Bending rockers

[Robin Cruz]

Should I go the steam route or try the resaw thin strips, glue and bend approach?

What do I but for a heater and a boiler to make a small steamer into some 6' PVC?
any experience with that?
thanks for the tips

[Brian Penning]

I've always laminated mine and gotten pretty consistent results.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f193/Bri68/Building%20a%20rocker/IMG_2842.jpg?t=1209720586


http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f193/Bri68/Building%20a%20rocker/IMG_2843.jpg?t=1209720347

[Pete Lamberty]

HI Robin, I think it would be best to laminate the rockers. Make a form about two and a half times the width of the width of one rocker. Then after the glue up edge joint one side of the lamination. After that cut it in half, lengthwise of course. And then joint the rocker that doesn't have a smooth side. After that run both rockers on their edges through your planner until you get the final wideth that you need. I think you will then have two rockers that are exactly the same. Pete

[Mike Henderson]

I laminate bend mine. I've never done what Pete suggests but it sounds like a good idea.

Mike

[Robin Cruz]

thanks. I am going to make mahogany and oak rockers. How thick do I resaw the 3/4 stock stock to make laminate strips. which side of the grain should I orient so for the surface that rocks on the floor?
thank you

[Pete Lamberty]

Cut the laminates so that their final thickness is a quarter inch. This is how I do it. I use a board that is two and a half times wider than the final width of one rocker. (1) I joint the board on the side that will be parallel to the cut. I hold the jointed side up against a fence on the band saw. The fence is MORE than a quarter inch from the blade. I make the cut. Go back to the number (1) and repeat the process for as many laminates as you need. Now you have a bunch of laminates that are smooth (jointed) on one side and have bandsaw blade marks on the other side. Plane them all down to a quarter of an inch. Now they are smooth on both sides and are all the same thickness. I use plain sawn boards and stack them plain sawn side to plain sawn side. I have never learned if there is a prefered method for this. Maybe someone else can help us out on this. I hope this helps.

[Robin Cruz]

thanks. I think I see. What does plain sawn mean?

[Mike Henderson]

I find that 1/4" is a bit thick. The problem is springback and the amount of springback depends on the number of laminations. I find that 1/8" laminations work better because I put more of them in the rocker and don't get as much springback. With about seven laminations you get very little springback. If you go with just a few laminations you need to allow for springback when you make your form.

When cutting the laminations:

I buy stock that's a bit thicker than the width I need for my laminations. So if I'm going to make rockers 1" wide, I get 5/4 or 6/4 stock. Wider requires thicker stock, all the way up to 8/4.

Make SURE you mark the boards before you cut the laminations. That is, put several lines at an angle across the top of the board before you saw the laminations. The reason is that you can then assemble the pieces together in exactly the same order as they were cut. You may think you can match up the grain pattern after cutting but you'll find that you won't be able to - or it will be very difficult and take a lot of time.

The reason you want to match up the boards is so that when you glue up the laminates, the grain pattern matches. While you can see the glue lines, the grain looks like a real board.

Also, I go from table saw to glue up. Get yourself a really good blade that can cut smooth and practice pushing in a continuous motion (with a push stick). You'll find that the boards come out smooth - certainly smooth enough to do your glue-up.

I think what Pete was suggesting is that if you buy plain sawn lumber (instead of quarter sawn or riff sawn) when you cut it, the face of the cut piece will be quarter sawn and will bend well without as much chance of cracking. If the laminate winds up plain sawn on its face, it has a much higher chance of cracking when you start bending it. You don't want to hear "craaaack" as you're tighting down your clamps.

And plain sawn stock is cheaper than quarter or riff sawn anyway.

Use a slow glue or learn to work quickly. Urea formaldhyde (plastic resin) is a good glue for laminates. I use Titebond if the bend isn't that severe and have never had any creep. Sam Maloof uses Titebond on his rockers and I figure if it's good enough for Sam, it's good enough for me.

Mike

[Here's two closeups of a rocker I made recently with 1/8" laminations. Note how the grain pattern is continuous, even though the glue lines show up. One problem I encountered is that I did the buildup to the legs with laminations that were not *exactly* the same color as the rest of the rocker so they stand out - they don't look like continuous wood.]

[Robin Cruz]

Thanks for the detailed response. I still dont understand the plain sawn thing or what side of the wood should face the floor. I guess Ill just get into it and figure out as I go along.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Lamination is easiest and it's very strong in that the flaws of one piece of wood don't translate throughout the whole piece as it would in a single stick of lumber.

If you are building chairs and hope to get fine lines, as opposed to chunky thick construction, you might want to consider laminate construction or get a froe and rely on hand splitting your own lumber to get the best grain integrity and strength possible.

[Ben Rafael]

I've had good success using 1/8" strips laminated to each other in a form(like above).
I like the idea that someone had about making them twice as wide and then cutting in half to get 2. Big time saver.

[Joe Chritz]

Plain sawn has the growth rings in a smiley face when looking at the end of the board. (or frown if you are a pessimist) :D 1/4 sawn has the rings going up and down (technically over 60 degrees I think).

1/4 sawn stock will bend better generally. If the curve isn't very severe it makes no difference at all. By using thick stock you can rip it then turn 90 degrees and have 1/4 sawn material.

Many ways to skin this particular feline.

Joe