Rock On

Chele, the kids and I recently went to a friend reunion with some dudes (and their wives and kids) from my days in Ballard. It was fun for everyone. The kids got to expand their social circles and the adults got to catch up and reminisce about the glory days. Anza fell in love with a homemade kid size rocking chair that was there. When we were getting ready to leave, Anza didn’t want to abandon her newfound throne. Chele said those beloved/dreadful words to me: “you could make that.” I looked it over and decided to trace the profile and measure the width and that that would be sufficient to make a reasonable facsimile. When we got home I looked through my stash of scrap wood and found a few pieces that were just the right size so there would be minimal waste. I traced the pattern onto the wood, made a few cuts and the sides were almost ready to go. I needed to make a rabbit (fitted groove) in the sides to support the seat and back. It was one of those wonderful moments that I realize I need to buy a new tool. You see, plywood isn’t the thickness they sell it as. ½ inch plywood (the size I need to match for my rabbit) is really 31/64ths of an inch. Router bit manufacturers are savy to this piece of trivia and just happen to make appropriately sized bits. I bought the necessary bit and in a couple hours Anza and Mojave had a new rocking chair.