My first is on the way, and like every other father-to-be woodworker, the Maloof rocker is on my mind. I have 5 months to get it done, so i figured i better start planning now and make this my next personal project. Ive seen variations of the chair in walnut 100 different ways, and I like walnut. I also have about 2,000 bdft of 8/4 walnut on hand with a lot of 2-4' shorts from making countertops and islands. The chair would essentially be 'free' in that regard. However, we are really only talking about 50-60bdft of lumber here, and my mind started to wander towards other possibilities. Does anyone have a favorite example of the chair? I know its slightly ubiquitous and overplayed at this point, which is another reason im considering something other than walnut. I once saw a figured maple chair that was dyed to a butternut color and looked fantastic. If I remember correctly, that guy completed the chair and then sent it off to a professional finisher to dye and finish the chair. Leads me to believe his results are probably profoundly better than my own amateur finishing abilities. Still, the chair left an impression as a unique and different example of the rocker. With the time this will take to make, i dont mind spending $500+/- on really figured or exotic stock.