The Hand Made Rocking Chair Seat Grabs the Attention and Quickens the Heart.
The hand made rocking chair seat is the very heart
of the whole chair.
It displays beautiful wood grain, comfortable curves, rich finishing, and the craftsman's skill putting it all together.
Here are some important thoughts about these unique features:
- First, the seat offers the best display area of the entire rocker. It's usually the first thing you see, so great care must be used in selecting the right kind of wood. A nicely flowing and balanced grain pattern helps soothe the mind and add visual interest.
Second, sculpting the seat to fit the bottom increases comfort. It's a simple fact: our bums are round, not flat. So, by making a seat that supports this fact, a great deal more comfort is added right where it is needed. Additionally, a deeply sculpted seat adds a beautiful 3-dimensional effect to an otherwise utilitarian part.
- Third, gluing the individual seat boards together in the right way enhances your sense of security. The way of attaching the boards together is rather difficult to see firsthand, but the craftsman can tell you the method he uses.
A craftsman who makes a Maloof-style hand made rocker uses a technique called "coopering", often with dowels to help alignment and improve strength.
Coopering is an ancient barrel-making method of attaching specially prepared boards to form a curved surface. Sometimes, dowels are used to connect the boards. The result is a very strong, secure seat.
The method of seat construction I use is different from, but no less strong than, the Maloof-style coopering technique. My hand made rocking chair seat is supported in 3 places, rather than at the 4 corners.
In this way the majority of your weight is supported directly upon the back legs, eliminating the flexing possibility in the 4-corner Maloof design. Therefore, I can glue the boards side by side to get a very strong seat without using coopering for strength.
My tripod design, where two seat-supporting points are at the front sides of the seat and the third is directly behind your bum, allows for more design flexibility, too.
- Fourth, adding accents can really enhance an already attractive seat. The unique design I've made enables the use of wooden accent strips right through the seat. These create an attractive, bold contrast that accentuates the seat shape and helps the eye see the 3-dimensional parts of the seat better.
- Fifth, rounding over the front edge of the seat provides a smooth, comfortable support for the thigh and lower leg. The front of the seat encounters the parts of the leg above and below the back of the knee. Therefore, it has a special requirement to be comfortable in two different places at the same time. When the front edge is well-shaped, no pressure points are created, and you can rock comfortably.
As you can see, spectacular looks and fit do not come from a flat seat. Your hand made rocking chair must give you the benefit of serving comfortably for a long time to come. A beautiful, strong, sculpted seat is the right place to start.
Putting a fabulous finish on that seat makes the wow factor complete. Here's how.
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