Best Rocking Chair Plans

[Don L Johnson]

Who do you think has the best plans for a Maloof style rocker?

They should be easy to understand.
Supplied templates would be a plus.
A lot of pictures to help the process.
Tool listings and board feet listings.
Reasonably priced...however, they seem to be similarly priced.

Robert Hensarling from TX has a sample of his plans and they seem pretty specific. I've looked at another set of plans, and there were too many measurments and not enough pictures/templates provided; it was confusing.

Any others?

[Mike Henderson]

If you have experience building chairs, building a rocker is not very difficult unless you go to complex joinery (such as Maloof joints). Basically, you just build a chair and put some rockers on it.

Designing you own is maybe more difficult - you need to keep in mind the various dimensions for a good fit.

Mike

[David Dundas]

Who do you think has the best plans for a Maloof style rocker?

They should be easy to understand.
Supplied templates would be a plus.
A lot of pictures to help the process.
Tool listings and board feet listings.
Reasonably priced...however, they seem to be similarly priced.

Robert Hensarling from TX has a sample of his plans and they seem pretty specific. I've looked at another set of plans, and there were too many measurments and not enough pictures/templates provided; it was confusing.

Any others?

Don,

I have plans on a CD for a Maloof style rocker with an upholstered seat at a fraction of the price of the plans you mention. You can find a link to them on my blog: http://rockerswoodwork.blogspot.com/ .

I should perhaps mention that it might be prudent for you to wait a week or so before ordering them and to e-mail me first before sending any payment, since I am going into hospital tomorrow for open-heart surgery.

David Dundas

[Cody Colston]

I like the design of the Hal Taylor chairs best. In fact, that's one of my around-to-it projects. One of these days I'll get around to making one or three.

I had a friend tell me that the plans weren't the most comprehensive but if there's a part that isn't understood or needs more info, you can call Hal Taylor and he will talk you through the process.

Oh yeah, the plans run about $300...that's why you can call him for help.

[Tom Dent]

I can heartily recommend the plans from R. Hensarling. I was able to attend one of his seminars on building the rocker and 2 years later building a rocker in Mesquite. The plans are completely comprehensive and every step is covered with pictures. The best set of plans for any project I have ever had. Mesquite is by far the most satisfying wood I have worked in BUT I became allergic to the dust, even began to wheeze from smoke from the cutoffs I used in barbacueing.
Tom

[Don L Johnson]

David,

Best of luck to you in the hospital. We lived in Australia (Canberra) for three years and truely loved your country. Have a smooth recovery!!

Don

[Dick Latshaw]

David -

Not to hijack this thread, but good luck with your surgery.

Posted while sitting in my Domino Z chair.:)

[Nick Penchuk]

Rocker, Good luck with your procedure. If the surgeon is half as dedicated to his craft as you are to yours, you will be better than new.

I purchased Rocker's CD a few years ago, and finally got around to actually building the chair. Turned out great!! The whole package was great!! In addition to the chair, there are plans included for both a mortise and a tenon jig that I used for years before getting around to the chair. If this is a first chair, you can't go wrong with Rocker's package. It's more than a plan, it's a tutorial.

Rocker, hope we all hear good things from you real soon.

[Bob Antoniewicz]

While not a set of plans, William Ng in Anaheim, CA offers a class in building a Maloof style rocker. Excellent class. Worked my butt off, but went home with a complete (but not completed) chair, a set of patterns (for a few dollars more), and some new friends. Check out:
http://www.wnwoodworks.com/

Pics from the class that I was in start on the middle of
http://www.wnwoodworks.com/gallery.php?page=17

and go on to pg 22. The top picture on
http://www.wnwoodworks.com/gallery.php?page=18
is mine and is pretty close to the final product from the class. After a lot of finishing I came up with
http://antoniew.avradionet.com/IMG_0650.JPG (there are other pictures at the bottom of
http://antoniew.avradionet.com/ - obviously I am a woodworker and not a website builder :-)

The class ain't cheap (around $1k), but it is probably the best money I have ever spent in woodworking. I would have never even DARED such a project before this and almost didn't take the class. Another rocker will be one of the first projects (after requisite honeydo's) when my shop is complete.

Bob A.

[David Dundas]

Apologies for again partially highjacking this thread, but I am happy to report that my surgery on January 26th went well, and I hope to have another decade or more of woodworking life ahead of me, although I am forbidden from entering the shed for 8 more weeks.

Many thanks to Nick for his kind words about my CD. It is good to hear that at least some purchasers actually get around to making the chair.

David Dundas