Starting a Maloof Rocker - Any Advice

[Donald Price]

I'm preparing to start work on a Maloof rocker and would appreciate any advice from those with paste experience. I'll be using Charles Brock's plans. This past weekend I purchased several 12/4 slabs of rough cut walnut (a lucky find in San Diego!). Today I picked up the plans.

I have been a fan of Sam Maloof since reading an article about him in Fine Woodworking in the early 80's. Its taken me thirty years to work up the courage to attempt this project.

[Bret Duffin]

Don,

I'm not a master chair-builder by any means but I've built a few. I've never worked from plans opting to start from scratch. There is a lot of trial and error in this method so I think using plans will save you a lot of time and frustration. I've never started with such thick wood but instead glued up the thicker pieces from thinner stock but of course you see the glue lines sometimes.

What is your experience level? Chair building is very different than building a cabinet. I use the band saw a lot and more hand tools. It's also fun, so go for it, you'll do fine

Bret

190429

[dan nelson]

Don I have built this chair off the plans exellent results.I would suggets to do the first one out of pine or something cheap. practice the seat scoop before committing to the walnut. get your notches where the legs and the back attach to the seat dialed in. and practice being semetrical on the fairing of the transitions from the legs to the rockers and get the feel of the armrests by sitting in it mock it I adjusted the height of the arms to my liking once again the pine saved me. Dan Nelson

[Donald Price]

Thank you both for the response.

Brent, with regards to experience I'm a self taught, garage sawdust maker. Much of the furniture I've done has been my variation of a mission theme, meaning flat and angular. I've never used plans, always opting to design my own work and allow it to evolve as the project proceeded. This will by my first use of others plans. I chose this path to stay true to Maloof's fluid, asymmetrical dimensions. I also turn bowls and get great pleasure letting the grain of the wood decide the subtle curves. I'm hoping to meld that experience into shaping the rocker with rasp and file.

Dan, yours is a great suggestion that I hadn't considered but will likely heed. This is intended as a gift for my daughter so when I shared your response to the post with my wife she said "great, I get the pine version". I actually plan an African Mahogany version for her later.

How did you do the rear leg transition? The plans call for a 6 degree wedge to gain the proper outward cant. Maloof used two different router bits. While on the surface that seems complex yet in practice may prove to be more practical. Any suggestions?

[Prashun Patel]

Donald-
A couple of us did a group build last year. You might benefit from some of our experience - and my mistakes ;)

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?124002-Maloof-Inspired-Rocker-Plans&highlight=maloof

A couple of things straight off:

The hardest part is the shaping. There are many ways to skin this cat, but I think having a small (4-4.5") angle grinder with a Norton fiberdisc backing pad and a carbide kutzall disc are very helpful to have. I also think a good set of rasps is a must for fine tuning.

Also, don't cheap out on the wood. Don't be afraid to 'waste' wood in order to achieve good grain match on the headrest and seat and straight grain in the legs and spindles. This was hard for me.

[Prashun Patel]

I thought about doing a test chair out of pine. But decided against it. The fact is, there's a lot of ways to 'fix' minor errors you might make. Any mistakes made in the shaping can be blended out. I did make a few test 'parts' to help me figure out how to shape or cut certain parts, but to make a whole test chair is overkill, IMHO.

Charles Brock is amazingly helpful - as are the guys on this forum. I submit that you will have superior support to help you through this. If *I* can do it, you can do it.

As for the 6degree angle block, I prefer Brock's method. You hardly notice the wedge in the finished product, and it really simplifies (and cheapens!) the investment in bits.

I would definitely invest in matched roundover and rabbet bits, though. They can be used on future Maloof chair joints and will greatly simplify the fitting of the leg joints here. Don't try to do it with cheaper bits. Just not worth the effort and sweat to get it to fit.

[dan nelson]

Yes I agree with the wedge from Brock . As for the pine starter chair, the sale of it bought LOTS of black walnut and I didnt mind a ding or two when hauling it around for show and tell. I might even scale the next one down for a childs rocker.

[Brian Kent]

Hello Don. I am excited for you. I followed Prashun in making mine and had so much fun on it. Please post the whole journey, as it is really fun to follow. I live in San Diego County now (south Escondido). I would love to be available to you to share whatever I have learned.

Brian