Here's What's New
as of
March 7th, 2007
New medium cherry rocking chair
for sale! You can see it here
Medium Cherry Rocking Chair
May 5th
Added some pictures of a new
table I made recently for Dan Finnegan, a potter here in Fredericksburg VA. You
can see it here:
Leaf
Table
March 9th
I have added some pictures of
Bill and his new rocking chair with me in my nephew Kirk's rocking chair to
illustrate the size differences.
February 24th, 2006
I have added a "Picker's Rocker"
for those of you who are dedicated guitar players who are also dedicated
rockers, this chair is for you! Click here PICKERS
ROCKER to see this fine rocking chair.
February 15th, 2006
StoryTime
Rocking Chair Building Experience
The first two and one half weeks
of May I am going to be building a StoryTime Rocking Chair. I am inviting
interested rocking chair builders to come and learn from the building process so
you can build your own StoryTime. It will be 10 to 13 working days and the fee
will be $1,500 to watch and learn from start to finish of the building process.
I will take three people maximum for this seminar so if you are interested I
would not delay too long.
January 22nd, 2006
The Rocking Chair Show has been
scheduled, click on "Rocking Chair Show"
for details
December 26th, 2005
I have added my new Tee Shirts
to the site. They have the RCU logo on the back. You can see them by clicking
the link below.
"T"
Shirts
December 14, 2005
I have changed quite a bit since
the last update.
I have a new
chair for sale, it
is still in the shop but will be finished soon!
I have added a
Diploma for you
University graduates! I thought it only appropriate that you builders should
have something to show for your good work and increase in skill. The
requirements for the Diploma are listed on the Diploma page. I have had about
400 people through the class or buying plans, I would like to send them all out
to you guys for free but that is a pretty good pile of money. I am charging a
small processing and mailing fee for those of you who qualify and would like to
have one you can order them on line or call.
I am adding my "World Peace
Sticks" to this site. If you are curious what I might be up to with these you
can click on the "World Peace Sticks" button.
I am also getting a batch of "T"
shirts in with my Rocking Chair University logo. I will put a note here when
they arrive. It should be any day now.
August 26th, 2005
Coming soon, in the "builders"
section, a discussion on the value using the "Center of Gravity" when it comes to
rocking chair design. All of you who believe it to be the "Holy Grail" of
rocking chair design will most certainly not be interested in reading it as it
will be for the "practical minded" folk who are more interested in
correct answers and comfort than
in theory.
August 6th, 2005
I have started my "Dobro" web
site. As I write this it is in the very early stages of development and is very
rough but there is one pic of one of my first prototypes and some explanation of
how it evolved. If you are interested in checking it out click on
Reso Nuevo Resophonic Guitar
Aug 3rd, 2005
I have added a section
For Rocker Builders who are specifically using my plans to build chairs. As
I change/modify/find better ways to do things I will post them here. Check it
out as I have posted some important notes.
Jul 30th, 2005
I
have added a "Schedule" for ROCKING CHAIR U. so folks can see what times are
available and request a specific date. You can see the schedule with a click.
SCHEDULE
June 9th, 2005
Well, I have designed that "Resophonic
Guitar" that I have been talking about for some time. Sounds great, looks great.
Some of the best Dobro players have played it and they love the sound. It is
louder, clearer and has better sustain than any dobro I have heard. The reason
for the great sound is my new sound chamber design. I am going to do a web site for this instrument
soon. I'll let you know when it is up. In the mean time I may post a pic or two
to this web site. If I do I will put a note here.
as of
March 3rd, 2005
Skip Starring, I lost your address on the way home, so if you
could send me the information via email I will get your stuff right out. Sorry
for the delay.
Feb 11th, 2005
If you are a chair builder and have received a
back brace hole template (BBHT) and you are not quite sure how it works, please
email me with your name and address and I will be happy to send the instructions
I have just finished.
December 3, 2004
I have a new program for you folks who like to do everything yourself. I have
the "Make Your Own Kit" program. You will come for a week and I will assist you
in the making and shaping of all the parts for your chair. When you return home
what will remain for you to do will be: Gluing up, final sanding and finishing.
Then of course, rocking. Look under Rocking Chair
University for this.
November 21, 2004
About every five years or so (it
is becoming less and less common) I run across some beautiful Birds Eye Maple.
This happened to me a couple weeks ago as I was searching through the stacks of
lumber at one of my favorite wood suppliers. I ended up buying about one hundred
and fifteen board feet of exquisite 8/4 birds eye. This is enough for four or
five chairs. If you are interested in this wood for a beautiful rocking chair,
now is the time to call, as it will not last long. To see what this wood looks
like click here
August 16th, 2004
I have very much enjoyed having
folks in for my "Rocking Chair School" Not just because I enjoy teaching but
because I have learned so much from the folks who came. Just recently Charles
Goldblum came for a week from Annapolis and taught me a lot about the fine art
of using a hand plane. At 56 years old and having been a woodworker as long as I
can remember I already knew more than a few things about setting up planes and
using them but Charles kicked that up more than a few notches.
When he asked me if I hand
planed the edges of my boards for the seat and headrest after I had squared the
edges on my jointer I thought perhaps he had too much time on his hands or
had spent too much money on his planes and was attempting to justify their cost.
After he planed a couple boards
and I saw the difference I was absolutely amazed. Now, hand planing all of my
joints is standard procedure for me. Thanks for the fascinating lesson on planes
Charles.
May 18th, 2004
If you live in England and would
like to order a chair your shipping cost will be 600 dollars (about 320 pounds)
May 16th, 2004
Well, we have all returned
safely from England and Sweden. It was a wonderful adventure for the entire
family and the children were delighted to miss a couple weeks of school. The
chair show went well, there were many lectures on the history, design and
execution of the chair making process that were absolutely terrific. The chair I
took to the show is now residing in Highgrove near Tetbury, Gloucestershire. It
is, I believe, in the very best of company.
Many thanks to Chloe Darling for
caring enough about the art of chair making to bring the event to fruition and
also for helping me with the safe transport of my chair to England, through
customs, to the show and finally to Highgrove.
My backlog is currently about
five months, I will be working hard to complete those chairs this spring and
summer so I will be ready to attend the show at the Kentucky Museum of Arts and
Design in September.
April 13th, 2004
I recently had to re-format my
hard disk and unfortunately lost a little data on recent purchases of my plans.
If you purchased plans in the last 45 days I would appreciate your emailing me
with your name, address and phone number so I can rebuild the last bit of my
database. All plans that have been ordered have been shipped as I pretty much
ship the day the order comes in or the next day at the latest.
The rocking chair show and party
is coming up next year and I want to have all the addresses current so everybody
that has ordered a set of plans will get a proper invitation.
Thanks for your help.
email
April 11th, 2004
I have been invited to a museum
show in Louisville, KY at the Kentucky Museum of Arts and Design for their
upcoming rocking chair show, "Rocking Chairs: Contemporary Seating at its Best"
This show will be in early September with the opening reception September 3rd
from 5:00-9:00pm. If you live in the area stop by, introduce yourself and have a
seat in the most comfortable rocking chair made!
February 9th, 2004
Added a link to John
Moldovan, check him out, he makes some beautiful rocking chairs.
January 8th, 2004
Added a link to Gary Weeks'
rocking chair operation down in sunny Texas, check it out. It's a pretty nice
rocker for a very reasonable price!
December 8th, 2003
Well I am off to England the
first week in May 2004, I have been invited to attend Chairs 2004 in
Gloucestershire and exhibit one of my chairs. I am really looking forward to
this event and the chance to see what the chair makers are doing in Europe. I'll
keep you posted.
August 21, 2003
June 1, 2003
-
The plans
now include all three standard sizes of my rocking chairs, so you get three
complete sets of rocking chair templates instead of just one. I used to charge
250 dollars for the plans with one set of templates to fit the person the chair
was being made for and I would charge 20 dollars per additional size, if the
builder wanted them. Almost everybody wanted more than one size templates, so I
now include all three sizes and charge 275 dollars where I used to charge 290
for all three sizes. It turns out to be much easier for me and a better deal for
my customers!
April 22, 2003
Added link to some of the most creative furniture I have ever seen, check out
Mitch Goldstein's marvelous and mysterious creations.
March 31, 2003
December 24, 2002
-
Added link to Parker Converse II
and his
Sarasota Rocking Chairs, well worth
the visit.
-
Added link to
Bill Muir, tabuchair.com, maker of exquisite traditional Cuban furniture,
again, well worth your time.
-
Changed the opening photo to
cherry rocker belonging to the Jim and Lynda Perdue collection. Photo is by my
friend John Magor
August 13, 2002
June 1st, 2002
November 26th, 2001
October 20th, 2001
New photos of
Storytime rocking chair
May 12, 2001
April 25, 2001
-
First of all, I have added
this 'What's New' page
-
I have added a one week
seminar
for people who would like to come and learn about making rocking chairs but
do not wish to make a chair. The cost for this seminar is $800 if you want
to take home the "How to Make the Rocking chair" book along with a set of
templates for all the parts, or $600 if you just want to come for the
experience.
-
I have added photos of
Michael Grady and the little rocking chair he made for his son Cole.
-
I added photos of
Rich Frohman (the first person to buy my plans) and his beautiful
rocking chair. He bought his plans about a year ago now and here's the
result!
-
I added some new
storytime
photos
-
If you have purchased plans
and are building a chair, come to the party and rocking chair competition to
be held in Fredericksburg. See the details in Rocking
Chair Plans
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