Hello, I have an old rocking chair that's somewhat of a family heirloom. It's been in pieces in storage after getting wobbly decades ago. I was hoping to put it back together. Most of the repairs and finishing I'm comfortable with, but I've never done any laminating
The backrest slats are laminated with a 1/4" core, cross grain, then a couple 1/8" layers, long grain. Then the .035" veneer. There is one 7"wide center slat, and 4 more 1 3/4" wide outer slats. Everything appears to be the same length, so I believe there was no dishing or curve side to side. They do have an S-curve in the up and down direction. The inner cores are mostly all delaminated. The outer cores and veneer are still glued (mostly).
The outer frame pieces have the same matching curve, so I have a pattern to make a jig or press.
Should I use this exact shape in making a jig? Or should I add some extra curve in anticipation of some springback? And what type of glue? And what other tips or issues might be helpful?
This chair doesn't have enough real or sentimental value that worries me, but this part seems to be the worst of the repair so if I can tackle it, the rest should be easy. Thanks!
Chair repair laminations
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Re: Chair repair laminations
#2I would expect there would be some spring back. I would skip the veneer if I could get the correct hardwood to match the rest of the rocker. Be sure to wax your form so that any errant glue doesn't glue your work piece to the form. Make sure you have enough material to make more slats than will actually be needed, just in case you have to make adjustments to your form.
Re: Chair repair laminations
#3
Plenty of options here, but that form of construction wouldn't be my first bet. As Lee suggested, if you can make the slats of solid oak you won't have to veneer them with oak. Besides, veneers have gotten a lot thinner since the days when this chair was manufactured.
Your total thickness, based on the dimensions of the layers in the original would be about 9/16". The curvature looks mild enough, so you could likely glue up (3) 3/16" laminates to get your finish thickness. You'd definitely need to make a form, and either a mating form (minus the 9/16" for the laminates) or a vacuum bag. If you are making solid forms for use with regular clamps, you should line them with cork or something compressible to take up any slight variations from the thickness.
Springback is quite possible with oak laminates of this thickness, but it shouldn't be too severe. Make yourself a few test laminates and see how easy it is to clamp them up. There will be less less chance of springback if you use five laminates, and it will be easier to clamp, too. I'd use white or yellow PVA glue, and be sure to either wax your form or use wax paper.
Ellis Walentine
Re: Chair repair laminations
#4An overall picture would be helpful......however.....without more info......I would re-glue the original pieces with hot hide glue.
Re: Chair repair laminations
#5Thanks for the input, guys. That gives me some direction to get started.
I unfortunately don't have a photo of the entire chair for reference because it's just a pile of parts at the moment.