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I spent the last day of the year weaving a hickory bark seat on a rocking chair I made. It is a big job and hard on the fingers but the results are worth it.
The chair is made from red oak and the plans came from an article by Brian Boggs in Fine Woodworking Magazine. I made another one of these chairs out of walnut about 10 years ago also with a hickory bark seat. It sits on my screen porch every summer and the seat still looks great.
I had to taper the width of each warp strip from front to back because the seat is narrower in the back. This proved to be more difficult than it sounds. When the seat is fully dry it will get a light oil finish. Overall I am pleased with the result.
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Hey Tom,
All I can say is Wow! Seems to take a lot to catch my eye but this sure did. Love the seat, simple lines & workmanship.
Take care,
Daryl
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(01-01-2017, 09:38 PM)Daryl Weir Wrote: Hey Tom,
All I can say is Wow! Seems to take a lot to catch my eye but this sure did. Love the seat, simple lines & workmanship.
How about "SHE-WOW!"
Outstanding!!!!!!!!!
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Please visit my website
splintermaking.com
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Hi Tom, beautiful work and the chair looks fantastic! Do you harvest your own hickory bark or where do you get it?
Thanks for sharing.
Kevin
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Just stunning.
Thanks for sharing.
Ag
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Beautiful work on both chair and seat. Thanks for posting the picture. If you have a photo of the walnut chair you mentioned, I'd enjoy seeing that too.
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Very nice! I didn't know that hickory bark was used for that purpose. Is that a pinned bridle joint from the legs to the rocker? I assume it is glued as well. I have not seen that joint used for that function.
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Yep - that's a handsome chair, Tom.
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Thanks for your kind words, guys. In answer to the questions, no, I did not harvest the bark. I tried it with the earlier chair and it is hard work and you need a big straight hickory tree for it to work well. I bought this bark from Newberry & Sons in Tenn. The joint between the armrest and the front post is a dowel driven down into the end grain of the post. A tenon on the end of the armrest goes into the back post so the front joint needs the dowel. I will post a picture below of the walnut chair from about 10 years ago and another of the latest one showing the curvature of the back slats.
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Nice job! How did you fasten the hickory bark to the chair frame? Thanks. -Howard
