Thread: Article on zigzag rocker

Rocker,

I think the article is well written on a topic that you are definately well up on. After seeing the destructive tests in person I know that the joints are well and truly strong enough.

One thing that could be said is that chairs are something that are seen to be at the harder end of wood projects. Some magazines may have thought that you were offering an article above the level of thier readers.

A few other magazines may have thought your article might have been written too 'tradesman-like' and the article didnt fit the magazine "feel". (eg the way how some designers go about how the project was designed around the warmth of redgum and was to bring out the natural beauty of the timber.)

To me, I think it was well written as an instruction as how to build the rocker and is definately something I will put in the project list.

Personally I think you deserve a well done.

Shane.

Originally Posted by wattlewemake

One thing that could be said is that chairs are something that are seen to be at the harder end of wood projects. Some magazines may have thought that you were offering an article above the level of thier readers.

Shane,

Actually, I think this rocker is relatively easy to make, especially compared to a Maloof-style rocker. Anyone who has a decent table saw, a tenoning jig, and a morticing jig, or better still, a Domino, should be able to build the chair in a few days.

Rocker

The destructive testing of various joints described in FW203 confirms what we demonstrated at the Teejay gtg in January 2008, see http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=67495
- that the mitre joint, when suitably reinforced, is one of the strongest woodworking joints. The mitre joint in the FW testing was reinforced only by a relatively short spline, yet was the third strongest of all the joints tested. As the FW article notes, a mitre joint reinforced by a triangular key would be considerably stronger than a splined mitre joint. Unfortunately, they did not test this joint, but, if they had, I would not be surprised if it turned out to be the strongest joint of all. I suggest that people who want to make my zigzag dining chair should reinforce the mitre joints with twin triangular keys, as I did when building my zigzag rocker (see http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=55281 ). This method of reinforcement is a good deal less tricky to do than reinforcing the mitre joints with triple interlocking floating tenons, or dominoes, as described in my Woodcraft Magazine article, which is available online on the Festool site - http://www.festoolusa.com/Web_files/...WCM_zigzag.pdf .

Rocker

An article on my zigzag rocker is now published in the current (November 2011) issue of Wood Magazine. The people at Wood magazine modified my design, by making the rockers parallel to each other, presumably to make the chair easier to build; however, I think my original design, described in the article attached to the first post of this thread, is better. Wood Magazine also have a video ( http://www.woodmagazine.com/zigzag ) of a destructive test that they carried out on the splined mitre joint of this chair. The tested joint was made in cherry wood, and showed that the chair could take a weight of over 800 pounds before the joints would fail. Probably the joints would be even stronger in a harder wood such as jarrah. The lever arm of the tested joint was much longer than the leg of the chair, adding another level of safety in the test result.

Rocker

Congratz on the publication David!

Yup, good on ya Rocker.

You must be making a fortune now David.

Great to hear..