I wanted to make a rocking chair for my wife. But now I really think I am going to make a second one for me. It is the first time I make a rocking chair and I am really pleased with the way it came out.

For this project you will need:

Wood (Any species you like)
Band saw
Planer or hand plane
Jointer (if you have one)
Router
Round over router bit
Hand saw
Chisels
Rasp
Tape measure and pencil
Wood glue
Clamps
10 mm dowels
10 mm drill bit
Drill
Screwdriver
40 mm wood screws

Here is a video of the whole process step by step. Make sure you check it out first.

Step 1: The Jig

First of all we will need a jig in order to form the rockers. I just took a piece of 15 x 5.0 x 90 cm wood and cut a curve on the one side. As long as the cut is symmetrical we do not really care how big the curve will be.

In order to make the rockers you will need 6 strips of wood 3.0 cm wide 0.8 cm tall and 85 cm long. Apply wood glue on all the strips and place them on the jig. Using a sacrificial strip apply pressure using some clamps. You need to make two pieces like this.

Step 2: Mortises

After you have your pieces ready now you need to make the mortises in which you will fit the tenons from the chair legs. The mortises must be 5.0 cm from the edge of each rocker. I have used a machine dedicated for this job but you can always use a chisel and hammer and you will have the same results. The machine does nothing more than making it a bit faster.

Step 3: Tenons

Cut 4 pieces of wood 80 x 2.5 x 7 cm for the four legs. On your band saw make one tenon for each leg. This tenon should fit in the mortise on the rockers.

Step 4: Seat Support

It is time to add the seat support. Again we will use the mortise and tenon technique to assemble the parts together.

The seat support is another piece of wood like the legs.Place it on an angle with the legs and mark where you want to make the mortises. Again with a chisel make the mortises and fit the seat support. Assemble all the pieces together using wood glue and some clamps. Let the glue dry overnight.

Step 5: Front and Back Support Rails

We need to add support rails to assemble the two sides of the chair. For the front and back rail I used two 60 x 2.5 x 7 cm pieces of wood. For the front I used the mortise and tenon technique and for the back I used 10 mm dowels.

Step 6: Back Slats

For the back I made a 80 x 60 cm frame and drilled some slots on the top and bottom pieces for the slats to fit in. The slats made out of 0.8 x 4.0 x 73 cm pieces of wood with all the edges round using the router and a round over bit.

Step 7: Attaching the Back Slats

Use some 10 mm dowels and a 10 mm drill bit to attach the back to the sides as shown on the pictures.

Step 8: Seat

For a seat I used a 30 mm thick piece of wooden counter top that I had in my workshop. It is sturdy and its the same species of wood with the one I used. I only had to make it 55 x 60 cm to fit between the seat supports. I then used some screws to secure it in place.

Step 9: The Arms

My initial thought was to make the arms a bit curved but I then thought that even a curved arm looks better a straight one feels better. So I used two pieces of wood 50 x 7.0 x 2.5 cm. Shaped them on the band saw and made two slots to hold the back of the chair. Making those slots I did not have to add any more support rails on the back. I rounded all the edges with my router and fit them with wood glue and wooden dowels.