| Project by Matthew Morris | posted 09-09-2015 07:58 AM | 3721 views | 9 times favorited | 25 comments |  |
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This project has been on my wish list for many years and I’m excited to have finished it! This iconic rocking chair is packed full of great Greene & Greene details, from its recessed carvings to its silver inlay and cloud lift patterns.
For nine months I worked in SketchUp and created prototypes in preparation for this build. The rocker I built varies slightly from the original, which was designed for a person standing around 5 feet tall. Mine has been scaled up and features an increased seat height and slightly taller back with laminated rockers.
Let me know what you think of the Rocking Chair!
Many of the original details I have kept true to:
• Housed mortise and tenon joints
• Recessed carving on the arms, rails, stretchers and rockers
• Inlaid Ebony Bars with Sterling Silver
If you haven’t seen my projects before, I film the entire building of each project step-by-step and sell them as classes online. With this in mind, I had to compromise on a few things so that a woodworker with a 6” jointer, lunchbox planer, 14” bandsaw, etc. would be able to build this project:
• The crest rail is still curved but the sweep is made from a 8/4 piece of lumber instead of 12/4
• The Center back slat is not curved at the top to match the curve of the crest rail as it enters a housed mortise
• The arm panel is not tapered along its height with a bead running down the front edge of the panel
Overall, I stayed true to the spirit of the original chair. At the bottom is a project overview video.
Here is a link to a playlist of all of the Shop Updates and various videos I released on YouTube during the building of this project. Helps to tell the story of the chair being built from full-size drawings to the final finishing: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOPCLPGo4uMwTn47Mkgotvmkok20nVOcS
If you head over to my website and go to the page describing this project, I also have a link to the full Chapter 11 – Rear Legs for anyone to watch. This part of the chair was probably the most difficult as not only is the rear leg angled at 6 degrees, but you need to cut and shape the rear leg above where the arm enters at a negative 6 degrees so that the mortises run in the same parallel plane. Here is a link: http://www.mmwoodstudio.com/online-classes/gamble-rocker/
Hope you enjoy the pictures!
Want to know more?
Visit the website http://www.mmwoodstudio.com/
Follow the shop on Instagram http://instagram.com/mmwoodstudio
Like us on Facebook http://facebook.com/mmwoodstudio
Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/mmwoodstudio
-- Matthew Morris, MM Wood Studio, Southern CA, http://www.mmwoodstudio.com
25 comments so far
Tooch
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2013 posts in 2893 days
#1 posted 09-09-2015 09:50 AM
that looks awesome. I love the Greene and Greene style and think you really pulled it off.
Nice work my good sir, nice work.
-- "Well, the world needs ditch-diggers too..." - Judge Smails
Will_Wood
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28 posts in 3353 days
#2 posted 09-09-2015 01:28 PM
Beautiful chair! I’m not familiar with the original, but I love all the G&G details worked into it. I particularly like the cloud lift recessed areas along the rocker. Very well done!
helluvawreck
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32122 posts in 3883 days
#3 posted 09-09-2015 01:29 PM
You did a really nice job on this rocker.
helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com
-- helluvawreck aka Charles, http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com
sras
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5887 posts in 4146 days
#4 posted 09-09-2015 03:07 PM
You may have altered it a bit, but it looks like a G&G Gamble Rocker to me.
Nice work!
-- Steve - Impatience is Expensive
pintodeluxe
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#5 posted 09-09-2015 04:15 PM
Great work, the details are stunning.
I am a stickler for good upholstery, and even that came out great!
-- Willie, Washington "If You Choose Not To Decide, You Still Have Made a Choice" - Rush
Matthew Morris
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#6 posted 09-09-2015 04:28 PM
Tooch,
Thank you for the compliment! It really was a lot of fun.
-- Matthew Morris, MM Wood Studio, Southern CA, http://www.mmwoodstudio.com
Matthew Morris
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#7 posted 09-09-2015 04:30 PM
Thank you! This chair has a ton of great Greene & Greene details. Adds only a few extra hours!
-- Matthew Morris, MM Wood Studio, Southern CA, http://www.mmwoodstudio.com
Matthew Morris
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#8 posted 09-09-2015 04:31 PM
Thanks Charles!
-- Matthew Morris, MM Wood Studio, Southern CA, http://www.mmwoodstudio.com
Matthew Morris
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82 posts in 2407 days
#9 posted 09-09-2015 04:33 PM
Sras,
Thanks! The alterations were made so that others could build the chair with the tools of a typical garage shop when someone takes my class and builds this project. 6” Jointer, 14” bandsaw, lunchbox planer, etc.
-- Matthew Morris, MM Wood Studio, Southern CA, http://www.mmwoodstudio.com
Marshall
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#10 posted 09-09-2015 07:27 PM
This is awesome! Great work. It’s you guys that give amateurs like me the opportunity to do great projects like this. I’m finishing up my first rocker now (Hal Taylor). His book and videos are invaluable to my project. I’ve always been a fan of Greene and Greene. I’ll have to try yours next :)
-- Marshall - http://mcomisar.tumblr.com
Matthew Morris
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#11 posted 09-09-2015 07:56 PM
Marshall,
Thank you! I never built Hal’s version of the rocker, but I did buy the templates, book and video a long time ago. In this build I borrowed a few ideas from him – rocker radius, rocker bending form ideas, attaching the rockers to the legs ideas. I also talked with my friend Paul of Canadian Woodworks – one of Hal’s better known students – to get some insights from him. I didn’t want to make the lumberjocks post too commercial… so if you head over to my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/mmwoodstudio) you’ll see a coupon code I am running as a promotion on finishing this class.
-- Matthew Morris, MM Wood Studio, Southern CA, http://www.mmwoodstudio.com
Mean_Dean
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#12 posted 09-09-2015 11:49 PM
I enjoyed your blog (the tail end of it, at least!) of this chair build, and am happy to see you post it as a project. This is a heck of a good looking rocker, and I know fellow LJ’s will enjoy seeing it!
-- Dean -- "Don't give up the ship -- fight her 'till she sinks!" Capt James Lawrence USN
Pointer
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#13 posted 09-09-2015 11:55 PM
That is a very inviting chair. I want to sit in it and relax for a while.
-- Joe - I am not entirely worthless, I can always serve as a bad example.
Matthew Morris
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#14 posted 09-10-2015 12:06 AM
Thanks Dean! I appreciate it.
-- Matthew Morris, MM Wood Studio, Southern CA, http://www.mmwoodstudio.com
Matthew Morris
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#15 posted 09-10-2015 12:07 AM
It is really nice to sit and have a nice scotch and listen to music or watch something on TV.
-- Matthew Morris, MM Wood Studio, Southern CA, http://www.mmwoodstudio.com
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