Rocking chair

 The chair

A client contacted me and asked if I would carve his daughters names in the back of a rocking chair. The chair had been in the families possession for quite a time and as such had considerable sentimental value.

On receipt of the piece, I realised that the job was far from simple. The back of the chair was curved in two dimensions and looking at the timber it looked as if it was made from Elm and had been purchased by my client as an antique.

I was concerned that any slip on my part would ruin a lovely piece of furniture and my best option would be to hand carve the girls names, which would be very difficult in old brittle Elm particularly as the client had asked for a Disney type font .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The solution

Having considered various options I decided with the clients agreement to make two small blocks of timber to fit just under the head rail. These were carved with the girls names and jointed in to the vertical slats of the back, a second piece being shaped to clamp the front lettered piece in place.

The advantage of this approach was that I was not having to cut in to the old chair and should there be a need to change or add to the names the name plates could be removed or replaced as necessary.

Two blocks of Ash were shaped and carved, then multiple coats of a Georgian Oak wood stain to bring the Ash colour down to that of the original chair.  A couple of coats of wax polish finished the job.

It is always difficult doing Christmas presents, not knowing when they are due for delivery I try to delay doing blogs to avoid spoiling the surprise.