Subject: Pictures of my chair
From: Douglas
<hal@rockingchairs.net>
Hal, you had requested that I send you a picture of my completed chair.
I started this project at the behest of my daughter, who wanted me to
build her a rocking chair. I looked long and hard for a rocking chair
plan that I was interested in building. Yours was the one that struck me
as the one to build, although likely the hardest to build. I must say I
thoroughly enjoyed it and your plans were very well done. A few times, I
found myself searching for some detail and ended up calling you twice.
Likely my biggest obstacle was that I only had your pictures on the
internet to guide me on what the finished chair would look like. I had
never seen one in person. The chair in the pictures is a small chair,
which is appropriate for my 22 year old daughter. I intend to make a
large one for my use, once I get through all the deferred projects that
my wife has accumulated while I was building this one. I saved all my
jigs and fixtures, so it should go a little quicker. I also found that
my sliding table saw (Knapp of Austria) was a great aid in reproducing
angles reliably throughout the project.
Thank you so much for sharing your expertise and wisdom,
Douglas S.
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From: Carl
To: Hal Taylor <hal@rockingchairs.net>Subject: Finished Pictures
Hal,
I finished my rocker a few weeks ago and it's gorgeous (from an
impartial observer). The pictures are a little bit redder than the real
thing. I ended up using Watco Natural Danish Oil for the finish. Again
the wood is English Oak from Hearne's that I purchased in June 03. The
color differences in the headrest are from the Sun's reflection on the
pieces that are oriented 180 degrees from each other. You can see that
in one of the pictures where the back was in the Sun's shadow. I guess I
should wait for a bright overcast day and take a few more without having
to contend with all the shadows. I'm getting some regular photos
developed and I'll send you a few.
Thanks for providing the opportunity to make this possible. I'm going to
take a break from chair making and try my hand at some turnings; perhaps
in a year or so I'll start my Black Walnut chair.
Looking forward to the rocking chair show and party (whatever that is)
and hope to be able to attend with rocker in attendance.
Carl
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From: "Daniel
To: hal@rockingchairs.netSubject: Finished Rocking Chair
Hal-
The chair is finished!!!! We actually finished it on Dec. 8th and it
shipped on 14th. The chair arrived safe and sound in Arizona last
Friday. My sister has nothing but praise for the comfort and beautiful
design of the chair.
I would like to thank you for providing plans for your chair. My father
and I could not of produced such a wonderful piece of furniture with out
your guidance. Secondly thank you for making yourself personally
available for questions and advice. Your quick responses allowed us to
finish the chair in the time allotted. The praises of friends and family
made the building process gain momentum.. I only wish I could relay all
the wonderful comments people made on the finished chair. I guess what I
am trying to say is Thank You!!
So on behalf of the Lynch family I would like to wish you and yours a
Happy Holidays and a prosperous New Year.
I need one last piece of advice regarding maintenance of the chair. What
is the upkeep schedule for the finish?
We have so many pictures that we are currently sorting through and I
hope to send you some shortly. Thank you again.
Sincerely,
Dan
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Dear Hal,
My name is Wayne Livesey and I live in the UK.
My wife bought me a set of your rocking chair plans as a Christmas
present because she knew that I admired your chair design so much. I
have found the plans and instructions very clear aided by the superb
photographs and a logical build sequence.
Progress so far is good, tempered with a great deal of caution on my
part. I have made all of the jigs and templates described by you and was
delighted to find that the rocker backer “rocked “ smoothly when
released from the form.
I have chosen to make the chair in Ash as it will match the furniture in
our sitting room. The chair will be the small version as this will suit
my wife’s height and it will be her chair.
My intention is to make my next chair in Maple followed later with one
made in Walnut both of which are destined for other members of the
family.
I am so pleased that you have produced these plans, enabling amateurs
like myself the pleasure of creating a beautiful chair.
My best regards
Wayne
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From: steve
To: hal@rockingchairs.netSubject: rocking chair pictures
Mr. Taylor,
I purchased chair plans from you November 2003, and I just wanted to
show you the progress I’ve been making. The book and the templates are
first class, easy to understand and make the building and assembly of
the
chair a very rewarding experience. I work full time (at woodcraft) so it
takes
me about one month to complete a chair, I would have built more but my
wife says i should sell one before i start another. I also built a
sitting chair
with some extra cherry I had in the shop.
So a happy New Year to you and your family and thanks for giving me
the opportunity to build your wonderful rocking chairs.
Steve
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From: Denis R>
Subject: chairTo: Hal Taylor <hal@rockingchairs.net>
I DID IT!
It took me 150 Hr. [with jigs] but I was successful and happy with the
out come.
I never would have taken the time to do it without your laying the
ground work. You put a lot of time and thought in your plans, well done.
Thank you.
I have always wanted to make something really good out of walnut but
never was moved to do it. This is the kind of project I have been
waiting for.
Denis
Ps. you can add another chair to the list.
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From: "Orion"
To: <hal@rockingchairs.net>Subject: Orion's finished rocker
Mr. Taylor
Just a few quick snaps of my finished rocker of your design. It's
figured cherry. The wood was paid for by my brother-in-law and he will
be receiving the chair. I'm about to make another for my mother-in-law
but with a few changes of my own in the attempt to start working on my
own rocker style.
I have been working with and building furniture for a number of years
both as a hobby and as a profession. I ran across your web site while
working on my own sculpted rocker design and decided to purchase your
plans in the hopes of making the trial and error period much shorter.
When I first cut out your template for the rockers back leg I was a
little dismayed that it was almost exactly the same as the leg I had
designed and made in poplar as my first attempt chair to butcher and
make corrections to. After continuing on with your plans I quickly found
out how much headache your plans saved me. Your plans have given me a
great learning experience in building this type of chair and set me far
ahead of where I would have been otherwise. Though not inexpensive for
me they were worth every penny and I don't think I could have gained a
better, more concise and focused education anywhere else.
Sincerely and with many thanks
Orion
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From: Gary A
To: <hal@rockingchairs.net>Subject: Chair Pix
Hal,
Thought you might like to see a couple of shots of the hal taylor chair
I'm just finishing up now. Kind of a before and after set of photos.
Bought a couple of slabs of curly cherry from Good Hope (my wife loved
helping me get those into the house). Wasn't cheap but well worth it.
I'll take some better photos when done (first coat of oil just went on)
but I've been snapping photos all along the way and these are just a few
of them. Have resized pretty small for better mailing. Hope quality
makes them viewable.
I had a terrific time building the chair. Was a fun challenge looking
at a couple of raw slabs of wood and finding the chair inside. Plans
were very well done - a bit confusing in parts but once I got into the
construction, became pretty clear what I needed to do. I've built a
Maloof style chair before so I was comfortable with the "rabbit and
dado" joint for the legs. But doing a rocker with the 6 degree angle on
back intimidated me a bit. I loved your solution of gluing an extra
block on the back legs and cutting them at 6 degrees (much cheaper than
getting specially ground 6 degree router bits like Maloof has). Your use
of laminations for the back rests and the vertical grain for the
headrail are very nice design elements. The back rests are very
comfortable with the flex and give that's built into them.
Anyway, hope you enjoy the photos. I'll send you a decent one when the
chair is finished and I can setup a more formal shot of the chair.
Thanks for making the plans available. While obviously a good business
move for you, it helps the weekend woodworker's like myself learn new
things and conquer new challenges.
Gary
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