By creating this chair, I have greatly improved my metalworking skills and even learned a little about needlework. I hope this instructable will encourage others to do what they love, even if it's a copy of someone else's design.
Advantages of a homemade plywood rocking chair
The main advantages of plywood are strength and lightness. A rocking chair made of this material is convenient to rearrange. In addition, plywood furniture fits harmoniously into the interior of any room.
The surface of the rocking chair can be easily processed in various ways (sanding, painting, varnishing or special film) - therefore, decorating it and carrying out cosmetic repairs to the item will be very simple.
A rocking chair made of plywood is highly moisture resistant, which significantly extends its service life. The advantage of such furniture is that it is made from environmentally friendly materials and therefore does not require special care.
The wooden elements of the rocking chair fit perfectly into the interior
Frame assembly
It is better to assemble a metal rocking chair from the sides. To assemble each side, vertical front and rear pillars, a longitudinal beam, and a support ski are laid on the floor. All side elements are welded together. The production of the second side is carried out using the same principle.
After the sides are ready, they are connected to each other by cross rods by welding.
When carrying out welding work, it is necessary to maintain an angle of 90 degrees in butt joints. To do this, it is recommended to use a magnetic square. After welding is completed, all seams must be cleaned.
Working with a drawing
The drawing of the rocking chair is drawn up in advance. It is done on graph paper at a scale of 1:1 with transfer to cardboard to obtain templates. To draw up a project, you can use your own ideas or proven developments. Most often, thematic resources offer drawings made of plywood or metal, with or without indicating exact dimensions. In the second case, all values are calculated independently, taking into account the rule of proportions. Complex curvilinear sketches are enlarged when transferred to paper cell by cell.
To calculate the amount of materials, you should use special programs or a regular calculator. Elements with complex shapes are first laid out on paper. It is rare to save money on cutting them. There are no problems with straight slats or segments, but taking into account the curvature of the runners or seat when determining their dimensions is mandatory.
Particular attention is paid to the radius of curvature and the shape of the runners. If the center of gravity of the chair coincides with the center of the conditional circle, the product will not swing (dead balance). When the center of gravity is raised higher, the structure will be unstable, and the swing amplitude will be dangerous. In practice, this is manifested by a decrease or loss of stability of the rocker when the outer radius of curvature is reduced, and vice versa.
Features of placing a chair on the balcony, suitable furniture models
Making the side parts and securing the planks
The wicker sidewall resembles a boomerang in appearance. In order to do this, there is the following scheme. A pattern is applied to the plywood sheet and carefully traced along the contours. The template is sawed with an electric jigsaw, and the edges are machined. Don’t forget that we need two sides, so we repeat all the operations again.
Please note that if the rocking chair is made by hand from a profile pipe in the shape of a sofa, then three sides will be required.
This element of the headset can comfortably accommodate two people. Moreover, the central part will be twice as wide as the sides.
The planks for making the chair are fixed on bars. Installation of parts is carried out using self-tapping screws or self-tapping screws. Thus, we get a frame. We cover it with an antiseptic, dry it and varnish it. We mask the fastener caps with plugs that match the color of the product.
Required materials and tools
To make a rocking chair yourself, you will need to prepare the following:
- Sheets of plywood.
- Wooden beam (length - 53 cm).
- Jigsaw or grinder.
- Set of wood saws (saw blade ranging from 50 to 105 mm).
- A hand router or disc sander with attachments of different grits (you can use regular sandpaper).
- Measuring tape and pencil.
- Electric drill with wood drill bits.
- Screws, nuts, washers.
- Sintepon.
- Thick fabric for upholstery.
- Furniture stapler, glue.
- Wood paint, varnish.
To make parts of a rocking chair, it is better to use sheets of plywood, the size of which is 1520x900 cm, and the thickness is 4 mm, 10 mm and 15 mm. For the side elements, a material with a thickness of 4 mm is required. If you don’t have the necessary sheets, then during the work process you can cut out several identical parts from thin plywood and glue them together.
Since plywood has different thicknesses, the appropriate tool is selected for cutting a specific material. Sheets up to 1.5 mm thick are cut with a sharpened knife. Sheets up to 6 mm - with a jigsaw, and thicker ones - with a jigsaw or grinder.
Tools for working with plywood are selected taking into account the thickness of the material
Instructions to help you make a rocking chair with your own hands
Making patterns and transferring drawings
- To make a pattern, you need to mark a sheet of paper into identical cells measuring 10x10 mm, and then redraw the prepared drawing, taking into account all the nuances.
- After this, it is necessary to draw out the cells enlarged to the required size on plywood and transfer the images of the parts, saving space on the sheet of material.
Sawing plywood into parts
- In accordance with the drawing, use a jigsaw or grinder to cut a sheet of plywood 15 mm thick into parts: side elements, seat supports, racks. You also need to prepare four planks (47x4.5 cm, 54x4.5 cm, 48.5x4.5 cm and 47x4.5 cm), which will be the cross members of the rocking chair structure.
- From a sheet of plywood 10 mm thick, cut 18 slats for the back and 16 for the seat. Their sizes are 54x3 cm and 50x3 cm. Use 4 mm thick material to make parts for the back and seat.
- For the rocking chair footrest, you will need to take a wooden beam and use an electric drill to drill holes in it for the screws.
- After all the parts are ready, they will need to be cleaned with sandpaper. It is recommended to treat the back, seat and armrests especially carefully.
