The Arms Trade is alive and well

Hows that for a cryptic title?

Original Rocker #1, notice how arms
only extend a short distance from leg

After I finished my first rocking chair I was not really pleased with the way the arms looked. This was one of the first times Hal Taylor had sent out his new petite size pattern, and I think some kinks needed to be worked out. The arms did not extend beyond the front leg joint any more than an inch or so; this made things look out of proportion, but since it was my first rocker - what did I know? So I followed the plan.

After finishing my third rocker I knew I could not live with the first one any longer - an amputation was necessary, along with a full upper limb replacement. I used the arm pattern from the small size plans and things worked out perfectly, the wood is darkening up and soon you will never know that major surgery had been performed.

The following pictures document the process, if someone else is crazy enough to try this, send me a note and I will offer a few tips on this.

The amputation is complete, recip saw and then planed
on the exposed joints

New transition block glues and screwed into place, did most of the
shaping on recip sander before gluing

The two arms being glued on, the tops have been coped already.

Here's the arms before grinding and shaping, surprising
little work to this point (5-6 hours)

Finished arms, look like they should, transitions and arm have been carved
with one coat of finish, a few days in the sun and no one will ever know!!!

Thanks for looking,

Rich