Sapele Rocking Chair Runners

[Jan Bianchi]

I am copying a comfortable old rocking chair but making it out of Sapele. The wood folks say that Sapele does not submit well to steam bending which is how the runners on the original were made. Does anyone know whether I could just make solid wood runners out of Sapele or whether I'd need to use bent lamination?

[Lee Schierer]

I'm not familiar with Sapele, but I have seen rockers with rockers that were cut from a wide board to make the curve. The danger is if the curve is too great or the wood is prone to splitting, then the thin cross section can result in failure. Can you find a piece of Sapele that has curved grain that approximates the curve you need?

[Jan Bianchi]

I'm not familiar with Sapele, but I have seen rockers with rockers that were cut from a wide board to make the curve. The danger is if the curve is too great or the wood is prone to splitting, then the thin cross section can result in failure. Can you find a piece of Sapele that has curved grain that approximates the curve you need?

I will try that. Thanks.