Everyone associates a rocking chair with comfort and coziness, and you immediately want to sit in it by the fireplace in a country house with a cup of hot coffee. It's very beautiful and original item interior that fits almost any style. In addition, swinging on a chair is good for your health. This way you can relax, relieve stress, gain strength, quietly read your favorite book, listen to music or just take a nap. You can make a rocking chair from wood yourself; let’s look at examples with photos, drawings and work progress using several technologies.
Most often, furniture is made of wood, so the rocking chair was no exception. Why do many people choose this particular material:
What makes this chair so attractive:
How to make a rocking chair with your own hands from wood according to the drawings is shown in the video with instructions and progress of work.
There are many various models chairs, all of them may differ in their functionality, dimensions, style, materials and the presence of additional gadgets. We always choose furniture based on our preferences and habits, and the rocking chair was no exception.
Let's consider several design options for rocking chairs:
To figure out how to make a rocking chair with your own hands from wood according to the drawings and required dimensions, you need to purchase everything necessary materials and tools:
To create a rocking chair, you can use an ordinary chair, shortening its legs and attaching this structure to runners. To appearance was attractive, the chair can be woven with ribbons of leather or plastic. If you wish, you can also sew your own cover for the rocking chair.
To make the design more interesting shape, you can cut the sidewalls from plywood according to a pre-calculated pattern. The edges of the plywood should be well processed.
Plywood edges
Then we connect the two resulting parts to each other using three bars (30*50*600 mm).
To post top part, we use thin boards and strips of plywood (10*50*600 mm).
In some cases, the length can be increased so that the slats extend beyond the edges of the sidewalls. After assembling the chair, it can be varnished or painted.
We begin the process of creating a rocking chair with a drawing. For a high-quality result, a sketch is required. In addition, we will be able to save ourselves from large errors in calculating the amount of material.
Operating technique:
We will assemble a rocking chair according to the drawing, using high-quality types of wood. We use the usual one as a base. wooden chair. All parts will be mounted at right angles, so there is no need to additionally cut out many elements.
Now you can create a rocking chair yourself and please your household. The main thing to remember is that the product can be scratched, and the material can quickly age and lose its appearance. Therefore, always varnish the chair so that it will delight you with its beauty for a long time and create comfort in your home.
One of the components comfortable rest – comfortable furniture. A rocking chair allows you to quickly relieve stress after working day, it’s good to relax, indulge in pleasant memories or think about upcoming matters. The simplest model It is relatively inexpensive - around 5,000 rubles, but it is not a fact that it meets the buyer’s wishes in certain parameters (dimensions, shape, finishing).
By designing and assembling a simple rocking chair from plywood with your own hands, you can not only make it best option, based on the installation location, but also get real pleasure from the process itself.
The author looked through several sites devoted to the topic self-made rocking chairs made of plywood, and on none of them did I find an explanation on the question of what kind of plywood it is advisable to use. Anyone who thinks that it doesn’t matter is mistaken. If you focus on moisture resistance and reasonable price, then there are few options -.
What is the difference? The main thing is in the adhesive composition that holds the veneer layers together. In the manufacture of FSF sheets, phenol-formaldehyde resin is used, which releases toxins. It is for this reason that this plywood is recommended only for exterior use. Therefore, in relation to a rocking chair (as well as any other piece of furniture), one should focus on the modification of the FC. Of course, if you think about your own health and the well-being of loved ones. From the point of view of “ecological cleanliness” there are no complaints about this plywood.
A more expensive modification of plywood is FOF. The surfaces of such sheets are laminated, so if the rocking chair is intended for installation outside the building (porch, open veranda, summerhouse or recreation area), then it is better to purchase them. And the problem of external design will disappear by itself.
Doing it yourself also means reasonable savings on everything, including materials. There is no point in explaining that the thicker the plywood, the more expensive the sheet is. What is recommended?
In principle, the choice is not that big. If a rocking chair is made exclusively for home use, that is, installation indoors, then it is better to use birch plywood. In other cases - pine, as a species less susceptible to rotting.
The process of making a rocking chair with your own hands great complexity has no idea (plywood is a fairly malleable material both for cutting and processing), but drawing up a drawing requires a competent approach. First of all, special engineering knowledge. If you focus on finished goods, using them as a prototype, you can make mistakes, for example, when determining all linear parameters. And few people will take measurements from a rocking chair right in a furniture showroom.
It is advisable to use the drawings available on the site. Based on them, if you remember what scaling is, it’s easy to create own scheme and even slightly modify the factory model in relation to the conditions for further use of the rocking chair.
It has already been said that it is better to take a ready-made one and then, if necessary, slightly modify it. When choosing a drawing, it is advisable to pay attention to next moment– the fewer points (lines) of connections in the design of a rocking chair, the better. Despite the sufficient strength of plywood, we must not forget that it is a multi-layer gluing. Unlike a monolith (solid wood), a sheet is more susceptible to destruction from dynamic loads.
The diagram of the rocking chair is transferred from the drawing onto a format sheet (graph paper), observing the scale. But this applies only to the simplest options, with a minimum of structural elements. If the drawing is quite complex, then you will have to make a pattern for each part separately.
At this stage, the main task is to lay all the prepared pieces of paper as tightly as possible in order to reduce the amount of waste when cutting the sheet into parts. That is, you will have to experiment a little with the patterns, placing them in different positions. But the meaning of the work is clear.
The only recommendation is to use. With it you can achieve the most accurate cutting. Otherwise (when working with a regular saw), you will additionally need to level out all the “roughness” on the cutting line. And taking into account the fact that plywood consists of several thin layers of wood glued together, it is extremely difficult to do this carefully with your own hands. As a result, individual parts will have to be rejected and their production will have to start again.
The main goal of this technological operation is to remove smallest fractions wood, which will certainly remain after cutting the sheets. Visually they may not be visible, but if the edges of the workpieces are not smoothed out, then splinters (and permanent ones) when using a rocking chair are guaranteed.
There is no point in hoping that it is in a dry room. Droplets of liquid are always present in the air, regardless of the purpose of the room. And even more so on the street. But if it is relatively easy to bleach solid wood (monolith) when fungus develops, problems will arise in this regard with plywood. Therefore, there is no need to neglect this stage of making a rocking chair.
The specifics of this work are largely determined by the selected drawing. But several general recommendations will not be superfluous.
Glue alone for joining the elements, given the load on the rocking chair, will not be enough. To strengthen the structure, self-tapping screws (small, for wood) are used. Since the sheet of plywood is not that thick, the fasteners must fit into it strictly vertically. To do this, the primary canal is pre-drilled with a thin drill. Even if it goes at an angle, you can try again by moving the tool a little.
But the second penetration can already be done with a drill with a diameter slightly smaller than that of the self-tapping screw. Such careful preparation of mounting sockets for fasteners will require more time, but error is completely eliminated.
The “tops” of all self-tapping screws must be recessed into the plywood sheet - this requires no explanation. Therefore, you will need another drill, with a diameter approximately equal to the fastener head. Well, the sufficient chamfer depth is easy to determine after the first drilling.
How to seal these “points” is decided based on general design rocking chairs. You can select a mastic (sealant) of the appropriate shade. By the way, in specialized stores there are plastic plugs that are specifically designed to disguise fasteners in furniture.
Everything else is at the discretion of the master. For example, further finishing of a rocking chair. Everything is used - from paints and varnishes to foam rubber and fabrics. It’s easy to improve some of the drawings of standard models with your own hands. For example, attach springs to the supporting parts of a rocking chair.
If the manufactured chair sways with insufficient amplitude (the balance is disturbed), and this does not suit the user, then you can try to increase the weight of its rear part. For example, connect the ends of the runners with a metal strip or a small channel. If necessary, add weight. Actually, fantasy itself will suggest the best way out of the situation.
It is best to foresee in advance the possibility of promptly shifting the center of gravity of the chair. Then both adults and children will be able to swing in it comfortably.
The article discusses the easiest options to make with your own hands and easily implemented technological operations. Experienced craftsmen collect more complex designs, often using not individual sheets of plywood, but gluing them together. But this is the next stage of professional growth. Having learned all the intricacies on one of the above models, you can do everything else yourself - develop a drawing and carry out the assembly using your own technology.
Good luck in making your own comfortable rocking chair!
The rocking chair is rightfully one of the most popular pieces of furniture. It gains even more popularity if there is country house. These can be different models made from different materials. But more preference is given wooden products. You can buy it ready-made, or you can make it yourself. How to make a rocking chair with your own hands and what materials to choose, read further in the article.
Wood is the most common material for making furniture. A wooden rocking chair is no exception, thanks to its numerous advantages:
The finished rocking chair fits well into any architectural ensemble buildings. It can be installed at any time in convenient location: in the clearing, by the pool, by the fireplace, near the barbecue, etc. Rocking in a chair relaxes, creates comfort for the body and benefits the body. This is a comfortable and safe swing for children.
Photo: rocking chair in interior design
Along with numerous advantages, there are a number of disadvantages, the main one of which is the significant cost of any rocking chair. In addition, the structure is characterized by loss of its qualities and characteristics if it is exposed to rain, fog, and other precipitation. It is also undesirable to keep the rocking chair exposed to the sun for a long time.
To make rocking chairs from solid wood, coniferous species are preferably chosen. It can be pine, spruce, alder or larch. These rocks are characterized by their low mass and low density. Homemade designs with significant mass it will be inconvenient to move. The high density of the material will create difficulties in work.
Coniferous trees have a light gray structure. Easy to process. A significant disadvantage of such wood is that as the humidity level increases, it increases in size. Despite this, conifers are budget option, are widely distributed in the retail chain and have a low cost.
The chair can be made from more expensive types of wood. It could be oak, ash or beech. These types of wood have almost no pores, resulting in high level strength. Finished structures are reliable and durable, but have high cost. Wood species are light or light yellow in color.
To make a chair that rocks, we use high-quality wooden blanks first grade. The moisture content of these workpieces should not exceed 10% at the start of work. If this indicator is higher, then wood is not recommended. It is better to let it dry, since a structure made of wet wood will subsequently dry out and be subject to deformation. The consequence will be its nondescript appearance or complete destruction.
To make a wooden swinging structure, you need to draw up a drawing of the chair. It is better to do it on graph paper, drawing all the structural elements with dimensions. To make a simple rocking chair from wood with your own hands, it is recommended to take an ordinary chair as a basis.
Drawing of a rocking chair made of wood
The simplicity of the design lies in the fact that all elements are attached at right angles and there is no need to cut additional parts. The basis for the entire structure is the size of the seat and the height of the legs. The connecting elements will be cut to these dimensions. The next stage of making a rocking chair, according to the drawing and the required dimensions, is to cut the wooden parts.
A square-shaped seat with a side length of 53-56 cm can be made of plywood or whole piece wood The thickness of the seat should be 1.0-1.5 cm. For the rear and front legs, a beam with a section of 4.5x4.5 cm is used. The rear legs are cut to a height of 105-110 cm, the front ones - 55-60 cm. To connect the entire structure, they are used cross slats, with dimensions of length, height and thickness of 57x4x1.5 cm, respectively.
This design and dimensions are not a dogma. Based on preference, the shape and size of the parts may vary.
Another example of a drawing
Making a chair requires the presence of tools. To complete the work you will need:
Considering that the structural elements will not be fastened with nails, a hammer will be needed to fit the parts to each other.
To attach the seat and legs to each other, you can use two options:
When fastening into a tenon on wooden elements Markings are applied to the rocking chairs. According to it, grooves are cut out in the legs, measuring 2.0x1.5 cm, 2 cm deep. The shape of the connecting slats is prepared for the grooves. Before fastening the parts, the groove and ends of the slats are treated with construction adhesive.
Users often search:
In the second option, the fastening points are treated with glue and connected to each other. For reliability, epoxy glue is often used. The joints are reinforced with self-tapping screws. The seat is mounted on transverse slats and is also fixed with self-tapping screws.
In both options, a clamp and gaskets are used to finally fasten all the elements of the wooden rocking chair. The cushioning material is installed between the clamp and the rocker. After installation, the clamp is tightened and the rocking chair is left for 24 hours for the glue to completely harden. In the absence of a clamp, the screed is carried out using a rigid rubber band.
The manufacture and installation of runners can be done in two ways.
It is characterized by simplicity and speed of execution. It is as follows:
More labor intensive. A block of wood is used as a ski. To equip a rocking chair with skis you need:
In order for the runners to serve for a long time, it is necessary to use wood with high wear resistance.
A rocking chair made of wood may be uncomfortable when sitting down or standing up. This occurs as a result of the difference in the weight of the structural elements that are located in its front and back parts. To avoid discomfort, it is necessary to balance the swinging structure.
If the structure is significantly tilted forward, transverse strips can be mounted on the runners behind the backrest. If necessary, the weight on the slats can be increased by installing decorative elements.
Balanced rocking chair
When tilting backwards, the same counterweight must be equipped in the front part of the rocking chair. This could be an additional shelf for legs. If this weight is not enough, then you can install a niche under the shelf for additional counterweight.
The finished structure will be used in different places at different temperatures. Operation in winter and summer, under the sun and in the cold, indoors and outdoors can lead to rapid aging of wood and various diseases. Material processing will save you from this.
Before assembling the structure, the wood can be treated with stain. Due to its concentration, the rocking chair can take on any shade.
The chair is varnished in 3 layers
To prevent diseases, the tree must be coated with a special antifungal liquid, as well as a remedy against tree insects and pests.
To protect the wood from getting wet, it is recommended to treat it with a special water-repellent liquid.
Users often search:
Finally, the entire structure must be coated with two layers of varnish.
The presented option for making a rocking chair is the simplest and fastest. If you follow the rules and technology of work, you can make a chair of any complexity and design.
The finished chair will serve not only as a piece of furniture, but also as a separate design element that will always attract everyone's attention.
A rocking chair is a very necessary and comfortable thing that helps you relax while relaxing, or, conversely, concentrate while working. On the furniture market, you can choose a given piece of furniture for different tastes and at different price categories.
But there is a more reliable and less expensive option - making your own rocking chair at home. It is important to carefully calculate and measure all the details, since if the exact balance is not maintained, the chair will either not move or tip over on its side.
Below are photos of different types of rocking chairs.
A massage rocking chair would be an excellent option for a private home - it will not only add beauty to your interior modern style, but also has great functionality!
Look at the photo how beautifully the massage rocking chair fits into the interior:
The chair is most popular among users, that is, it has radius runners. This rocking chair is distinguished by its simplicity of design and fairly simple assembly technique.
The disadvantage of such a chair is that it will not be possible to swing much, as it will simply tip forward or backward.
A chair with variable curvature prevents tipping over. It is the most comfortable to use and allows for almost any seating height.
The chair on elliptical skids is equipped with bump stops to prevent it from tipping over.
The multifunctional chair has another name: “3 in one”. If necessary, such a piece of furniture can be turned into a lounger, but its dimensions are quite large, so it can only be used in relatively large rooms.
Typically, rocking chairs are made of wood, as metal is too heavy for such a design. Most often, beginners assemble a rocking chair from plywood without violating the following recommendations:
Tools that will be useful are an electric jigsaw, a screwdriver, a drill and a hammer.
A forged rocking chair, of course, can only be made by a specialist, since it will require special equipment and premises.
Of course, it is possible to make such a chair by welding metal profile pipes that resemble wicker rocking chairs. But this option is more suitable for a garden street area.
You can also place a sun lounger with an awning (like a swing) in the garden, which is a little more difficult to make, but will bring a lot of pleasure to use!
For home comfort and comfort, it will be more aesthetically pleasing to use wood, decorating it with wicker rattan rods.
A children's rocking chair is also not complicated, but its proportions will differ from the adult version. Making it yourself is not at all difficult, even for a beginner.
Before you make a rocking chair with your own hands, you need a competent drawing! Most often, self-taught craftsmen find ready-made drawings of a rocking chair on the Internet, but it is worth taking into account the weight of the largest person who will use it in order to avoid misunderstandings in the future.
And then, if necessary, you can put a pillow on the seat for greater comfort and to avoid sudden swaying.
Beginners may not succeed right away perfect option, even if all rocking chair dimensions are met. This can be easily corrected by balancing the product.
The rear overhang can be made heavier by simply connecting the rear ends of the runners with a stick in a "U" shape. This will make it easier for the rocker to walk and not “push” when rocking.
When tilting the chair backwards, it is necessary to attach weights to the front overhang.
It is imperative to install linings on the rocking chair runners, which prolong its durability and make the furniture wear-resistant.
Today, a rocking chair is not a forgotten antique, but a popular and convenient element of the interior. It is found not only in dachas and country houses, but also in reputable offices and apartments. A rocking chair is expensive furniture, but if you have the desire and a few materials, you can make it yourself from plywood.
The main advantages of plywood are strength and lightness. A rocking chair made of this material is convenient to rearrange. In addition, plywood furniture fits harmoniously into the interior of any room.
The surface of the rocking chair is easy to process different ways(sanding, painting, varnishing or special film) - therefore, decorate it and carry out redecorating the subject will be very simple.
A rocking chair made of plywood is highly moisture resistant, which significantly extends its service life. The advantage of such furniture is that it is made from environmentally friendly materials, therefore does not require special care.
The wooden elements of the rocking chair fit perfectly into the interior
Depending on where the rocking chair will be used (on an open lawn or indoors), plywood of different thicknesses and types of wood are selected. If the item will be placed in areas with high humidity, use oak plywood. The main thing is that during manufacturing the material is relatively dry (humidity from 3 to 10%).
The most comfortable height of a rocking chair without a headrest is about 90 cm, with a headrest - 110–115 cm. An item of this size is suitable for the height of an average person.
The height of the supporting sides to the top of the seat should be about 35 cm, so that the person sitting in the chair can swing with their legs stretched out a little.
The seat of a rocking chair will be comfortable if its length and width are 50 cm. Such parameters will ensure a comfortable fit in the chair. You can make it wider, which will allow you to sit more comfortably and tuck your legs. Optimal angle backrest tilt - 15 degrees or more. It is better to move the armrests slightly apart from the rocking chair seat by 13–15 cm.
Need to pay Special attention to the radius of the runners. If it is large, the chair will constantly fall back, which can lead to tipping over. Due to the runners with a small radius, the object will quickly return to its original position - this will create the effect of a twitching swing, which is also inconvenient. It is better to select the thickness of the runners from several pieces of thick plywood glued together.
Whether you use short or long runners makes a difference. A chair with long parts has a greater depth and amplitude of rocking, in which the sitting position changes to a reclining position. An object with short amplitudes has a smaller amplitude, so the person remains in a sitting position all the time.
Rocking chairs with long runners are classic version, suitable for everyone.
Rocking chair design: 1 - sidewalls; 2 - drawer; 3 - stand; 4, 6,7 - cross members; 5 - back slats; 8 - step
To make a rocking chair yourself, you will need to prepare the following:
To make rocking chair parts, it is better to use plywood sheets, the size of which is 1520x900 cm, and the thickness is 4 mm, 10 mm and 15 mm. For the side elements, a material with a thickness of 4 mm is required. If the necessary sheets are not available, then during the work it will be possible to cut out several identical parts from thin plywood and glue them together.
Since plywood has different thicknesses, the appropriate tool is selected for cutting a specific material. Sheets up to 1.5 mm thick are cut with a sharpened knife. Sheets up to 6 mm - with a jigsaw, and thicker ones - with a jigsaw or grinder.
Tools for working with plywood are selected taking into account the thickness of the material
First of all, you need to conveniently organize working space. When cutting a large sheet of plywood, there should be enough space in the room.
To avoid rapid wear of the rocking chair parts, it is necessary to treat the plywood with one of the suggested means:
Pasting with fiberglass significantly increases the service life of plywood. If it is not possible to use this coating, you can use regular gauze instead. To join materials, a varnish without polyester and epoxy components is used.
Coating with drying oil will help increase the moisture resistance of plywood
Varnishing helps protect plywood from external influences. Treatment with paint, as well as drying oil, which forms waterproofing layer(impregnation will be even more effective if it is preheated in a water bath to 60 degrees).
Particular attention should be paid to the end sides of the plywood parts. They require additional insulation and careful processing. To protect them, you must do one of the following:
When working with plywood, you must adhere to the following rules:
By making a homemade rocking chair, you can save a lot and get a comfortable and high-quality item. Furniture made in compliance with all requirements will delight you with its comfort for many years.
