Moving on to the next project...
Just a few odds and ends I'd like to add to finish up this build. First and foremost I'd like to once again say thanks to guys who followed this thread from the start thru the finish and to all of those who took the time to send emails. Thank you...
Looking back over the build, I thought perhaps a summary of sorts might be in order. With that in mind:
Skill level for build.
I find it very difficult to define a level of ability one should have before attempting anything. Obviously this is not a project a novice would typically tackle nor is it one that a seasoned craftsman would have trouble with. If I had to pick a range of ability one should have before attempting this type of rocker build, I'd say 'moderate'.
Investment.
This build requires a substantial investment. Both in terms of money and time. This is NOT a cheap build. The wood alone can run upwards of 1K and up, depending on the wood chosen. I put a little over 600 into the wood alone. approx. 60bf of 10/4 highly figured premium cherry. And that was with getting a more than fair price for the quality of the wood. Savings can be had various ways. Purchase specific thickness's as per the plan (8,9 & 10/4), Staying away from figured woods, builds with less popular spieces of wood.
Equipment: the list of tools needed to complete this build can vary greatly depending on one's willingness to put in a little extra effort. In some cases, alot of extra effort. You don't need a complete set of rasps, but a couple well chosen ones will do fine. You don't need a complete set of burrs, a couple will do fine. A Med. grit grinding wheel IMHO is a must. A jigsaw will do in place of a bandsaw, a few well tuned card scrappers are good to have. A router plane is nice, but not required. I guess the bottom line is depending on how well equipped your shop is to begin with determines to a great extent the additional investment needed. Ones ability and willingness to make due with what they already got will go along ways as well. The burr's and grinding wheel are things that might just sit around after the build unless you decided to do similar builds later on. But be prepared to layout some money for tools.
Time: I'd say I have somewhere between 175 & 200 hrs. in the build. A good bit of that was time spent practicing on scraps shaping and getting used to using the various rasps, burr's and grinding wheel. Still more time was spent just farting around with "what if I do this, what if I did that kinda stuff". But thats just me, I enjoy that part of a build. If you're a wheel to the grindstone kinda guy, you can easily knock of a substantial amount of time on the build.
Wood:
My opinion is that any good hardwood would do. This is just a fantastic looking piece of furniture by design regardless of materials used to build it. Just make sure the wood is sound, dried properly and if at all possible, of the same boule/flitch. One of the things that surprised me was the amount of cut off's generated by this build. It is substantial. I Kept all of the cut offs (see pic) I"m sure you'd find use for yours as I will for mine.
Plans:
I picked up Charles Brocks plans for this chair for something like 90 bucks. This included full size templates, instruction manual on the process of the build and 2 DVD's. One on construction of the rocker and the second on the "Shaping" of the rocker. In my opinion, a very fair price!!
Finish:
What ever suits your eye. I found the Maloof oi/poly finish by Rockler to be an excellent choice.
Dust...
There was ALOT of it!!! Good dust collection is a MUST. Dust masks are a MUST.
Use of burr's/grinding wheel:
These things are fantastic tools to have, period! BUT they will bite ya! Trust me, I found out.
Just be careful! Thats all, be careful, pay attention to what your doing. Be prepared for the occasional "bite" when you put the bit to wood. If you've never used a grinding wheel before, take the time to practice with it. It will be time well spent. One can quite easily set a project by hours if not days if you let the grinding wheels get away. ALWAYS maintain complete control! Work your way to where you want to get slowly. Step back often to check out your progress. Plan where you want to go! Just 'having at it'...not such a good idea.
This proved to be an exceptional learning experience. I have a new found respect for the use of rasps!!! The burr's and grinding wheels have opened up new aspects of wood working that otherwise would be difficult if not impossible to duplicate. I came up with ways/methods for sanding that I"ve never used before. I found that body shop sanding pads/sponges a huge asset.
The actual "shaping" of the rocker proved to be the most rewarding! Spend time with it, Practice, play, pay attention to what you can do, what works and what don't. Pay attention to the scratch patterns left by the rasps. If you can get your hands on a good "Made in the USA" set of Nicholsen's 49 & 50 rasps, by all means do so! The Auriou rasps were/are just a joy to work with. Amazing what a hand stitched rasp can do. There are several high quality hand stitched rasp mfg.s out there so shop around.
So, the bottom line is, if you got the means, the time and are up for a great challenge, GO FOR IT!!
Pic 308: This one is for James
This is how I plan on keeping everything together while waiting for the next one.
Pic 309: The cut off's in totol from 60bf of 10/4 stock (+/-)
Pic 001: Where it all started
Pic 298: Where it all ended
