Telephone Spool Rocker
Eric Jarvis made the rocking chair you see here two years ago, out of one of those discarded spools you can get free from your local electric or telephone company.
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I made the rocking chair you see here two years ago, out of
one of those discarded spools you can get free from your
local electric or telephone company. I've used it quite a
bit in that time, and it's stood up well through treatment.
The chair's construction was relatively easy. I cut out six
of the cow slats, fastened one on the inside of the central
drum so I'd have something t:9 nail to and secured the
other five to it to make the seat. A piece of plywood
formed the back, and two 2 X 4's the rockers (or rather,
the stops that control the spool's built-in rocking
action). The placement of those crosspieces is a matter of
individual comfort. If you want a fancier piece of
furniture, you can cut the rocker bars out of some other
material . . . or saw the sides of the chair into arms and
cover the whole thing with fabric.
Another idea along the same lines is to cut out a few core
slats and put rocker bars on the spool ends. Theo pad the
center with foam and blankets, and you've got a baby
cradle.
The smaller cable drums also have their uses. If you put a
Lazy Susan bearing between two of them, for instance, the
result is a revolving bookcase, television stand or
whatever. In fact-once you start working with these handy
spools-there's no end to the inspirations you'll come up
with!.
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