Porch Rockers in Sapele
Rocking on the porch is an American tradition.
A Weeks Porch Rocker is designed for comfort and durability.
Built to last by craftsmen in the USA.
Autumn is taking a rocking chair break on the shop porch
We deliver comfort and beauty to the porch.
Rocking chairs on porches became traditional because they benefit living. You can get outside, and move, and relax, and look about the place, and think up solutions, celebrations, blessings,...or not think at all. In one of our chairs, you won't be thinking about an edge, flat, or misalignment that is annoying your muscle or bone.
See why our rocking chairs are comfortable.
...And Weeks Porch Rockers make the house look better.
The Weeks Porch Rocker® in Sapele
(African Mahogany)
Our porch rocking chairs are constructed so they can be used on covered porches. Note the "expansion joints" in the seat.
We can also finish chairs for inside use where the color and joinery are much appreciated. An indoor finish may delay the shipdate.
We guarantee comfort and satisfaction. You can return a chair for a full refund, including shipping both ways.
| Weeks Rocker® in sapele | 102-Sap | $2500 |
|---|
April 07, 2008
I did receive the rocking chair and it is absolutely beautiful!!! My husband and I have already spent lots of time in the chair and are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our son. It was wonderful to receive such a beautifully handmade, COMFORTABLE chair. Thank you so much for creating such a great piece!
B.A.Dallas, Texas
Weather and Wood
Some woods stand the weather better than others. Sapele is one of the best. It is often used for boats and trim on boats. In its home range, it is used for posts and ground contact. Sapele is in the same scientific family as mahogany, Meliceae, and is commonly called African mahogany.
By "better stand the weather," we mean that
- there are compounds in the heartwood that resist mildew and the organisms that promote rot and convert wood to humus.
- the coefficient of expansion and contraction with changes in humidity is relatively low, minimizing stress on joinery and sculpture.
Weather and Wood Finish
The photo below is of a freshly oiled new porch rocker and one that has been on the porch for twenty years.
- The surface of the chair on the right has weathered, and can be renewed.
- The structure of the chair on the right is sound and needs no attention.
There are two categories of finish for outdoor wood: penetrating and surface coating. Oil finishes are penetrating. Varnish and paint are surface coating. Oil finishes and varnish admit light, so you can see wood figure and color. No light makes it through paint. But sunlight brings Ultra-Violet light, the bane of finishes.
An oil finish will erode and degrade so that the wood begins to look and act unfinished as the color fades to gray. A washing and reoiling will renew the surface and color. See Porch Rocker Maintenance.
An outdoor varnish will resist this graying, but as it fails, it cracks and peels and splits, and must be removed--a near industrial process--or it must be regularly sanded and revarnished. Do you have a yacht with wood trim and a deck hand?
We do not varnish outdoor wood. We use a penetrating oil. The chairs will turn grey. These are the levels of attention to the surface that patrons tend to settle on:
- nothing
- occasional washing
- periodic washing and re-oiling--from every couple of years to once a decade
For all three levels of attention, the chairs are sturdy and those who rock are comfortable.
Weather and Structure
Seasonal changes in humidity cause dimensional changes in wood. Wood shrinks in dry weather and swells in wet.
This change in dimension is perpendicular to the grain (that is in width and in thickness). The seat of our porch rockers is constructed to minimize this movement; we confine it to narrow boards. We term the resulting openings between boards as expansion joints. The contours, the ergonomic shape, of the porch rocker seat is identical to that of our indoor rockers.
Structure Revealed
The tenon on the top end of the front leg extends through the arm and is wedged. We leave it proud. If we work that wedged end flush in the shop it will not be flush at all times on the porch, because the thickness of the arm will change with the weather. The tenon end of the leg will will be sightly above the surface in dry times and slightly below in wet. Worked proud, it remains so.
The bridal joint at the "corners" of the seat is a beautiful thing.
Durability Enables Succession
Your kids can rock their grandkids in Weeks Rockers.
May 09, 2024
We received the chair and are extremely happy.
We ordered this without ever sitting in your rocker.
From the very second you sit in the rocker, it transports you into a realm of comfort that should not technically be possible from wood. Within minutes you become one with the rocker as you feel stress melt away.
We did not expect the potential health benifits that this chair brings by unwinding stress!
This rocker is a true modern day masterpiece.
If you are on the fence and wondering if this chair may be right for you, do yourself a favor and pull the trigger. We looked at it for years and now wish we did it sooner. If you do, it will be the best thing you'll do for yourself this year.
O.
P.s. you can use that for your testimonials if you want.Lake Oswego, Oregon
Sean fitting rocking chair splat
Austin sculpting rocking chair arm
Autumn at the crosscut saw