sam maloof crib

[Vince Shriver]

35 years ago I saw this piece on display in Honolulu on my honeymoon. To this day I think it's one of the most interesting pieces of woodworking I've encountered. Question to you furniture makers out there: How did Sam construct the pivoting points in the "davits" that allows the crib to swing back and forth?

http://www.finewoodworking.com/assets/uploads/posts/15405/_MPB1244_blog_xl.jpg

[Tom Scott]

I don't know about the pivots, but it reminds me of a story I read about Sam. It was later in his career, so had a huge backlog of projects as usual. A woman who was expecting her first child came to him to order a rocking chair (or maybe it was a crib?). Becuase of the long wait she would not receive until the child was at least 1 or 2 years old, but Sam put her order to the top of the list.

[brian c miller]

My guess, would be it's way more conventional that it looks. I'd guess just a steel pin

After reviewing the chair construstion, the confusing butterfly leg joint is actuall pretty simple when everything is square and it held in plade by a "metal dowel" or simply put a screw.

[Mikail Khan]

Suspect that there are metal pins in one end that pivot on brass bushings epoxied into the other side of the joint.

[brian c miller]

I found this old blog entery by Brock:


"In the Maloof tradition, the hardware used for hanging the swinging cradle should be durable but not visable. I hung the cradle on steel pins that were epoxied into the frame arms. They mate with bronze bushings in the cradle's extended arms."

http://www.charlesbrock.blogspot.com/2011/06/building-cradle-with-late-james-grisham.html

[Phil Thien]

I don't know about the pivots, but it reminds me of a story I read about Sam. It was later in his career, so had a huge backlog of projects as usual. A woman who was expecting her first child came to him to order a rocking chair (or maybe it was a crib?). Becuase of the long wait she would not receive until the child was at least 1 or 2 years old, but Sam put her order to the top of the list.

All items for babies went to the top of the list. "Babies don't wait," was his adage (from his book).

[Mike Henderson]

All items for babies went to the top of the list. "Babies don't wait," was his adage (from his book).
Phil is correct. I asked Sam about this during one of my visits and that's what he said. But you paid for the priority. I don't remember the exact price of one of those cradles but they were expensive (very expensive).

Mike

[Gary Herrmann]

Yeah, but even as a woodworker, if I had enough to comfortably afford one of his rockers, I'd have one.

I'll just have to make one of my own though.

[glenn bradley]

I got to see that one up close at a show at our local museum (Sam was a bit of a local hero). Steel pins. There was a sign hanging next to it with a quote from Sam; "Babies don't wait."

[Jim Dunn]

Yeah, but even as a woodworker, if I had enough to comfortably afford one of his rockers, I'd have one.

I'll just have to make one of my own though.

Get with it Gary:)