Shaker Rocker

Jigs and story sticks ensure accurate joinery

B Y E R N I E C O N O V E R

T he Shaker rocker is one of the most

recognized rocking-chair designs, and
rightfully so. It has simple and attrac-
tive lines, it is economical to build, and,
if designed properly, it can be very com-
rocking chairs made later at the famous
Shaker production shop at Mount Lebanon
in New York state.
I made a number of modifications to
improve the strength of the chair, taking
communities. The arms and rockers are
1⁄ 2
in. thick and book-matched from the
same figured maple board. The front arm
posts have a ginger-jar profile and attach
to the arms with a through-tenon and a
fortable. into account modern-day physiques. The mushroom cap. Finally, the back is woven
This chair also is a wonderful project in original 13⁄ 8-in.-thick back posts are beefed with one curved back splat above.
my woodworking classes because it intro- up to 19⁄16 in. thick, and all of the seat rails
duces students to spindle turning, steam- and stretchers are about 1⁄ 8 in. larger in Turn all of the spindles
bending, and a few important hand-tool diameter than those on classic examples Turning the various chair parts is fairly
techniques. The plans I use in class are of the chair. straightforward, but there are a few tips and
an amalgamation of an early brethren’s I also took some historical liberties with tricks that will make it go easier. To begin,
rocker, which is detailed in John Kassay’s its design, incorporating features from vari- mill all of the stock for the rails, stretchers,
The Book of Shaker Furniture, and the ous chairs produced by different Shaker and posts to length but just oversize in

TURNING TIPS
All of the parts for this
chair, except for the
arms, rockers, and the
curved back slat, are
turned on the lathe. The
back posts require a
steady rest and a lathe
that accommodates a
43-in.-long turning.

Size the rail tenons precisely with a

wrench. Turn the tenons with a wide parting
tool until the open-ended wrench slides over
the tenon.

A simple method to hold the mushroom

Use a steady rest to turn the long back posts. Conover used a bed extension on his Nova DVR caps for turning. Turn a tenon on scrap stock,
3000 lathe to accommodate the 43-in.-long posts. At this length, a steady rest is required to pre- then jam the cap blank over the tenon.
vent the turning from chattering when working the center region.

48 FINE WOODWORKING Photos: Matt Berger

Credit Here JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005 49
 SHAKER ROC KER
Back slat The chair is made from roughly 8 bd. ft. of
3 in. Mortise, 1 ⁄ 2 in. hard maple. Conover used curly or figured
deep by 1⁄4 in. wood as much as possible, except for the
wide seat rails and stretchers, where straight-
grain stock is necessary for strength. All of
Arm, the finished dimensions include tenons.
13 ⁄4 in. Front post, 1⁄ 2 in. thick Curved
13⁄8 in. dia. back rail
by 20 7⁄8 in. Screw and plug
21 ⁄16 in. long
Back post, 19⁄16 in. dia.
by 43 in. long

Upper
portion of
post tapers
from 1 9 ⁄16 in.
dia. to
13 ⁄ 8 in. dia.

16 in.

Stretcher Seat
rail
Rocker,
Cap, 13⁄4 in. dia. ⁄ in. thick
12
by 3⁄4 in. thick ⁄ -in.-
3 8

dia. pin
Tenon, 11⁄16 in. dia.
by 3⁄4 in. long

⁄ in. thick
14

⁄ in.
34 211⁄16 in.

51 ⁄ 2 in. 13⁄4 in.

71 ⁄4 in. 153 ⁄4 in.

BACK SLAT
Mortises,
1 in. deep
No taper; leave rough
and unfinished.
Tenon, 5 ⁄ 8 in. dia.
41⁄2 in. ⁄
15 16 in. dia. by 7⁄ 8 in. long

41 ⁄ 2 in.

Upper curved back rail, 163 ⁄ 8 in. long

Lower curved back rail, 16 1 ⁄4 in. long
Back seat rail, 16 in. long
41⁄2 in. Front seat rail, 21 1 ⁄ 8 in. long
Side seat rails, 161 ⁄ 2 in. long
41 ⁄ 2 in. 58 ⁄ in.
BACK AND SEAT RAILS
⁄ in.
58

Slot, 13⁄4 in. deep Tenon, 5 ⁄ 8 in. dia.

41⁄8 in.
23 ⁄4 in. by 1⁄2 in. wide by 7⁄ 8 in. long
34⁄ in. dia. 78 ⁄ in. dia. Tenon, 1 ⁄ 2 in.
dia. by 1 ⁄ 2 in.
long, is shaped
80° after the chair
is assembled.
Back stretcher, 16 in. long
100° Front stretchers, 21 1 ⁄ 8 in. long
Side stretchers, 16 1 ⁄ 2 in. long 1 sq. = 1 in.
FRONT AND TOP VIEWS STRETCHERS
OF BACK AND FRONT POSTS ARM AND ROCKER

50 FINE WOODWORKING Drawings: Bob La Pointe

thickness so that you have some room for
error when turning the delicate stretchers
Steam-bending made simple
and rails to their final diameters. The bending of the back posts, the back slat, and the back
This project requires you to be diligent rails is done by heating the parts in a steambox and then
and organized in the way that you mill clamping them to a form.
and dimension the turning billets. Because To do the job, I use a shopmade steambox composed
there are so many parts that are nearly of a propane outdoor stove that boils water in a 5-gal. gas
identical, varying only slightly in length tank and then sends steam through a radiator hose into
and diameter, it’s wise to mark each piece
a 4-in.-dia. Schedule-80 drainpipe. The back posts should
as it’s made.
steam in the box for about an hour at a temperature around
Steady rest prevents chatter—The long 200°F to become flexible enough to bend. The back slat
back posts require a lathe with 43 in. be- and rails need to steam for only about 15 to 20 minutes.
tween centers. To accommodate that dis- Once a part is removed from the steambox, you have about
tance, I attached a bed extension to my 30 to 60 seconds to clamp it to a form.
Nova DVR 3000 lathe. A turning of this Just like a teapot, the steambox must leak steam to
length also requires the use of a steady prevent it from exploding under pressure. Also, it must be
rest, which supports the post at the center positioned on a slope so that condensation inside the box can drain into the water
to keep it from chattering. Steady rests are tank. Always wear heavy gloves and eye protection when operating the steambox and
available commercially or can be made in shuttling parts to the bending jigs. An extra pair of hands is a big help.
the shop (see FWW #161, p. 34 and FWW For more on steam-bending, see FWW #149, pp. 78-83.
#143, p. 14, respectively).
BACK-RAIL BENDING JIG
Size tenons with a wrench—Another
turning trick helps produce consistent and Cleat 13⁄4 in.
perfectly sized round tenons, which will
ensure a good glue bond when they are
joined to the round mortises. First, mark
the length of the tenon with a set of divid-
ers, measuring from the end of the turning.
Then, as you approach the final diameter 18 3⁄4 in.
of the tenon, fit an open-ended wrench of
the finished diameter over the area. It will
BACK-POST BENDING JIG
slide over the tenon when it’s turned to the
correct diameter. Ease into the fit, because
if you turn the tenons undersize, you in-
crease the chance of the joinery failing.
Only the upper
Finish parts on the lathe—You can sand 26 in. of the
jig is curved.
and finish nearly all of the round parts
on the lathe (see FWW #165, pp. 62-65).
The exceptions are the back posts, the seat 47 1⁄2 in.
rails, and the curved back rails. The back
posts are steam-bent before finishing, and
the seat rails and curved back rails are left
unfinished to provide traction so the Shak-
er-tape weave doesn’t slide around. 93⁄4 in.
The Shakers generally finished their
chairs with varnish. I favor either Minwax
or Olympic Antique Oil.
BACK-SLAT BENDING JIG
Jigs align parts for accurate joinery
After steam-bending the back posts, you 13⁄8 in.
can begin drilling the round mortises for
the rail and stretcher joinery. This requires
two jigs to hold the posts steady at the
drill press. I also make four story sticks
to locate the center points of the seat rail 18 3⁄4 in.

M AY / J U N E 2 0 0 5 51
 and stretcher mortises. The measurements
for the seat-back mortises aren’t included
on the story sticks and instead are located
with a tape measure, measuring from the
bottom of each back post.
It doesn’t matter in what order you cut
the mortises, but I begin with the front
posts. Using the story stick, lay out and
mark the center point on the mortises for
the two front stretchers and the front seat
rail. With the post clamped in the jig, drill
5⁄8-in.-dia. mortises, 1 in. deep, using a drill

press. Then insert a spare spindle into the

mortise and rotate the front post 80°, using
the guide block for alignment. Clamp the
front post in the jig in its new orientation
and mark the mortises for the side stretch-
ers and seat rail. Drill those mortises with
the same setup. The process is the same for the
back posts, but the mortises are 100° apart.
The most important detail to keep in
mind is to drill adjacent mortises on the
correct side of each post. I mark the inside
edges of the front and back posts to keep
USE A JIG TO things straight. Once all of the mortises
DRILL THE RAIL have been drilled, you will notice that
AND STRETCHER some adjacent holes intersect (you can see
daylight when you look into the mortises).
MORTISES This is intentional: The intersecting holes
The adjacent mortises on will help strengthen the glue joints when
each post must be drilled at all of the parts are brought together.
precise angles. Begin with
the mortises for the front and Drill and chisel mortises by hand—
back rails and stretchers. Mortising the back posts for the curved
Then use a tenoned stick to back slat is best done by hand. Use a
set the angle for the side rail handheld drill to bore the round mortises
and stretcher mortises. for the curved back rails. First, dry-fit the
chair with two band clamps. Measure from
the bottom of each back post to mark the
Position the back posts in a drilling jig. V-blocks attached to a plywood base help
to hold the posts in place for drilling. Use a center punch and a story stick to locate location of the back slat and rails, then use
and align the drill bit. Then drill the mortises 1 in. deep. the bent parts to eyeball the approximate

Set the angle for the side mortises. Make a shorter jig to allow clearance for the bend in the Drill holes for the side rails and stretchers.
back posts. Insert a tenoned stick into the mortise and use a guide block angled at 10° to align the The adjacent holes should intersect with the
post in the jig (left). Then transfer the mortise locations from the story stick to the post (center). front and back rail and stretcher mortises.

52 FINE WOODWORKING
 D R Y- F I T T H E C H A I R , A N D A L I G N
THE OTHER MORTISES BY EYE
Rather than calculate the angles of the mortises, Conover dry-assembles the
chair using band clamps and holds the curved part in place to determine the
mortising angle.

Drill for the curved back rails. With the chair temporarily
assembled, Conover uses the curved back rail to align the
drill at the correct angle.

Determine the angle of the mortise. Conover uses a mortising chisel to

chop the mortises for the curved back slat. He rests the slat in place to set
the proper angle for chopping (center). A piece of tape on the chisel marks
the desired depth of the mortise (right) so that it can engage 3⁄8 in. of the tenon.

angle of each mortise. Hold the chisel to

this angle during mortising, and do the
same thing with a handheld drill to bore ASSEMBLE
the round mortises for the rails. THE CHAIR
Long open time aids assembly All of the parts of the
I use 90-minute clear epoxy to assemble chair, except for the arms
and rockers, go together
the chair, taking advantage of the glue’s
in one glue-up. Conover
long open time and its ability to prevent
prefers to use 90-minute
squeaky joints. Apply well-mixed epoxy to epoxy for its long open
the mortises and tenons with a solder brush. time. Join the back parts
Be sure to wear disposable gloves; epoxy first, then insert the side
is difficult to get off your skin. stretchers, and wrap
Assemble the back posts first, then add up with the front-post
the side stretchers and finish up with the assembly, clamping it
front-post assembly. Two band clamps with two band clamps.
generally are adequate to hold the chair to- Once all of the parts are
gether while the glue sets. However, dur- assembled and clamped,
rest the chair on the floor
ing assembly a bar clamp can be helpful
to check for alignment.
to drive some of the tenons home. Once
the chair is clamped, set it on a flat floor
and muscle it into proper alignment by
stepping on the front rail to hold it steady;

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005 53
 then shake the back posts side to side and
front to back.

Attach rockers after glue-up

I choose highly figured material for the arms
and rockers. The arms are book-matched
and the rockers mirror-matched, so only one
of each needs to be shaped. Trace the pat-
terns onto planed 5/4 material, bandsaw to
the lines, and handplane or sand away all
saw and planer marks. Resaw the shaped
pieces, then plane them to 1⁄ 2 in. thick.
Finally, round over the top and bottom edges
of the arms with a 1⁄4-in. roundover bit.
Each rocker is attached with a pinned
bridle joint, a process best done by hand.
Scribe the rockers to the bottom of the posts,
then lay out the bridle joint 13⁄4 in. deep.
Backsaw the shoulders of the joint and re-
move the waste with a chisel. Undercut the
joint with the chisel from both directions to
prevent tearout, much like cutting a through-
mortise. Then test-fit the rocker and refine
CUT BRIDLE any tight spots with a chisel and rasp.
After a slide fit has been achieved, trace
JOINTS FOR the outline of the bridle joint on the rocker
T H E RO C K E R S to facilitate positioning it in the same place
on subsequent trials. The fit is refined on
Both rockers are cut from
the front by flattening the edge of the rock-
a single piece of 5/4 curly
maple. First bandsaw and
er between the pencil marks. You also will
smooth the profile, then have to chisel the back edge of the bridle
resaw it into two pieces joint on the back post so that the rocker
for perfectly matched sets fully in the joint. Glue the rocker into
rockers. place once you’re satisfied with its fit, then
drill a through-hole and pin the rocker to
both posts with a maple dowel.

Mark the location of the rockers. With the chair clamped upside down in a vise, Arms go on last
the rockers are positioned where they will join the front and back posts. Scribe a line The arms are attached after the woven seat
down both sides of the post to the correct depth. and back are completed. First, measure the

Cut the bridle joints by hand. Use a backsaw Measure the gap. The rocker initially won’t Chisel the mortise until the rocker is fully
to cut along the scribe lines. Then clean out sit flat in the groove. Use dividers to measure set. Then the rockers can be glued and pinned
the waste with a chisel. the gap on one side when the other is set. to the front and back posts.

54 FINE WOODWORKING
 AT TAC H T H E A R M S
Make the arms longer than necessary, then cut them
to length and tenon the ends after the chair has been
assembled. The joint is reinforced with a screw inserted
from the rear of the back post. Weave the seat and
back before attaching the arms.

Measure for the arm joinery. Determine the

distance from the back post to the center of the
front-post tenon on the assembled chair. Add
1 ⁄16 in. to determine the distance from the tenon

shoulder to the mortise center to ensure the joint

stays under tension after assembly.

Locate the arm mortise. Hold the arm in place

to determine the mortise angle. Drill through
the post using a 1 ⁄16-in.-dia. drill bit, then drill a
1 ⁄ 2-in.-deep mortise using a 1 ⁄ 2-in.-dia. bit.

distance from the back post to the center center point of the mortise. Now, drill a
of the front-post tenon. That measurement, 1⁄ 2-in.-dia. by 1⁄ 2-in.-deep mortise to accept

plus 1⁄16 in., is the distance from the arm’s the arm tenon. Finally, from the opposite
tenon shoulder to the center of the round side, countersink the 1⁄16-in. through-hole
mortise at the front of the arm. The extra for a #8 by 2-in. flat-head wood screw. I
1⁄16 in. puts the joint under tension. drill deep enough to bury the screw under
Next, raise a 1⁄ 2-in. tenon on the end of a plug, but not too deep that it breaks into
the arm to go into a stepped hole drilled the 1⁄ 2-in. mortise on the opposite side.
into the back post. Although I use an an- The arms are glued and secured with a
tique tenon maker, modern versions can faceplate-turned mushroom cap on each
be used in an electric drill. Alternatively, the front post and a wood screw covered by
job could be done by careful carving. a plug from the rear. 
Mark the location of the mortise on the
back post at the same distance above the Ernie Conover is a regular contributor to Fine Countersink the back of the post. After weav-
seat as on the front post. Drill through the Woodworking who teaches woodworking at his ing the seat and back, glue the arm in place and
back post with a 1⁄16-in. bit to locate the workshop in Parkman, Ohio. secure it with a screw. Cover the screw hole with
a maple plug.

S H A K E R - TA P E
Shaker weave
SOURCES
My wife, Susan, who is a fiber artist, weaves the Shaker-tape seats and
backs on my chairs. However, most of my students find that weaving is Shaker Workshops
800-840-9121; www.
part of the fun of making a Shaker rocking chair. You’ll need about 80 yd. [Link]
of 1-in.-wide tape to complete this chair. For instruction on weaving with Royal Wood Ltd.
Shaker tape, see FWW #121, pp. 78-81. Instructions are also available 800-526-1630
from Shaker Workshops. [Link]

M AY / J U N E 2 0 0 5 55