Syracuse - Carpentry from Bali

Recreating the Bali "Bar Rocker"
While in Bali we visited a coffee shop for breakfast and sat in ingeniously designed rocking chairs.  The "Bar Rocker" is a typical plastic lounge chair fastened onto a set of wooden legs.  As we sat on them rocking, I non-chalanted that "I could make these, they're pretty simple."  Of course, Dodo jumped at the chance, taking three photos of them and smiling.  She won't admit it now, but she didn't think I could.  Nothing like a good challenge.

When we got to Sal's I drove to the Home Depot and bought a chair and some cheap pressed pine.  I got out the jigsaw and began.

Since I was doing it by hand I had to cut down the curves many times, making fixes as I went.  It took me about a week.

Finished product.  I'd planned to cut out the sides like the original but I was afraid the wood wasn't strong enough for that.

The back legs rest on a beveled support.

Four recessed bolts attach the front legs to the wood.

Screws hold the rest of it together.  I used screw covers for aesthetics.

Side view.  Overall, it rocks nicely, though it's much better on a hard wood floor than on carpet.  The only flaw is that it could have been slightly lower, that is, I could have cut another inch off the bottom to make the seat less high.

The Dodo put it to the test, sitting side-saddle.  She gave it the thumbs-up.