Rocking Chair Plans
Hal
I am delighted with the end result which to a huge extent is down to your brilliant plans, instructions and video. I have said to myself over and over again how impressed I am with the thought that you have obviously put into the design. And to think that I asked you in the beginning if I could make one without your instructions. How naive of me!
One amusing thing about my chair is that my wife all along said it looked big (I am 6' 7" tall). when I had finished it I found I could not get it through one of the internal doors in our house and had to take it round to the back of the house and through some patio doors to get it into the sitting room! You can imagine what my wife said! Mike C.
Rocking Chair Plans
There are three parts which make up the "Rocking Chair Plans"
| The Book ($19.95) - 240 pages with 700 full color photos that can be zoomed to 400% without loosing image quality. You can see a sample of the first chapter by clicking on the book below. After clicking on the book, get a cup of tea. It takes a while to load. BUT once loaded is very quick to move from section to section with the table of contents. | Full size templates ($35.00) The templates come on a large piece with all of the chair parts and the gluing forms shown actual size. You simply cut them out a little beyond the line and using some 3M spray mount adhesive, adhere them to your template material. I recommend bandsawing a little outside the line and then sanding exactly to the line. | BBHT ($35.00) Several years ago I invented a new back brace action which requires a precisely machined hole in the seat to receive the back brace bottom. Unless you have a CNC in your workshop you will not be able to create these holes. So - I made a template for builders to use with a router, 1/2" bushing and a 1/4" spiral router bit. With these items you can create exactly the same holes I do with my CNC. |
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Purchase plans |
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Here are some rocking chairs made by students.
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| Hal Well I finally finished my chair and am really impressed with the look and feel of the chair. I made this chair for my unborn child, we expect him to arrive any day now. I named this chair Tadpole's rocker and plan on him passing it from generation to generation. Thanks so much for the detailed plans that made all this possible. I do have one question for you though. I really like that wet glossy look I get before I wipe off the Deft oil. Do I just need to add more coats of Deft or should I add a top coat of polyurethane? I currently have three coats of Deft on it now. Thanks Again Jeremy L. |
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| ________________________________ From: Hal <rock@haltaylor.com> To: Joel Bambas <jbambas@sbcglobal.net> Sent: Tue, June 8, 2010 5:25:37 PM Subject: re: Marketing Rockers Hello Joel, Don't mind your asking at all! Send me some pix of your chairs if you find the time. The very best way to sell a rocking chair is to put one in front of folks! That means a high end crafts gallery or high end crafts shows; take your pick. A web site is good if you get any traffic to it. The traffic is the hard part. Let me know if you have any further questions Joel, good to hear from you. Do you have the new PDF book and or video? Hal ________________________________ From: "Joel B." Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2010 5:22 PM To: "Hal Taylor" <rock@haltaylor.com> Subject: Marketing Rockers Hello Hal, I have completed 6 rockers now and I really enjoy building sculpted furniture. It is very satisfying work and I want to start some marketing in an attempt to get some more business. Your plans and information have been extremely valuable in my endeavors and I really feel strange in asking for some advise on marketing something that you have perfected. But I also know that if I never ask, I won't get any ideas either. So, if you want to tell me to just go and pound sand somewhere, I completely understand. So, here goes. What is the best way to sell rocking chairs? Is it the web? high end craft shows? galleries? I'm located 35 west of Chicago so I'm in the middle of a large population base. Just don't know where to start and I don't want to waste time or money. Any information that you could provide would be very appreciated and again, if you don't want to, I understand that also. Regards, Joel B. |
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| From: Michael C. Sent: Friday, May 28, 2010 3:44 PM To: Hal Taylor Subject: Finished! Hi Hal, I just thought I would drop you an email to say that I have now finished my (first) rocking chair. You may have thought that I had given up as I have not asked any questions since first starting out! I realised after a while that this is just like any other project and you sort out the problems as they arise. There are no right or wrong ways of doing things as long as what you end up with satisfies you. I am delighted with the end result which to a huge extent is down to your brilliant plans, instructions and video. I have said to myself over and over again how impressed I am with the thought that you have obviously put into the design. And to think that I asked you in the beginning if I could make one without your instructions. How naive of me! If any of you customers over this side of the pond ever need any support or encouragement I would be pleased to help. Drop me an email any time. One amusing thing about my chair is that my wife all along said it looked big (I am 6' 7" tall). when I had finished it I found I could not get it through one of the internal doors in our house and had to take it round to the back of the house and through some patio doors to get it into the sitting room! You can imagine what my wife said! Thanks again for making it possible for me to make such a wonderful chair. The (6' 7") Mike C. |
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Hal Just wanted to let you know how much you inspired me. I made my first Hal Taylor rocker two years ago for one of my daughters. I sent you a picture of the finished product. I then decided to make one each for the rest of my eight children and one for my wife. The attached picture shows me with the five rockers I just finished. Two are made out of black walnut. Two are made out of spalted sycamore and one out of quarter sawn white oak. I have four more to go with the last one for me. Thank you for the inspiration, I have had much pleasure making them. Norm H. |
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| Hi Hal, I had emailed you several weeks ago, inquiring about your chairs. I went ahead and purchased the DVD, plans, book and child plans. I am in the process of reviewing the material, very impressed with the quality that went into the instruction products. I am processing the DVD's and the book kind of side by side. Everything is pretty clear right now. I especially enjoyed the introduction, I have been attempting to incorporate Tao and mediation into my life for the past year or so. I wanted you to know that I thought the intro was pretty cool. As I build my chairs I am sure I will have a billion questions. I am going to head down to crosscut hardwoods in Seatle tomorrow to buy form material and scope out the situation with respect to rocking chair wood possibilities. First chair is going to be for my wife, she thinks walnut might be a little dark for her tastes, maple is too light and out of the question. Would you have a recommendation for a wood that is maybe inbetween those two that you enjoy working with? I am also rolling around ideas of form material. MDF would be cheapest, material wise. I can get 8/4 poplar at crosscuts. Any thoughts in that area? I like that you have that manufacturing engineering background and can advise as to best methods. Regards, Owen H. Anacortes, WA |
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I took me a lot longer to complete the rocking chair than I had estimated, but it turned out pretty nice. Gave it to my daughter-in-law in September as a present for presenting us with our first grandchild. She is a little darling named Lydia Helen and she is getting a lot of time in the rocker with my son and daughter-in-law. I want to thank you again for the plan set. This was the most exacting and fun woodworking project I have ever attempted. I learned a great deal from the tips and techniques you covered so thoroughly in the manual. The chair turned out great, even if it was my first one. I know when I do another I will be able to do a better job with what I have learned on this one. Here are a few pics of the finished chair. I used purpleheart for the wood plugs as a nod to K-State. Both my son and daughter-in-law are K-State grads, as I know you are, and the purpleheart really contrasted nicely with the curly maple. My son has had back surgery for a bulging disc and still gets a twinge once in a while. He says the rocking chair is the only wooden chair he has ever sat in that supports his back properly. He says he can sit in it for hours rocking the baby and it feels great. The way those back slats fit in the shaped holes allowing them to flex properly is a fantastic idea and really adds to the comfort of the chair. Thanks again for making your chair available for others like me to have fun with. Rich D. KS |
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| Hi Hal, I wanted to send you a couple pics of my daughter, Tracy, receiving her rocking chair. This is the first time she saw it ( she had also never seen any of these particular chairs before.) It was given to her at her baby shower. She was ecstatic about it. Lots of other people saw it also and made many nice compliments about it. Hope everything is going well for you and the family, Later, Ronnie |
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| Hey Hal, About two years ago, you sold me plans for your fabulous rocking chair. I have since finished two, of which I have attached pictures. The first was the cherry rocker. This chair was a present for my sister’s 50th birthday. She was surprised and very pleased! The second was the walnut chair. I work in a hospital and donated it to our new OB unit. I find it very satisfying to know that our new moms and their babies start their lives together in my chair! I want to thank you for taking the time to put together the plans for this most comfortable of rocking chairs. As a woodworker, these two chairs have been the most satisfying projects that I have ever done. The sense of accomplishment this gives me and the joy the recipients get from this chair makes all the work well worth the effort. Recently I got a great deal on some waterfall bubinga. It’s absolutely beautiful wood. My next chair will be made from this material and is slated for my wife. I can’t wait to get started on this one. Thanks again! Scott L. Kansas City |
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| Hal, Just wanted to drop you a pic of my first chair. Bought your plans almost a year ago but business obligations kept me from starting till June of this year, but I finally finished! Took about 120 hours total time from layout to finishing. Chair is Red Oak. Made several mistakes along the way, but was always able to refer back to the plans and see that most of them were due to me getting ahead of myself and not following the steps as you laid out. There really is a reason for doing it in sequence I found out. I deviated some on the headcrest and arms but all in all I am very happy with the results. Just wanted to pass along my thanks again for the great plan you put together and now have to get started on one for my other child. Take care and have a great Holiday Season. Steve S. Rosebud, TX |
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| Hi Hal, I finished this rocker about a month ago, you might
remember me e-mailing you about ebony in the rockers and plugging
screw holes. This is figured big leaf maple that I cut up with a
power saw about 3 years ago and air dried. I live on the central
coast of Oregon and Big Leaf Maple is pretty common, finding figured
big leaf is another story. I have built 16 of your chairs in the past 3 years and I have a book about Sam Maloof with lots of pictures that I used to make this Hal Taylor-Sam Maloof Chair inspired chair. Take Care, Stuart J. |
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