20 7/8 inches
• (4) Back slats, 1/4 by 15 3/4 inches
• (12) Back and seat rails, 15/16 by 16 3/8 inches
• (2) Arms, 1/2 by 16 3/8 inches
• (2) Rockers, 1/2 by 18 3/8 inches
• Sand paper
• Wood stain
• Woven seat, 16 3/8 by 16 3/8 inches

1. Gather logs that will form the chair. Make sure the wood isn't twisted or gnarled.

2. Cut the logs into sections and follow the grain of the wood.

3. Start by making a template for the rockers. Cut out the shape of the rocker from the plywood with a band saw. Trace template onto a block of wood. Use band saw to cut two rocker profiles out of blocks of wood. Define the curve of the rockers with a spokeshave.

4. Cut out one leg with the band saw. Trace the leg onto plywood to make template and use band saw to cut out. Trace template onto wood and then cut out remaining three legs. Follow this same template procedure to cut out 2 arms, 12 rails and 4 back slats, using spokeshave to fine tune desired shape of pieces.

5. Smooth out saw marks and further shape pieces with a block plane if necessary.

6. Determine mortise-and-tenon joint locations for rails (3 front, 3 back and 3 side rails), 4 back slats, 2 arms and seat. Cut out tenons on rails, rungs and slats. Cut out mortises on rails and arms. Test mortise and tenon joints, and adjust accordingly.

7. Put glue into mortises of back rails. Insert the tenons of slats into appropriate mortises. Follow with arms and remaining pieces, working from top to bottom. Frame should be dry before rockers are inserted.

8. Sand off any rough edges. Stain rocker to desired color.

Tips & Warnings

• Do a dry run of the assembly before adding glue. Keep in mind that rockers must be exact for a smooth rocking motion.

• Cut the mortises 1/16 inch deeper than the corresponding tenons to prevent glue runoff.

• For beginners, rocking chair kits are available. The back frame usually comes pre-assembled and pieces are already cut.

• Feel free to skip the template procedure in Steps 3 and 4 if you are comfortable cutting out pieces directly from the wood blocks.