Could You Make This Rocking Chair?

[Julie Moriarty]

I can't find who makes this rocking chair but I want one. So I'll probably have to make it but I have no idea where to start. How would you go about figuring out how to make this?

http://www.dalemackey.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/192745xcitefun-cool-chair-6-600x475.jpg

[Mike Henderson]

You can take some approximate measurements from the picture. You know about how deep a seat has to be so that can get you started.

I'd make the wooden parts by laminate bending them. I might make the rockers a bit longer just to make sure it didn't go aver backwards when someone rocked into that position.

It's an interesting design.

Mike

[Stan Calow]

Julie I think I found it at this website http://www.homedit.com/most-comfortable-lounge-chairs/ refers to it as the Stökke chair, which appears to be a European furniture company, but I can't get any further than that. IF link doesn't work, google "most comfortable rocking chair"

[Julie Moriarty]

There are some angles there that would require a lot of R&D. Personally, I'd rather buy the chair and enjoy it, though considering how hard it is to find where to buy it, I'd probably take it apart and make templates so I could duplicate it.

Stan, I ran into the same wall as you. And Googling "most comfortable rocking chair" only puts you into the circle of nowhere. Dalemackey Home Interior has it on their website but you still run into the same wall.

Maybe taking the image and pasting it into AutoCAD and drawing over it, I can get close. I did that with the Ric bass and it turned out pretty good. Those curves make me think the engineering can't be deviated from too far.

[Julie Moriarty]

I found it. 2,600 smackers. My curse, champagne taste with a beer budget. Looks like Julie will have to put on her engineer hat. :rolleyes:

http://www.ergodepot.com/Gravity_Balans_by_Varier_p/v233.htm?gclid=Cj0KEQjw04qvBRC6vfKG2Pi0_8gBEiQAAJq 0vaGTdz6WlOnem1OLi9OW4uSXo4YjPFjQK7IGTh_H5-AaAnp48P8HAQ
(http://www.ergodepot.com/Gravity_Balans_by_Varier_p/v233.htm?gclid=Cj0KEQjw04qvBRC6vfKG2Pi0_8gBEiQAAJq 0vaGTdz6WlOnem1OLi9OW4uSXo4YjPFjQK7IGTh_H5-AaAnp48P8HAQ)

[Bruce Page]

If you had a tubing bender & a medium sized press break and some rectangular steel tubing. Piece of cake... :)

[Jamie Buxton]

Years ago, I tried to design a chair something like that. That chair appears to have three stable positions, and it might rock in one of those. Mine was just supposed to have three stable positions, but no rocking. I went through six prototypes before I gave up.
There are challenges. The biggest is that you want the chair to tip nicely from position to position, so you have to get the pivots in exactly the right spot. If a pivot point is wrong, you can't move from one position to the next, or when you move you go past a stable point on to the next. The ease of pivoting depends on where you're sitting, so you must include some upholstery in the prototype. I did get one prototype that almost kinda-sorta worked for me, but didn't work at all for my wife.

[Julie Moriarty]

If you had a tubing bender & a medium sized press break and some rectangular steel tubing. Piece of cake... :)

Sounds like I need to break out my conduit benders. Yes, even though I'm in the land of PVC conduit, I still kept them. :cool:

[Tom M King]

If not for two things, I'd want one too-cost too much, and not enough room for dogs. http://starbornhavanese.com/images/lapdogs.jpg

[Julie Moriarty]

Looks like a job for Matthias Wandel!

[Chris Parks]

I thought this one looked good for a sunny day beside the pool http://insidertipps.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/adorable-unique-outdoor-furniture.jpg

[Keith Weber]

Julie, a 2 minute Google search produced this 3D Model of your chair for $29. If you had the right software to open the model, you might be able to take measurements off of it.

http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/rocking-chair-gravity-max/340540

[Scott Brandstetter]

Holy Cow Julie, that chair looks like exactly what I need right now. The old bones are sore and the muscles are week. Assuming I could get in the chair, and rock it back, I think I could spend a week in it. If you do build this, please start a thread and keep us posted.

[paul cottingham]

Strikes me you could lift proportions off with a set of dividers and a good photo. Would take some time and patience, but it could be done.

[Allan Speers]

Woah.

Overlooking the fact that it's probably not all that comfortable, (and how the heck do you get in-out of it?) I think I could probably make the frame, though it might require some special jigs for the steam bending. (A lot of work for just 2-3 chairs)

However, I have no idea how I'd make the seat and backrest. There must be solid wood inside, but some kind of structural foam on the outside? Plus, it looks like the wooden core is curved. Holy moley .....

[Michelle Rich]

since this is so expensive to buy and copy, and you probably won't be able to make it...have you seen Tommy Mack's lounger? He has plans for it..not as cool, but at least it is make-able. You might be able to use stuff you learn with the lounger to make something close to this.

[Larry Edgerton]

since this is so expensive to buy and copy, and you probably won't be able to make it....


Thats the can do spirit....:cool:

Julie, if it was me I would work the curves out with plywood, starting with that 29 dollar plan and make sure you like it. With one piece plywood sides you could test, adding to or subtracting from curves, then use them as a template.

Larry

[Robert Engel]

I'm thinking of a couple ways.

One is try to generate a sketch from a picture so you can measure angles.
If you Google "gravity balans recliner" and look under "Images" you will find one that is a side view with dimensions.

Check this link:
http://chairscad.com/varier-gravity-balans-lounge-chair/

The second is to buy the model and use it as a guide. You might want to do that anyway.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Sounds like I need to break out my conduit benders. Yes, even though I'm in the land of PVC conduit, I still kept them. :cool:Welcome to the world of 20th century wiring, even though it's the 21st century now.

[Jim Dwight]

I would want to sit in it before deciding to spend the time to make it. Looks great but who knows if I would like it? But definitely the wood pieces have to be laminated. They will not be strong enough any other way. Prototypes could be made of metal, however, so the angles could be adjusted. Conduit might be strong enough. If not, if you can weld, you could brace it to make it strong enough.

[richard poitras]

since this is so expensive to buy and copy, and you probably won't be able to make it...have you seen Tommy Mack's lounger? He has plans for it..not as cool, but at least it is make-able. You might be able to use stuff you learn with the lounger to make something close to this.

Michelle Rich can you post a link to Tommy Mack's lounger?

Thanks Richard

[Michael Moscicki]

I assume this is the lounger in question.

Rough Cut - S03 E06 - Steam Bent Lounge Chair
http://www.tommymac.us/rough-cut-woodworking-with-tommy-mac/season-3/#

http://blog.woodcraft.com/2013/02/steam-bent-chair-featured-on-rough-cut-woodworking-with-tommy-mac-season-3/

If not:

Rough Cut - S04 E01 - Bent Lamination Chair
http://www.tommymac.us/rough-cut-woodworking-with-tommy-mac/season-4/


Episode 502: Arts & Crafts Rocking Chair
http://www.tommymac.us/blog/episode-502-arts-crafts-rocking-chair/

[Julie Moriarty]

Julie, a 2 minute Google search produced this 3D Model of your chair for $29. If you had the right software to open the model, you might be able to take measurements off of it.
3DS is pricey, as are most Autodesk products. I've never worked with it but if it's like AutoCAD, the learning curve is steep.


Holy Cow Julie, that chair looks like exactly what I need right now. The old bones are sore and the muscles are week. Assuming I could get in the chair, and rock it back, I think I could spend a week in it. If you do build this, please start a thread and keep us posted.
My reaction was the same as yours, Scott. It certainly does look comfortable.


I would want to sit in it before deciding to spend the time to make it. Looks great but who knows if I would like it? But definitely the wood pieces have to be laminated. They will not be strong enough any other way. Prototypes could be made of metal, however, so the angles could be adjusted. Conduit might be strong enough. If not, if you can weld, you could brace it to make it strong enough.
I absolutely agree, you need to sit in it and see how the tilt-back works. What works for one person may not work for another.

I saw an article a couple of years ago where a chair maker had designed a fully adjustable model for his custom chairs. He made adjustments while the customer sat in it and kept doing so until the customer said, "Perfect!" It looked like there were hundreds of adjustments that could be made.

That Tommy Mac video reminded me of another project he did, a chaise lounge type of chair. That one used steamed solid wood and he cracked a few pieces. But in both cases, the project required two people to get the wood in the bending forms.

[Dave Richards]

This is the Stokke Gravity Balans chair is very comfortable. All of the Stokke chairs are. Stokke is a Norwegian company. They make the Tripp Trapp childs chair, too. Alan, getting in and out of this chair is not difficult at all.

I wonder how much you'd have invested in materials for the chair and for the bending forms as well as your time. If your time has any value, you might find the price to buy one is not that high.

We have a couple of Ekornes Stressless chairs. I found them more comfortable than the Gravity Balans chair. and they were less money.

As for the 3ds model from Turbosquid, it could be imported into SketchUp easily enough. I'd be suspicious of its accuracy and would check it against a real one before trying to use it to build one in the shop. there's a SketchUp model of it in the 3D Warehouse, too, but it looks less accurate than the one from the squid.

[Jamie Buxton]

One other complaint about that chair... It takes a lot of floor space. Visualize it sitting upright. It eats as much floor space as a normal chair. Then roll it backwards into its most-horizontal position. Now it has eaten nearly enough more floor space as an additional chair.