Briley's Chair

[Jim DeLaney]

I just finished this little rocking chair in time for my grand-niece's first birthday.

The original chair was featured in Wood Magazine, back in 1993, and back then I made one - in red oak - that adhered to Wood's plan, which had a plain, flat seat, and the arch, front legs, and the rockers glued up from 4/4 stock.

For this one, I deviated a bit from the plans. I used cherry, and cut the legs (8/4) and rockers (12/4) from solid stock. The back legs/arch, I laminated up from eighteen 3/32" strips. I also added a piece to the lower front of the seat, to thicken it a bit and give it a better appearance, and I contoured the surface of the seat to make it more comfortable.

All in all, it was a fun project. Now we'll see how well it lasts under strenuous 'kid-testing.'


http://www.jcdelaney.com/Bear Chair/B Chair 1.jpg


http://www.jcdelaney.com/Bear Chair/B Chair 2.jpg


http://www.jcdelaney.com/Bear Chair/B Chair 3.jpg

The teddy bear cutout for the chair's back is 5/16" thick, and mortised into the arch at the top and the seat at the bottom. It's free-floating within the mortises.


http://www.jcdelaney.com/Bear Chair/Bear Insert.jpg

Thanks for looking.

[Jim Becker]

Jim, that's a really sweet job on that chair!! (Be sure to send the pictures to WOOD Magazine!) Wow...those little improvements are wonderful.

[Hank Knight]

Great job, Jim. Your grand-niece is going to love it. It has all the earmarks of a family heirloom.

Hank

[Brian Lindenlaub]

That's one beautiful chair. Nice work.

[Ryan Lee]

Really neat chair. Did you steam the back before you bent it? I've never bent wood like that before. Something new to try!

[Marlen Kemmet]

Thanks to Jim Becker for pointing this post out to me. I wrote the Teddy Bear Chair for the December 1993 issue (#66) of WOOD. WOOD purchased the publication rights from Judith Ames of Seattle, Washington. Judith still owns the design rights to the chair. Judith was great to work with and I believe hundreds (if not thousands) of chairs were made from the article. It's great to see this deisgn resurface from time to time and make even more children happy. Marlen Kemmet, Managing Editor Print/Online, WOOD Magazine

[Jim DeLaney]

Really neat chair. Did you steam the back before you bent it? I've never bent wood like that before. Something new to try!

No, I didn't steam the strips, but I did soak them in hot water for a few minutes before bending them around the form. I used a resorcinol glue, to give me more working time, and bent the strips around a mold - with a LOT of clamps. I only lost two strips to breakage, which was actually much better than I'd hoped. I made about a dozen extras, in anticipation of a higher breakage rate. Got lucky...

[Michael Weber]

Jim that is a beautiful thing. Just showed it to my wife and now she wants me to build one for our first grandchild just born last week. Lovely job. Mike