Dumpster Rocker Rehabilitation
Although not noted in the newsgroup post notes below, the chair was completely disassembled for repair. All the dowels were replaced and the corner braces rebuilt because the originals were in splinters. The plywood bottom was drilled with a circle of holes to allow air to pass easily and the attachment to the frame was modified. The original padding looked in pretty good shape and was reused. The back, seat apron had to be reinforced as the joint to the vertical was broken off. The finish on the new arm was combination of several walnut and cherry stains and glazes. The oatmeal colored fabric is some I have had for about 10 yrs. I have been led to believe the chair wood is maple and not walnut as first thought.
posted rec.woodworking & a.b.p.w June 8, 2004
I just picked up this antique, walnut rocking chair next to
the dumpster
down the street at the church. All it needs is some TLC, a new arm and
reglueing some joints. The upholstery appears rather new and has some of
those nasty metal angled things holding the seat on. It appears there is a
lot of handwork on the piece. Carving another arm should be a fun and
interesting experience.
(click on picture for a larger view)
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posted alt.binaries.pictures. woodworking June 17, 2004
A week or so ago I posted pictures of a rocker I captured from
beside a
dumpster. It only lacked one of it's arms.
Presently, I am copying(actually a mirror copy) the original left arm of
that rocker. Cut it out with bandsaw and am now working it down with the
pattern makers rasp. The copy is a leg from a scraped, maple table, The
copy looks a LOT larger than the original but, in reality, it is only
slightly larger.
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poster a.b.p.w. Sept 7, 2004
You may recall that mid-June I posted links to pictures of an
antique
rocking chair I had found next to the dumpster that the churchman had
discarded. It lacked an arm and was structurally challenged. Well, I'm
finally getting that thing put back together. I've rebuilt the lost arm
from scratch and looks pretty much like the original. I found it difficult
to match the grunginess of rest of the piece on the new arm. I've started
replacing the upholstery from that gosh awful(reminds me of one of my
migraine events) stuff with some I had around for some years. When the
gimp(fancy tape that goes around the bottom edge) gets here I can finish it.
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posted a.b.p.w. Sept 19, 2004
The gimp trim finally came and I was able to finish up that
rocker I've been
posting and working off and on since mid summer. The original rocker I was
discarded next to a dumpster up the street and it lacked an arm and was
structurally needy. IMHO The new fabric better represents the vintage of
the rocker than that migraine headache pattern of the original. There is
some carving and etc that I'll post in one of my websites in a week or so.
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Note*** I'll try taking a few more pictures of the carving I did and some other details and post it here in a week or so. Larry.