Tin Snip Rocking Chair

When you garage sale you sometimes find 1 or 2 old tin snips but when you stumble upon 60 at one time, you just have to buy them. When I asked how much the bucket of snips were, they told me they were going to the dump. If you want them they are free! So about 50 pounds of steel were saved from the landfill. To make a rocking chair you need a very stout truck coil spring. A few repair shops later and I snagged a 25 pound spring for free. I designed the chair to fit my needs but any design or style would work equally well. Minimal welding skills are required for this project. The "Snipper" weighs about 85 pounds and can "rock" in any direction.

50 to 60 tin snips

Heavy duty coil spring

Embellishments of your choosing

Flux core mig welder

Sort your tin snips according to your design. Generally speaking, larger ones for the arm rests, smaller ones for the feet, etc.

Lay out your arm rests to the size that suits you. Here I "borrowed" some plasma cut steel arcs that I added for this design but tin snips only work just fine. Since this project uses a flux core mig welder, cleaning the snips is not critical. Once started, flux core tends to blast through most dirt, rust and paint. Weld this assembly on flat concrete.

This coil spring weighs 25 pounds. Anything less stout will not work as smaller springs cannot support a person. This one is about 6 inches in diameter.

Here I used 8 smaller snips for feet but you can use more or less. The spring is raised about 6 inches with a temporary spacer. Weld this assembly in place on flat concrete. Remove the temporary spacer and your finished with this assembly.

Here I "borrowed" a plasma cut seat disc from my Space Chair. You do not need something like this and just tin snips work fine. Just make sure the snips are open slightly so you can weld them together. Weld the seat assembly on flat concrete.

Place the seat assembly on the top of the coil spring and weld from underneath. Make several tack welds and when you're sure it's level, weld completely.

While not absolutely necessary, I added extra foot struts because I had enough ships at hand. If you have enough, weld in place. Otherwise, the base is complete.

Open up several snips wide and clamp in place on the seat edges. Weld in place.

Once several struts are welded in place, set the arm rests on top and make level. Weld from underneath.

Now add more struts to the back. If you have enough snips, add as many as you like. Just a few are sufficient though.

Here I added adjustable handles. These are not necessary but add a cool look. Add anything that will personalize your chair and your finished.

Finish all welding where snips touch one another wire brush the entire chair. Thoroughly clean with degreaser and let dry. Spray a nice coat of primer and let dry. Spray on a top coat of your favorite color and your finished! I chose a textured finish .