Carl Karacsay, Colac, Victoria

Blackwood rocker
Otway blackwood
1260 h x 1000 x 580mm

The trees used in this piece of furniture, were logged in the Lavers Hill area of the Otways in the 1980s. The local farmer needed land cleared and these logs became available. After the timber was sawn to various sizes, it was air-dried for a minimum of seven years on our property.
The timber used for this rocking chair is selected from special pieces that I find and put aside for future use.

Joinery
In order to join the back and front legs to the side rail, a machined finger joint was used along with two 70 x 9.5mm dowels for extra strength.
The legs joining to the rockers are also finger-jointed and are strengthened by one 70 x 9.5mm dowel
The arm rests are hand shaped using a bandsaw, disk grinder and rasp and are housed in slightly, then glued and screwed. The arm rest and its support are the off-cuts from the chair.
The six bent slats are laminated from two pieces and pulled together in a timber mould, the top fixings are left loose to allow movement. The seat is butt jointed using four pieces and was carved out using the Arbortech woodcarver, disk grinder and was hand sanded. The seat is in a floating position to allow for movement.

Glue
The glue used is Kleiberit (303) PVAC water resistant.

Finish
The finish is sprayed lacquer: Mirotone 3241 Sealer one coat, Mirotone 3220 top coat, two coats. The seat has one coat of sealer and two coats of Miro Wax, hand rubbed. The special design elements include a signature thumb groove in each arm-rest and feature plugs using red sheoak.

Concept
I have always been fascinated with the rocking chair, the different shapes and movements. Finally a decision was made to develop a concept and make one. I researched the library, Google and watched a video of Sam Maloof.
I wanted to create flowing lines and the rocking chair needed to reflect the elements of our other signature dining chair designs.
I built two prototypes to enable me to create the final piece. Hours were spent on finding the correct radius for the rockers, the final position of the legs to the rockers and the height and length of the arm rest and the angle to sit comfortably.

Conclusion
I asked every person that came into the workshop to sit in the prototypes and provide their opinion. People’s heights varied between 5.7” to 6.4”. The result was that I found the centre of balance that suited most people.
It has been an amazing experience filled with lots of learning, emotion and enjoyment and I would now like the opportunity to share the results with a broader audience through this exhibition.

Photos: Arthur Grant