Do-it-yourself homemade rocking chair made of metal and wood: drawings and assembly. Do-it-yourself rocking chair: make your own rocking chair from wood according to the instructions Dimensions of a rocking chair with your own hands made of metal

A chair is primarily ergonomic and functional: it is a piece of furniture for relaxing or creating comfortable conditions for long-term sedentary work. But at the same time, a chair in a living room or bedroom is prestigious and can be a luxury item, therefore it is aesthetically very significant. If curtains complete the aesthetics of the interior, the chair provides the key to its understanding. And if the curtains are simple, then it is the chair that brings all the furniture into a single ensemble. Of course, in the case when the interior design is carefully and competently thought out. Finally, a garden or country chair must fit into the landscape and withstand bad weather, wintering in a cold storage room, and careless handling.

Making a chair with your own hands is quite possible for a home craftsman. Amateur carpenters make their own chairs, sometimes of a very high level, see fig. However, we will leave works of high furniture art for later, and we will consider this publication to be an initial one and will limit ourselves in it to samples that require at most space in the garage, an ordinary woodworking tool and an average degree of skill to use it. For some, it will cost only sewing work. However, in the country of armchairs, the border between purely utilitarian and luxury pieces is very arbitrary, and some of the things described have a place in the living room. And the experience gained during the work will allow one to approach something exclusive over time.

About padding and covers

Any soft chair, on a rigid base or frameless (see below), is filled with soft and fairly elastic material. Horse hair is now available to only a few, whalebone is not available to anyone at all, so amateur chairs are most often stuffed with foam rubber or polystyrene foam (foamed polystyrene) in granules. They have a common property: they are easily electrified and retain static electricity for a long time, which is not at all good for health. Therefore, the upholstery of pillows, mats, and other soft furniture components must be made of 2 layers: external decorative and internal antistatic. This, in addition, simplifies the maintenance of decorative cladding and its replacement if necessary.

The antistatic cover of upholstered furniture is sewn from cotton fabrics according to the same patterns as the decorative one. There are almost no alternatives to cotton as a surge arrester: the leakage resistance of a chair on wooden legs, standing on a laminate floor, with an outer covering made of very well-electrified silk, with an internal cotton cover, lies in the range of 1.8 - 5.6 MOhm , which ensures almost instantaneous charge drain from the electrophore machine. Synthetic winterizer is somewhat worse: it does not rot, but the outer covering should also be antistatic, made from natural furniture fabrics.

The antistatic filler of upholstered furniture, remarkable in its mechanical properties and in itself, is polyurethane foam (PPU). But not a construction self-foaming sealant/thermal insulator; mechanically it is not suitable for furniture, but the so-called. neoprene foamed under special conditions during manufacture. Neoprene is available in granules and sheets; The latter, by the way, are used to make wetsuits. The material is expensive, especially sheet material, but there is no need for invention. Car seat inserts are made of neoprene. So if you come across a junkyard jalopy, try to get your hands on the seats and backrests. They won’t be counted as metal anyway, but by shredding the inserts you’ll get excellent padding for a couple of chairs.

Where do we start?

From rocking chairs. A homemade rocking chair will provide the most significant savings in money compared to purchased ones - once. Its production is technologically simple; As for stationary equipment, it is enough to have a workbench (possibly also homemade) in some nook or two. And it will always come in handy at the dacha, even if the design with finishing from an inexperienced craftsman was screwed up - three. But you need to make a rocking chair with your own hands only and only according to proven samples, and you can design it yourself only if you have considerable experience as a furniture maker and/or solid knowledge in this matter.

In the design of rocking chairs there is an analogy with the design sailing ships. There, the center of sail (CS), the location of which depends on the configuration of the surface part (most of all, the sailing rig), the direction and strength of the wind, should always be slightly behind the center of rotation (CV) of the vessel. The location of the central point is determined by the interaction of the underwater part of the vessel with the incoming water flow.

If the CP is ahead of the CV, the ship will be prone to yaw while moving and will have trouble staying on course, and with the tiller/wheel abandoned, it will fall to the wind and end up with the lag (side) to the wave, which is fraught with disaster. If the CP is far behind the CV, the ship without a rudder will be driven towards the wind and will take the wave on the bow, which is safer, but it will respond to rudder turns sluggishly and slowly, which also threatens to crash. Therefore, sailboats are designed so that during any evolutions of the vessel (maneuvers + changes in sail in any possible sailing conditions), the CPU behaves like a sly fox with a dog: it “teases” the CV, staying close to it from behind, but then immediately runs away a little, As soon as the CV comes close. In this case, the ship will be quite agile, but the uncontrollable one will still be driven into the wind.

In a rocking chair, the role of the CP is played by the common center of gravity (CG) of the chair and the person sitting in it, and the role of the CV is the line of contact (LC), passing through the points of contact of the support shoes (arcs) of the floor or ground. If the CG is far ahead of the LC, it will be difficult to swing, and when leaving the chair you can get, excuse me, a kick from him. If the CG is behind the LC, then an “overkill turn” is possible, which is not funny at all: doctors are well aware of cases where people broke their necks by tumbling over their heads from homemade rocking chairs. That is, for a rocking chair to be safe, convenient and comfortable, its CG with a rider of any corpulence should always be slightly ahead of the LC.

Note: For reference, the CG of a normal-built human body is located on the border of the lumbar and sacrum on the inside of the spinal column. When moving and in different poses, its position changes little - over millions of years of evolution, a kinematic system has been developed that allows us not to fall on our side with our arms outstretched.

Rocking chair designs

Due to the above, the first rocking chairs appeared relatively late, no earlier than the middle of the 18th century. By that time, science had given technology methods for calculating complex mechanical systems in dynamics, and the first steam engines. As for the rocking chairs, their classic design is arches elongated posteriorly with a radius of curvature smoothly decreasing from front to back, pos. 1 in Fig. In such a system, the further the seated person pumps back, the further the LC will move back from the CG and it will be more and more difficult to pump out until the stopper is reached - the rear ends of the arches turn into straight lines. This is the so-called. reverse-progressive support. It is often called simply progressive, because. a truly progressive one will throw the rider backwards from the slightest push and therefore is not used. For ergonomic reasons, progressive arches are not always comfortable (if someone steps on the heel of the arch, the rider will jerk), so at the same time they came up with the idea of ​​moving the rocking chair forward, which shifts the overall CG there, pos. 2, but such chairs are only suitable for people whose body type they are designed for.

The best way to create a rocking chair that is comfortable for anyone is to put arches on springs, pos. 3. At first, springs were made of wood, teak or dogwood (there is no replacement). Now rocker springs are made of carbon fiber (carbon, Kevlar) or special steel. Rockers on springs, in addition, swing for a long time and smoothly from a small push, lulling the rider in the most gentle way.

The simplest in design and the most safe are rocking stairs, pos. 4. In them, the stringers also serve as arches, and long length their components are guaranteed against tipping over. But single rocking stairs are chairs for individual use. If someone else sits in this one, with a CG even slightly shifted from the calculated one, it will either be difficult for him to swing, or he will find himself lying with his knees towards the sky. Therefore, according to the staircase design, as a rule, a pair of garden chairs or rocking benches are made. In this case, the general CG of the riders is less likely to leave the calculation area, and the large supporting area of ​​the arcs ensures rocking when the rocking chair is installed directly on the ground. The structure and dimensions of a paired garden rocking chair are shown in Fig. Seat upholstery – slats 30x50; valleys - board 100x30.

Product samples

On the trail. rice. – drawings of a classic rocking chair, relatively simple and not particularly material-intensive, but suitable for both the country house and the living room. In the latter case, the seat and back cushions are made 5-7 cm thick using the technology described below.

The next option is garden rocker from boards, see fig. Widened arches are designed for installation on the ground. When creating the design, we took into account the fact that on a lawn or gravel you won’t be able to sway for a long time from one push anyway. This made it possible to move the CG more forward from the LC by moving the seat, and use simple radius arcs. In addition, the resulting margin of stability made it possible to make the backrest adjustable in angle.

Rocking chair in fig. above, it is structurally already close to a rocking chair-chaise lounge, in which the fixation of the rider’s CG relative to the PC is ensured by his very pose; simply - a rather deep failure of the dearest parts and, accordingly, a low-lying general CG. Drawings of a pair of rocking chairs are shown on the following. rice. On the left - it looks more elegant, but it is material-intensive: for each of the shaped sidewalls you will need a whole sheet of plywood 20 mm thick. On the right - simpler and more economical. Arcs 60 mm wide, 4-layer: 2 middle ones are cut out together with the corresponding parts of the side panels from 15 mm plywood, and overlays, cut separately, are added to them. All this together makes the structure very strong, and the additional downward displacement of its own CG due to the heavy arches makes it quite resistant to overturning.

More to the dacha and more

The rocking lounge chair is not everyone's cup of tea; Most vacationers prefer to sunbathe in regular sun loungers, if only because when folded they can be carried on the roof rack. In such a case - in Fig. drawings of a sun lounger for a summer house, picnic or beach. The difference from standard samples is the system for adjusting the backrest tilt, which does not require shaped metal, which, however, requires the implementation of part 1, as well as round crossbars made of sufficient solid wood.

On the trail. rice. – the design is interesting. This wooden chair in its original form will go to the country house, but it is easy to modify it into a quite prestigious one for the apartment:

Note: seat and back cushions about 10 cm thick are sewn as for the frameless chair described below.

What if there is no carpentry?

Although shavings and sawdust are not dirt at all, wood processing is quite a garbage business. At the same time, modern materials and cutting methods make it possible to create printed garments that hold their shape under load without a frame. This is probably main reason the fact that frameless upholstered furniture is gaining more and more popularity among craftsmen and amateur craftswomen. The most common are embroidered chairs, because... the whole point home chair In general, it doesn’t need a frame in soft elasticity and functionality.

The structure of a sewn chair is shown in Fig. The purpose of the double cover, the choice of fabric and filling are described above; Here we only note that there is absolutely no need to put a zipper on the inner cover. Both covers are sewn inside out and the last seam of the inner one after filling in the filler is sewn up with the scar facing outwards. It’s easier, cheaper and more reliable, and the scar is still not visible. Before sewing the last seam or installing the fastener, the cover is turned inside out.

The last (detachable) seam of the outer cover should be 0.8-1 m long, because through it you will have to put the outer cover on the inner one that has taken shape. If the filling is solid (foam rubber, neoprene block), 2 half-length zippers are placed on the detachable seam, fastened towards each other, otherwise the inner bag will get stuck in the asymmetrical cut.

If the zipper is replaced with lacing, the allowances along the edges of the split seam are folded and ironed before turning the cover inside out, a thick, strong braid is inserted into the lapel, and the wings of the lapel are quilted. Then, using a hole punch, holes for the cord are punched in increments of 4-6 cm and framed with eyelets. In extreme cases, the holes are cut with petals, a ring of wire or durable plastic is applied, the petals are folded through it and glued with PVA; then the grommet is tightly covered with a harsh thread (see figure on the left) and glued again. In this general scheme devices and tailoring, several types of chairs are installed.

Note: processing allowances are everywhere within 15-30 mm.

Pillows

Who, as a child, did not lie on a pillow placed upside down? The simplest sewn chair is a large pillow. But it’s only good for fun, but it’s not good for relaxation: either there’s no back, or there’s something sticking out between the legs. It also easily wrinkles and falls to the side. Therefore, the cushion chair is made only to look like a pillow under the head, but in fact it is quite ergonomic and stable.

The easiest way is to pattern a cushion chair according to pos. and on the left in Fig. There are only 2 parts with a bend, and even then a simple radius one. Filler – foam rubber. But this “pillow” looks angular and doesn’t really look like the real thing. To get a more elegant chair that looks more like a real rumpled pillow, pos. b, you need to reduce the bottom, narrow the back, and trim the remaining parts obliquely by 5 cm, as shown in Fig. In this case, the filler is foam or neoprene.

Ottoman

Structurally and in terms of material consumption, a chair-cushion is similar to a chair-pouf, like a footprint. rice. It is more difficult to tailor, but pouffe chairs have an important advantage: they are suitable for play and relaxation Baby chair"from zero to school." But not a working chair, a high chair, or other functional children's furniture! Having got used to falling apart on something soft, the child runs a great risk of ruining his posture!

Pouf chairs are most often sewn according to a pattern of 3 parts: shell (ring sidewall), seat, bottom. But in operation it turns out that the only vertical seam (or zipper) soon separates or breaks. Therefore, it is best to sew a pouffe chair from 5 parts with an insert at the front, as shown in Fig. The liner works similar to the stitching on the toes of work or military boots. It doesn’t look good on weekend shoes, but the chair liner can be made decorative, and there won’t be any extra seams on the shell.

Sack and pear

It’s not far from a pouffe chair to a bean bag chair with a higher back. The simplest bean bag chair can be sewn from 3 parts, as on the left in Fig. The front vertical seam, due to the support of the rider on the back, is less loaded and quite reliable.

A simple bean bag chair has its drawbacks: the filling, especially foam, tends to spread out, and the back does not provide full support. You won't fall apart in such a chair with all your heart; your back will be damaged. The pear-shaped chair on the right in Fig. is free from these ailments. Option of cutting the bottom (bottom) No. 2 allows you to save approximately 0.5 m of fabric with a width of 1.44 m, because When marking the cut, parts according to option No. 2 can be squeezed between the wedges. In any case, the zipper is located along the diameter of the bottom.

Ball

An excellent option for a sporty child or adult is a ball chair, see fig. Cutting fabric for it is not so difficult if you use not the dimensions from the network, which are most often incorrect and not tied to anything, but the radius of the generatrix and the central angle of the polygon. In Fig. they are given for a ball chair with a diameter of 80 cm; for a diameter of 60 cm it will be 165 and 128 mm, respectively, at the same angles.

Sewing a ball chair has some features:

• Because The detachable seam is short, the cover will have to be sewn single from antistatic fabric.
• To prevent errors from accumulating during sewing, which will negate all the work, the polygon templates are carefully checked, applying sides to each other. All sides of both templates must be the same length to within 0.5 mm; for an 80 cm ball – 100 mm. Unusual for cutting work, right? But when sewing, the error accumulates. For 20 6-gons + 12 5-gons, the discrepancy can reach 0.5x32 = 16 mm and then the corners cannot be reduced by any tightening.
• The filler is poured into the cover through a rolled-up cardboard pipe with a diameter of 60 mm. You can use a piece of plastic.
• If the ball is laced, the split seam is made with a flap, like in old leather ones. soccer balls so that the filler does not spill out.

Note: the volume of filler for the described chair-pillows and 80 cm ball is about 250 l, and for the bag and pear about 350 l. The internal volume is filled completely, then washed.

Like real

Here in Fig. – frameless chair with foam filling, simulating a cabinet chair. Armrests, if needed, are sewn like a backrest. The entire product can serve as a module from which a sofa, chair-bed, etc. can be assembled. The base is foam rubber slabs of grade (density) 40-45, 10 cm thick, glued together with PVA in pairs to a thickness of 20 cm, pos. 1. Seat and foot zippers are located at the back, and backrest/armrest zippers are located at the bottom. They must be paired, pos. 2, because it is very difficult to push the foam rubber in any case into a deep cavity through an asymmetrical split seam.

Note: In the same way, but from foam rubber of a smaller thickness, the seat and back cushions of some of the chairs described above and below are made.

Tongues for sewing together chair elements about 10 cm wide (pos. 3) do not provide a complete guarantee against sideways displacement with distortion, so pairs of buttons, pos. 4. The backrest/armrests are sewn filled before filling the seat, and the seat and backing are sewn together after.

To the bottom (folded) decorative paneling did not get dirty or rub against the floor, it is advisable to place the chair on plywood or plank pallet with low (approx. 5 cm) legs. It unfolds through the bottom, pos. 5. In this case, you get a good temporary, say, at the dacha, crib for a child. And if you save a little on foam rubber and lengthen the legs due to the chosen height, you will get a good chaise lounge on the veranda, pos. 6. So that, again, the lower (when unfolded) edge of the footrest does not wear out, it is sheathed, including a corner, with technical fabric. When folded, the upholstery will be at the back between the pillows and will be almost invisible.

More children...

Children love to feel like adults. If this feeling is given to them for a period of sufficiently long painstaking activities (handicrafts, preparing homework), then perseverance will develop. To do this, in Fig. – a child seat, economical, durable and quite comfortable. For the reasons stated above (the child’s skeleton has not yet completely ossified), only soft armrests are allowed; in this case, they are made from covered foam rubber up to 30 mm thick. You don’t need to make it thicker, just as you don’t need to widen the seat and back or make them curved, scoliosis can develop. If your body becomes numb, let him lie on a pouf, pear or ball for half an hour. The key to correct posture is mobility and periodic change of positions.

The history of children's rocking horses is interesting. Judging by the excavations, they appeared as soon as some primitive innovator first saddled a horse. Initially, their function was purely utilitarian: the initial training of the future equestrian warrior. However, it is still useful for a child to feel like a rider these days; the vestibular apparatus and balance motor skills are developing well. What do the chairs have to do with it? But look how easy it is to make a children's rocking horse chair without any significant costs, see the video:

Video: do-it-yourself baby rocking chair-horse

In addition to developing the vestibular system and sense of balance, the little equestrian will enjoy swaying in a position that prevents deformation of the musculoskeletal system.

... and to the dacha

A rocking chair, a chaise longue and, in general, a country chair are good on a veranda or paved area. You can’t really swing in a rocking chair on the ground, and your legs slowly sink into a well-groomed lawn, at the same time spoiling it. So if there is suitable tree, a garden lounge chair makes complete sense to hang. This will deprive him of mobility, but will give him complete peace, comfort and unity with nature. Technically, there are 3 solution options: a swing chair, a cradle chair and a hammock chair.

Swing

How does wood work? hanging swing chair, shown in Fig. The indicated width (130 cm) is the maximum; for a pair chair, it can be reduced for a single chair. For reliability and simplification of the suspension, it is better to cut the initial (root) ends of the suspension cable with thimble loops, throw them on the bosses of the armrests (item 1), and pass the running ends through the rear suspension rings (item 2), throw them over the supporting beam of the suspension (bough wood, for example), insert into the front rings and then secure with locking knots, as shown in Fig. You can put soft pillows on the seat and back, sewn as described above.

Cradle

The swing chair requires horizontal or almost horizontal load-bearing beam, because suspended at 2 points. If you don’t have one, you can hang a cradle chair on almost any tree, see fig. Its basis is a hoop with a diameter of 1.1-1.5 m made of steel or propylene water pipe. The latter bends to this diameter without heating; then the joint must be secured with a round insert made of hard wood, fixed with self-tapping screws. As shown in the figure, as is the location of the suspension cables. The upper suspension unit is the same as the hammock chairs, see below. It is better to make the seat not textile, but wicker, but this is already a topic about weaving hammocks.

Hammock chair

The hammock chair is a hybrid of parts of a hammock, the upper suspension of the cradle, an additional beam and a pair of semi-rigid pillows, sewn together with a book in the manner described above, see fig. on right. The elements starting from the hammock are woven/knitted in similar ways. The features inherent in this particular chair are in the seat with a backrest:

From scraps

The country chair shown in the figure is notable not only for its rather original appearance. It is made from loose bars square section scraps furniture array 28 mm thick. Well, it’s a pity to use expensive high-quality material for firewood or some kind of plugs and patches. The boards of the seat and back are made of plywood; soft pillows (see above) 7-10 cm thick are placed on them.

Adirondacks

The Adirondacks are a sparsely populated, rather picturesque, mountainous and wooded area on the border of the United States and Canada. Its inhabitants have a reputation for being wayward and stubborn and have long invented their own chair for admiring their native land. The general public's interest in the Adirondacks and its chairs was awakened after Rockwell Kent painted the painting “Adirondack Autumn” in 1951, see figure; the artist worked a lot in those parts. After the death of R. Kent in 1971, one of the heirs either sold or donated “Adirondack Autumn” to the USSR Art Fund. It was not placed in the central repositories: they did not forget that R. Kent once fought in the Vietnam War, and was transferred to the Odessa Museum of Western and Eastern Art, where the author of these lines had a chance to see it in the early 80s.

Rockwell Kent, “Adirondack Autumn”

Unfortunately, in reproductions, Kent’s paintings fade irreparably: no print is able to convey the subtle riot of colors that the artist was able to create on canvas. Nowadays, Rockwell Kent is known to the masses more for his b/w illustrations for “Moby Dick”; “Adirondack Autumn” can only be found online in the form of crappy scans with moire. But Adirondack chairs were luckier; they are popular to the point that their name has become a household name, even to the point of Adirondack chairs or simply Adirondacks.

Structurally, Adirondack chairs, I must say, are very successful: simple, cheap, technologically advanced. The crossbar supporting the back gives them excellent strength and rigidity, and the large supporting surface of the rear legs, which account for the main part workload, provides low pressure on the ground. Aesthetically, Adirondack chairs fit right into the wilderness, and their wide armrests can serve as tables. Residents of the Adirondacks, by the way, also enjoy the fame of unsurpassed masters of moonshine. Clifford Simak admitted that he based his Alle-Opa in “Goblin Sanctuary” on an Adirondack. For these reasons, Adirondack-type chairs are made in a variety of modifications, see fig.

Adirondack garden chairs

Drawings of an Adirondack chair made of plywood

There are enough drawings of Adirondack chairs floating around the world wide web. Here we present a relatively little-known option made from 20 mm thick plywood. His distinctive feature– only 2 curved parts (armrests) with simple radius bends. If desired, foam rubber cushions 5-10 cm thick can be placed on the seat and backrest.

What is undesirable

Simple homemade chairs are enough; as you can see, there are many. But there are structures that it is better not to tackle, no matter how much desire or skill you have. This is, firstly, an office chair. The requirements for its ergonomics are radically different from those for a home holiday home: it should create comfort that is not relaxing, but for a long time supporting performance. Technologically, this is achieved by using complex-shaped parts made from high-quality materials. And their production, in turn, requires industrial conditions with equipment for pressing and stamping, for plastic casting, TIG/MIG welding, etc. In addition, a gas lift, when purchased individually at retail, can be more expensive than a finished chair; Gas lifts are already made by machine-building enterprises with equipment for precision metalworking.

Note: computer chair differs from the office one essentially only in name, and everything said above applies to it in full.

Secondly, the chairs are made of cardboard. Packaging cardboard with internal corrugation is a wonderful material in many respects and finds the widest application. But not for armchairs. In principle, building a chair from cardboard is not so difficult, see figure, and its overall strength will be very high. But - alas! – even cardboard reinforced in any way easily crumples at the end and the seat of the chair will sag very soon. And a push with anything hard, even a vacuum cleaner, will leave an irremovable dent.

Finally about the unusual

However, cardboard is very useful in creating chairs. For example, for modeling unique chairs, pos. 1 in Fig. Sheets of cardboard are glued together to the thickness of the chosen plywood or board, cut into blanks and assembled from them into a model, which, of course, cannot be sat on. After fitting, the model is disassembled and a set of templates for cutting the base material is obtained. True, although it is not difficult to fill the gaps of the skeleton with polystyrene foam or polystyrene foam, in order to cover such a chair with soft material and trim it with decorative fabric, you need to be a cutter and an ace seamstress.

Armchairs made of felt or overcoat cloth, pos. 2, covered with foam cubes (the seat is supported by a hidden plywood insert), pos. 3, or water pipes, pos. 4, already require more invention than high skill. Felt and tubular, of course, will cost a pretty penny. But a chair made from cubes can be made even by less than adult craftsmen and craftswomen. And a hand-made chair for my mother’s birthday – it really couldn’t be cooler.

In general, the chairs, even without reaching complex representative ones, give scope for creative self-expression like few other pieces of furniture and homemade products in general. So, since the chairs are on the way, create, invent, try!

Many pieces of furniture are available for self-production if you have access to materials, a certain list of tools and experience working with them. The abundance of ready-made drawings in the public domain allows us to minimize preparatory operations before work. An example of an affordable product would be a rocking chair made of plywood, which is not difficult to make with your own hands if you have a little experience working with metal or wood.

Types of rocking chairs by material

Currently, due to the expansion suburban construction and the population's craving for comfort and convenience, rocking chairs have gained steady, widespread demand. In furniture stores and on websites you can find a lot of offers for every taste. The main materials used for the manufacture of such products are:

Each of listed types has its own manufacturing characteristics. Working with solid wood requires skills in carpentry processing and experience in using in various ways connection of parts. The process of making such a chair is long and complicated, which not many home craftsmen can do.

Thematic material:

Working with willow twigs also requires special skills. It is necessary to properly prepare and dry the material and prepare it for work. Know the properties willow twig, its features, the technology of assembling the frame for subsequent braiding. It will not be possible to master such a complex craft in a couple of days.

In the presence of the simplest manual pipe bender and experience with tools such as angular Sander and a welding machine, make a rocking chair frame from steel pipes round or rectangular section will not be difficult. Such products look original. Making the back and seat from durable fabric or nylon or jute cord will help reduce weight.

It is much easier and faster to make a rocking chair from sheet materials. The most affordable and widely distributed in hardware stores in any city is plywood. It can be easily sawed and sanded, adheres well with wood glue, and holds metal fasteners well.

To work with plywood you will need the following basic tools:

1. an electric jigsaw is a common tool available in the arsenal of any home craftsman who works with wood;
2. an electric drill will help not only to obtain any number of holes in the required places, but also to polish parts if necessary;
3. a sander allows you to give parts a perfectly smooth surface;

The minimum amount of required equipment is the key to the availability of products for self-production. If desired ready product can be coated with stain, varnish or dyes using a spray gun, electric or pneumatic. If they are not available, this work can be done with a simple brush.

Part marking

Immediately before starting work on such an interesting product, you need to stock up on the main material - plywood. Sheets with a thickness of at least 15-20 mm will help to obtain parts of sufficient strength. If there are no such materials on sale, you can do a simpler thing - buy ten-millimeter material and glue it in pairs using any available wood glue, for example, PVA.

In addition, you will need a high-quality drawing for all parts of the product. You can make it yourself if you have experience or use a ready-made one.

It is advisable that the drawings of the product and its parts include dimensions. Otherwise, they will have to be calculated independently based on the basic parameters - the height of the chair and seat, the width of the seat, etc.

The availability of drawings with a transfer grid, for example, with 10x10 cm cells, will allow you to quickly make templates for marking identical parts of a rocking chair. If you cannot find them, you will have to do the difficult work yourself. To make a template, take a sheet of whatman paper or fiberboard and mark it with a grid of parallel lines equally spaced from each other.

Using a simple pencil, outline the details with light pressure. Carefully inspect and correct the resulting image, compare it with the required dimensions of the product. Only after making sure that you are in full compliance with the desired result, cut out the template. For fiberboard it is convenient to use a jigsaw.

Process the edges of the templates sandpaper to remove possible irregularities. The corners can be slightly smoothed. Now, applying the stencil directly to the plywood, mark the parts of the rocking chair, tracing the template along the contour.

Cutting out and cleaning

The marked parts must be carefully cut out. For this we use electric jigsaw with a saw for cutting plywood. If you are unable to purchase these, use saw blades for curved sawing. They have a small tooth and a small blade width. They are convenient for cutting out curved parts with both small and large radii of curvature.

Sawing when cutting plywood is best done not directly along the line, but stepping back from it outward by 0.5 mm. This is necessary in order to subsequently clean the edges while maintaining the natural dimensions of the parts.

Otherwise, gaps may form in the seats where the parts will be connected.

Finished parts general design must be prepared for assembly. To do this, the parts are cleaned with sandpaper. You can first round the corners of the edges using an electric router.

The parts of the rocking chair, sawn and sanded, must be connected to each other according to the drawing. Most often, wooden parts are joined using high-quality glue and finger joint or threaded rods. All this must be provided for at the marking and sawing stage.

To eliminate possible shortcomings, we recommend performing preliminary assembly “dry”, that is, without glue. In case of compliance assembled structure basic assembly can be performed on the drawing. Glue is applied to the protruding parts of the parts and inserted tightly into the corresponding grooves. To fix the structure and improve the quality of the connection, it is convenient to use sliding steel or wooden clamps. They can be purchased at tool stores or made yourself.

Finishing the finished chair

After the glue has completely hardened, which usually happens a day after joining the parts, the tightening devices, if any, can be removed.

If glue is applied excessively, it often comes out on the surface of parts in the form of drips. If it is not removed properly, do high-quality finishing the finished product will not work.

After final sanding of the plywood parts with fine-grained sandpaper, you can apply certain decorative materials. Among the most commonly used in the home carpentry workshop are the following:

1. stain on water or alcohol based, perfectly imitating certain valuable species wood;
2. tinted varnishes on a water, oil or nitro base, which have their own advantages and disadvantages, and application features.
3. clear varnishes;
4. dyes and enamels.

The final choice of one type or another finishing material depends on the preferences of the master or customer, the existing interior in which the finished rocking chair will be located.

Thus, we have outlined the main sequence of work when independently manufacturing a rocking chair from such available material like plywood. Specified special moments, which a novice master should pay attention to, the most common mistakes in work.

Planning the garden setting includes the selection of suitable products. It is not always possible to purchase elegant interior items in stores, and they are not cheap. The best option make a rocking chair made of metal with your own hands. The work will not take much time, and the chair will not take much space. Moreover, making it will be a fun process. The advantages of metal over wood are that the former looks especially elegant, and a chair made from it is highly durable.

A metal rocking chair is much stronger and more reliable than a chair made of wood.

Step-by-step instruction

There are several types of interior items made in this way:

1. All metal chairs made using artistic forging.
2. Tubular products created from aluminum or steel rods by welding.
3. A combination of two materials, for example, metal and plastic.

Forging such products requires special skills and equipment. It is almost impossible to do this without skill. The connecting points in the second type are provided by welding or screwing the bolts with a drill.

The first stage of design is to develop a drawing. To do this you need to take the parameters regular stool and display them on a piece of paper. Manually draw an oval line at the base of the future chair. This way you can easily calculate the size of this semicircle. The larger radius ensures maximum safety. Then cut out such diagrams and attach these outlines to the original materials.

Then you will need steel rods measuring 20x20 mm. Cut them into 1 m sections each and weld them to the base, following the drawings exactly. Bend the steel following an oval and use a welding machine to connect it to the legs. The frame pitch should be about 6 mm.

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Other options

A DIY rocking chair can be made of aluminum. For him, the base under the seat with the backrest is one piece and bends in the right place. In this case, tube arcs of a swinging mechanism with a 20 mm cut are used. Docking points are provided with screw fastening.

However, the most the best option- a connection of steel and wood, when the first is used for the base, and the second for part of the seat. The frame manufacturing technology is identical to the previous description. But the chair is equipped with a bed made of wooden planks. The joining of the upper and lower parts is carried out with screws. Drill holes in 50mm increments. Place the boards of the future chair according to the holes.

Before you start work, you need to think through everything carefully. And, first of all, you should know what exactly can be useful in the process of creating such a piece of furniture. Here is the exact list of tools and equipment:

1. Steel rods with 20x20 mm cuts.
2. Metal sheet, 2 mm thick.
3. The ischial part is made of plastic.
4. For fastening you will need steel corners with parameters 40x40x3 mm.
5. Planks, 5 cm wide and 0.2 cm high.
6. Welding device.
7. Drill.
8. Grinder and hacksaw for cutting raw materials.
9. You will need a tape measure.
10. Sheet and instruments for drawing.
11. Set of screws.

You can purchase everything you need in specialized supermarkets for construction.

Remember that a rocking chair made by yourself needs care after construction is completed.

For these purposes, buy anti-corrosion products. So, spending time in the garden will become even more pleasant and comfortable.

Life and surrounding events fly at a rapid speed. Often, before we know it, the week is over, the weekend has flown by, and it’s time to start the race again. How often do we dream at such moments? cozy place, where you can retire and dream about the eternal? Or maybe you just need to sleep and read your favorite book, covered with a warm blanket, while feeling the swaying of a swing or a hammock?

A rocking chair is an original and beautiful part of your home interior.

A rocking chair is an ideal option for this. It will be a great addition to the garden or on the porch of the house, where you can bask in the warm rays of the sun and listen to the birds singing. Also, the chair can fit perfectly into the urban interior of an apartment - you can relax on it after working days and do what you love: knitting, reading, watching movies.

If a child appears in your home, any mother will dream of a place where she can easily rock the baby to sleep and relax on her own. Such rocking chairs in stores are not cheap, and it is not always possible to find furniture that perfectly matches the interior of the room.

Rocking chair - perfect way create an atmosphere of comfort and tranquility.

An excellent option would be to make such a chair yourself. The advantages in this case are undeniable: you can choose right size, design, material and feel a great sense of pride that you were able to create such beauty with your own hands.

The undoubted advantage of a homemade rocking chair is that it suits exactly your tastes.

If you decide to make a rocking chair with your own hands, you must first consider the types and designs of products, familiarize yourself with various materials, from which such a process as making a chair will bring pleasure, and the features of working with these materials.

A simple wicker rocking chair will add a lot of comfort to your home.

Let's look at the main types of products:

• Classic rocking chairs on regular runners- harmonize both in modern and classic styles. Manufacturing technology does not require extensive experience in furniture production, but the basics of practice must be present. The runners swing smoothly with a small radius, but with strong swing there is a risk of tipping over.
  

These chairs are made with a low seat for a more stable position.

• Rocking chairs on runners with bumpers. If a classic chair needs to be made with an average (normal) seat height, it is recommended to equip the arches with bumpers - the runners are designed so that the ends are curved in the opposite direction.

In this version, the arches prevent the chair from turning over, but getting up from the chair is uncomfortable and hard due to the presence of these bumpers.

• Rockers with elliptical arches - chairs guarantee a soft, gentle rocking, but with a large swing there is a risk of tipping over, because of this it is recommended to equip them with bumpers, as in the previous version. For garden plots, we offer the option of elliptical rocking chairs with an awning, which prevents tipping over.

A rocking chair can be small and neat.

• Multifunctional rocking chairs 3 in 1 - when sitting down, it looks like a standard chair for level sitting; when tilting back, the runners switch to rocking mode; when reclining further, the chair turns into a lounger.

However, visually such a chair looks bulky and the process of switching from one function to another is inconvenient; sharp jerks of the body are required.

Having considered the main options for chairs, if you have no experience in furniture production, we recommend taking a closer look at the classic version; making a rocking chair is not as difficult as it might seem.

Having decided on the model, it is important to decide on the materials.

Materials for rocking chairs

There are many materials from which a chair can be made. There are popular models that are most often used in the manufacture of rocking chairs.

Let's consider everything possible options and let’s look at the most popular ones in more detail.

1. Willow vine is an easy-to-produce material that looks beautiful on the finished product; the main drawback is moisture intolerance, i.e. It is not recommended to install outdoors.
2. Rattan is a liana native to South-East Asia, are not inferior in beauty to willow materials, but not durable. When working with rattan, glue and special knitting are used - nails and screws should not be used.
3. Forged metal is a durable and strong material; forged products are decorated with a variety of metal patterns. Exclusively outdoor version of a rocking chair.
4. Soft (leather) parts - there are rockers made of plywood, covered with another material, for example, leather - they can be classified as strict office options;

Some chairs can be easily transformed.

So, the most popular materials are rattan and willow. Let's try to understand their properties.

Rattan is a liana from the palm family that grows in a humid region; its structure is porous and moisture-resistant. Rattan is not afraid of rain and furniture made from it is often installed in gardens and courtyards. Furniture from of this material it turns out environmentally friendly, beautiful and comfortable. However, due to porosity, the material can quickly fail, and repairing such furniture will cost half the cost of the product.

Its wood is very flexible and easy to work with.

Willow is a tree we all know; its structure is homogeneous; therefore, this material is less flexible in comparison with rattan. It is also not recommended to leave a willow chair in the rain, as the wood structure may swell and deteriorate. In rattan, the porous structure does not allow the use of anything other than glue, so the lashes have to be fixed with special knots. It is also worth noting that willow material will be much cheaper than rattan.

When making furniture from willow, craftsmen use self-tapping screws and special glue.

Now, knowing the main indicators different breeds wood, you can decide for yourself which material is closer to you and is suitable for you.

A variety of materials allows you to create a large number of excellent specimens.

Make a rocking chair with your own hands, especially if this is your first similar work, the easiest way is from plywood. As a first experiment, we recommend using maple plywood, since it is a very hard material, has a high density and has a beautiful texture and pattern.

With this type of material, making a chair will bring you pure pleasure.

Let's look at the features of working with plywood. For structural strength, three layers of plywood are used, and the middle one should be twice as thick as the outer ones, for example, if we need a total thickness of 20 mm, then we glue 5-10-5 mm, we need to glue it with a special waterproof glue and can be further strengthened with small nails.

When connecting parts, you can use self-tapping screws in addition to glue.

Also, the structure of plywood allows you to develop unusual shapes. It is enough to draw the desired blank and cut it out with a jigsaw. Also, when working with plywood, it is important to take into account that it must be impregnated with a water-polymer emulsion and varnish at least twice.

Such a product will be much stronger and more resistant to external influences.

Below we offer step-by-step instructions for consideration. how to make a rocking chair with your own hands . Let's consider 2 options for chairs, for both we will use plywood as the main material. Before starting production, it is important to decide on the necessary equipment so that your work does not stop mid-cycle due to the lack of some materials or tools. So, you will need:

• Templates for frame parts;
• Plywood boards and bars;
• Jigsaw;
• Reed threads;
• Grinder machine;
• Screws, small nails, self-tapping screws;
• Sandpaper;
• Drill – for drilling side holes;
• Water-repellent impregnations, varnishes.

Tools for making your own rocking chair.

Rocking chair manufacturing process

DIY rocking chair made in classic style with curved runners, will become excellent option for your first furniture making experience. Wicker reed elements will also be used, which will create beautiful patterns and comfort during planting.

A rocking chair can easily be made at home.

So, we need 3-layer maple plywood, onto which we will apply pre-created templates and make the frame of the product. You can create a drawing of a rocking chair yourself or search the Internet for ready-made shape options.

We cut out all the elements using a jigsaw and grinding machine.

It is very important to carefully treat the surface of all wooden elements; they should be smooth, without burrs or rough areas, therefore, in order for the templates to take the required form, they must also be cleaned with sandpaper.

We connect the parts using screws.

Don’t forget that the back and seat of our chair will be decorated with reed patterns, so we leave their central part empty. That is, we only create the frame from plywood. Along the entire perimeter of the resulting frame we make small identical holes at a distance of 1.5-2 cm from each other.

In the future we will attach reed threads to the holes.

After our base is ready, we begin to work with the reed. We interweave it with threads vertically and horizontally throughout the entire surface of the seat, like weaving, and secure it with strong knots in the previously drilled holes.

We perform similar actions with the back of the product.

When the product is formed, everything wooden elements needs to be processed protective coating at least 2 times.

After drying, seal with a double layer of varnish.

Let's consider another simple version of the original rocking chair made of plywood. The chair consists of two sidewalls in the shape of a boomerang and transverse rails from wall to wall in the amount of 14 pieces.

The chair is made of plywood 15 mm thick.

To begin with, let's draw out 2 sides of the chair using the template and carefully cut them out according to the markings with a jigsaw. All edges of the sidewall must be sanded with sandpaper.

You should get 2 large “boomerangs”.

We glue the supports to the side walls with wood glue and, for reliability, secure each of the bars with a self-tapping screw.

We also attach our guides to these supports with self-tapping screws.

After completing all the above steps, we will have the frame of our rocking chair ready. We treat the sides of the chair with stain in two layers; you can start the second layer only after the first has completely dried.

The ends of the sidewalls can then be varnished or painted with glossy paint.

Our chair is ready.

All that remains is to decorate it. To do this, take soft pillows of the required color or a small flexible mattress and attach it to the frame using ties. Soft elements can be purchased at the store or made yourself. To do this, it is better to take natural fabric as upholstery and foam rubber 5 cm thick.

We cut out the part we need in size from the foam rubber and put a pre-sewn cover on it.

We are sure that making one rocking chair with your own hands will encourage you to conquer new heights, and you will want to make a similar or another rocking chair with your own hands for all family members, so that you can get together on quiet, cozy evenings and talk about events that have happened and plans for the future, slowly swaying on the chairs we made ourselves.

A rocking chair will help you quickly and completely relax.

You can make such furniture according to individual sizes, including children's sizes for the youngest family members. Such evening or morning motion sickness creates a relaxing, calming effect that is so necessary for a person in modern world. These chairs are environmentally friendly, as they are made from natural materials.

They are beautiful and can decorate your interior in your apartment, on your balcony or in your courtyard.

Most rockers do not require special care, they are easily tolerated cold temperature. Some materials do not tolerate strong moisture, so such furniture cannot be left outside for the winter.

We are sure that every owner of a rocking chair will consider it his favorite place to hang out.

Making a rocking chair with your own hands is not at all difficult; a minimal set of tools and a great desire are enough.

VIDEO: DIY rocking chair - 44 ideas.

Rocking chair in the interior – 50 photo ideas:

A successful invention for those who value the opportunity to relax and unwind without leaving home is a rocking chair. And if you put it in the garden, you can enjoy it twice as much.

The traditional material for such chairs is willow and its analogue, rattan. Products made from this material weigh little, are distinguished by elegant lines and a respectable price.

Modern materials can also be used in the manufacture of wicker chairs - there are options made from synthetic wicker. They are no worse than natural ones, are not at all afraid of moisture and have a very long service life.

Metal chairs, despite the reliability and plasticity of the material, are too heavy. A wrought iron chair will look great in the garden, but you will have to make a platform for it. In addition, working with metal requires certain skills; it is difficult for a beginner to make a metal chair.

Rocking chair made from pipe scraps

Rocking chair made of metal profile

Plastic chairs are affordable and attractive in appearance. To these advantages we can add resistance to wet weather, durability, and bright, non-fading color. In addition, they do not have to be repainted or processed.

For self-production, wood is best suited - an inexpensive, easy-to-work material. At the end of the work, the wooden chair can be given any color or its texture can be preserved. For those who are thinking about making their own furniture for the first time, wood is best suited.

There are many models for home craftsmen, the simplest ones are presented below.

When designing a homemade rocking chair, the main thing is that it does not tip over when the sitter leans back. It is also important that the rocking process itself, for which the chair was made, does not force the person to strain too much.

Types of rocking chairs

The simplest type is chairs built according to the radius principle. These are the most affordable products for self-production; they are distinguished by the simplicity of manufacturing technology and design. The model presented below has a somewhat heavy and awkward appearance; this chair is suitable for the garden.

Chairs of this type are designed with a fairly low seating position, which ensures smooth rocking and safety for the seated person. If the seat is installed at a normal height, then the chair runners are equipped with bumpers - limiters of the swing amplitude. To get up from such a chair, you need to make a physical effort. And the swing itself requires some tension.

Much more stable than chairs on runners of variable curvature; they do not tip over.

Nirvana chairs are very comfortable; if you lean forward a little, it will gently “land” a person on his feet. Rockers on elliptical runners, despite their comfort, can tip over, so they are equipped with bump stops; the front one usually serves as a footrest.

There is no possibility of tipping over when rocking on reclining chairs with awnings or on elliptical runners.

Where to begin

Below is a rocking chair for the garden, which even a beginner can make with some effort. On
You can try your hand at such a model before moving on to a complex home version.

In any case, the drawing should be as simple as possible so that it can be reproduced even without much experience.

This compact chair will look great in the garden and can be placed at home without taking up much space. This simple model will be used to describe the process.

You should start with a drawing

The drawing is made on a scale grid, on which each cell corresponds to 10 cm. All markings on the sawn parts must be made in accordance with the drawing, taking into account the scale.

What can a chair be made from?

Euro plywood 3 cm thick is suitable for work.

• You need to cut out the sidewalls exactly according to the pattern, three parts for each side;
• The remaining parts are made of timber 50 mm wide and 25 mm thick. For the seat and backrest you need 35 elements made of timber, each length 120 mm;
• In order to correctly calculate how much timber you will need, you must first visit the store and see what beams are available and what their length is. Knowing the initial size of the material, it will be possible to minimize waste by varying the width of the chair;
• For example, if bars of the required thickness, 2.3 meters long, are available for sale, then you can make the chair a little narrower - cut the bars for the back and seat to 115 mm each. If the beams are slightly wider, then the chair can be made a little wider so that there are not a lot of scraps left;
• You will also need three crossbars made of timber; when making them, you should proceed from the width of the chair - that is, the length of the bars for the back and seat.

Small variations in width will not affect the stability of the chair, so you can do this without worrying about the result.

When the parts are ready

After the parts are cut, they will need to be processed. There should be no roughness on them.

In addition, carefully processed surfaces will give the product a finished look and facilitate finishing.

The surfaces are processed using a grinding machine; each part must be sanded on both sides with sandpaper of different grains. If you have the skill, you can use a router attachment to soften and round the sides of each part. If this is not possible, you can simply process the cuts with a grinder or sand them manually.

Treatment with hot drying oil should be carried out in at least two layers. This is one of the most unmodern methods, but after this the product can be painted oil paint and use even outdoors, without losing its qualities and appearance.

Small parts can be dipped entirely into boiling drying oil, but you should not hold them with your hands. It's better to make improvised tongs from wooden slats. Larger parts should be generously coated with a brush, laying them out on cardboard, each side in turn, and dry the remaining parts in the same way. Working with hot drying oil requires great care; this should be kept in mind during the impregnation process. You must not bend over a container with a boiling substance; you must wear thick work gloves.

Alternatively, the parts can be treated with antiseptics, stains, and other impregnations, of which there are a great variety in stores. They should be selected based on the intended purpose of the item: where it will be used.

At the end of the work, you can go through it with fine sandpaper again by hand, bringing it to complete smoothness.

Assembly

• It is imperative to mark the places where the cross bars are attached - these places are marked on the drawing; their location on the finished parts should be calculated based on the scale grid pitch.
• Having assembled the sides, you can begin to attach the seat and back parts. The back will be attached to the stand, the seat to the drawers.

We need to pay attention to this again. that the drawers must be fixed strictly symmetrically, and the assembled side parts, if placed on top of each other, must completely coincide, without the slightest deviation.

• Now the side parts are fastened together by crossbars; they should be attached at the legs, in the middle and at the top of the chair. For attachment, it is better to use confirmats (a type of connecting fastener);
• To attach the back and seat parts, four holes should be drilled in each block, two on each side. To ensure that the screw heads are not visible, each hole needs to be slightly widened from above with a drill. larger diameter(it must be selected according to the diameter of the caps). When screwed on, the caps will end up in recesses, which can then be masked with furniture putty.

Such careful completion of the first part of the work will ensure the fulfillment of the following indispensable condition - all parts of the seat and back, all 35 bars must be positioned strictly horizontally.

Final processing

After assembly, the product must be processed again to give it a finished look. In addition, this will significantly extend its service life and maintain its aesthetic appearance.

If the parts were treated with drying oil, then after assembly the chair should be coated with oil paint, in thin layers of two or three layers.

If you want the product to have the natural texture of wood, it should be treated with stain of the desired shade and varnished.

The varnish should be waterproof, just like the stain. There are varnishes that create special durable coating resistant to abrasion and cracking. If the chair will be placed outside, it is better to take yacht varnish or something else with increased durability. In any case, it is better to keep the product under a canopy, this will extend its functionality, or at least bring it into the house during precipitation.

• For the chair you need to use strong types of wood. These are oak, larch, conifers;
• Europlywood, a 3 cm thick laminated wood material, also has sufficient strength to make the chair reliable;
• Sheets of plywood must be carefully inspected before purchasing to ensure there are no surface damage or cracks. This will eliminate difficulties when cutting the product and its subsequent processing;
• The more time is spent on processing the product and impregnating it with drying oil or compounds, the longer its service life will be;
• The chair does not need to be upholstered with foam rubber and thick fabrics; this will contribute to the accumulation of moisture under the upholstery, which will quickly render it unusable. It is better to get removable pillows for the seat and backrest;
• If the finished product leans too far back or, conversely, is oriented forward, it will have to be balanced upon completion of the work. To do this, an additional cross member is installed at the rear ends of the sidewalls. Previously, recesses are cut into it, where weights are attached according to the inclination. Also, if necessary, the front part of the chair is loaded. By adding and subtracting them, trying to sit and rock in a chair, you can achieve the ideal balance of the product.

Making a rocking chair is a rather complicated process, but quite doable. If you carry out all the steps correctly and carefully, following the drawing and tips outlined in the article, the result will be a beautiful and functional product that will last a long time.

For inspiration, you can watch the video at the link below. The video contains incredibly simple models that you can make yourself, using affordable materials.