Almost a Gonner

Check out this precious old rocker. My customer reports to me that it came from the Oxford Hotel in downtown Denver. At that time, the 1890's, it was probably one of several like it made available to patrons on a closed hotel porch. So there's a lot of fun history here, and oh the stories it could probably tell!

The rocker is fashioned from Beech Wood. Looking closely, it has those distinctive Beech Wood grain flecks. And look at those wonderful turned spindles. Curves, curves, curves with predictable repetition and some splendid uniformity. It's all very typical of the Art Noveau style influencing the 1890's (and through about 1920). 

The rocker was originally finished with Tung Oil. Then somewhere along it's timeline it was stained and re-covered with the oil, but not before it was stained with a Mahogany like stain, over the original oil. The seat cut-out was tooled leather and

fastened in place with a marvelous brass buttoned ring, oh so pretty. A beautiful package for sure. But sadly, it is now exactly what time and circumstance does to everyone. With hope and maybe some promises of what it can be again, it's here in the Woodtalkin shop. Yaaay!

As I'm writing this much progress has been made. I took it apart piece-by-piece to carefully strip the flat surfaces and ALL the spindles. I'll be making a new spindle, because one has

been broken and lost. And one side of the seat is broken where the new spindles fit to support the arm. Those are being refabricated "as we speak." 

I chucked each spindle in my shop lathe in order to make the sanding effort more effective. If you've ever worked with Tung Oil you know that once it's cured on a piece it's extremely difficult to remove. And I had beaucoup intricate spindles to remove two layers of tung oil "sandwiching" the darker oil stain. Very challenging. Slowly but surely piece-by-piece they were all sanded and prepared for the next appropriate step in the process, dry reassembly. 

It's been a lot of work and very much a collaborative effort with my customer. From the beginning his plan has been to present the finished rocker to his wife, a wonderful Christmas present. It was all done a couple weeks before Christmas, but the seat insert was a project he and his daughter took on. Their effort resulted in a wonderful outcome. It is one I will certainly not forget.

 

The finished rocker is pictured below. So, what do you think. Amazingly beautiful I think. 

That's WoodTalkin for today. Be listening... WoodTalks.