Charles Bruno
02-10-2004, 6:34 AM
Sam Maloof and his wife Beverly are two of the most gracious and kind people you will ever meet. Not only did we get to see Sam work in his shop but we were invited to see his new home and set, touch and feel all the furniture he has built for his own residence. His house is a reflection of his life and love of the crafts, as it is filled with art, pottery and many types of unique items. If you have never sat in a Maloof rocking chair this is the chance of a lifetime. His chairs are very good to look at and smooth to the feel of the hand but, most of all very comfortable!
Sam’s shop is not very large, not as I thought it would be. He has all the basic tools, table saw, jointer, planer and a band saw that is quite large. The band saw is the newest tool that I could see and his old band saw is in a back room, it’s an old Delta 14” that he used for years making his furniture. He also uses what looks like the first Delta variable speed drill press. He is frugal when it comes to buying tools, two things he said was you don’t need expensive and fancy tools to make good furniture and don’t go into debt buying tools and equipment, buy what you can pay for at the time. His favorite tools seem to be the Nicholson rasps that he use’s with untiring skill. He has a lot of wood mostly walnut his favorite. I think he said a half million board feet or so, wow! Some of the slabs were huge the tree must have been awesome.
Sam will tell you he has no secrets about his craft and is more than willing to share his techniques, ask him and he will show you.
I would recommend this workshop to anyone that is interested in Sam Maloof, his furniture or his woodworking technique. I wish it was a week or two long! It was a most interesting and gratifying day and it was all made possible by my wife who heard me say one day last year “I sure would like to spend a day with Sam Maloof”. This was my Christmas gift, a gift of memories that will last a lifetime.
Thanks for listning.
Sam’s shop is not very large, not as I thought it would be. He has all the basic tools, table saw, jointer, planer and a band saw that is quite large. The band saw is the newest tool that I could see and his old band saw is in a back room, it’s an old Delta 14” that he used for years making his furniture. He also uses what looks like the first Delta variable speed drill press. He is frugal when it comes to buying tools, two things he said was you don’t need expensive and fancy tools to make good furniture and don’t go into debt buying tools and equipment, buy what you can pay for at the time. His favorite tools seem to be the Nicholson rasps that he use’s with untiring skill. He has a lot of wood mostly walnut his favorite. I think he said a half million board feet or so, wow! Some of the slabs were huge the tree must have been awesome.
Sam will tell you he has no secrets about his craft and is more than willing to share his techniques, ask him and he will show you.
I would recommend this workshop to anyone that is interested in Sam Maloof, his furniture or his woodworking technique. I wish it was a week or two long! It was a most interesting and gratifying day and it was all made possible by my wife who heard me say one day last year “I sure would like to spend a day with Sam Maloof”. This was my Christmas gift, a gift of memories that will last a lifetime.
Thanks for listning.