Restoring old rocking chair

[David Gross]

This rocking chair was donated from a neighbor who said I could keep it if I can find a way to reconstruct the missing seat. Does anyone have ideas on how to this? The seat is an S-curve in the style similar to a Boston rocker. I was thinking maybe bent lamination, but I'm not sure the best way to go about it. Any other ideas?

[Wayne Sparkman]

The existing back should be your key. Can't quite make it out, but it appears to be a bent lamination, and if I remember correctly, that's what I've seen on similar pieces from that era. Winds up looking very much like bent plywood, though I don't think you can bend contemporary commercial plywood, can you?

[Sam Yerardi]

I agree with Wayne in that it looks like bent lamination is what you're looking at. Plywood can be bent via moisture & clamping. You will have to experiment and see what works for you. For the really tight curve portion, if the bending approach doesn't work, you may be to score the back.

Another approach might be to carve the front portion of the seat and mate it with a curved plywood seat. That approach might look the best.

[Paul Atkins]

Check out VanDykes 'rocker seat'#CM-02250281. Cut it to fit and veneer with QWO if wanted. I've used these and it makes it a lot simpler.

[David Gross]

Thanks! Didn't know about Van Dyke's. Looks like a great resource.