Thread: WIP - Maloof inspired rocker

Andy your mail box is full.

I’ve been slowly chipping away on the rocker over the past few weeks. I’m keen to finish it by Christmas, but we’ll see how I go.

I’ve finished the tenons on the back slats, which now allows me to dry fit the slats into the headrest and chair. There’s still a bit of shaping to do, but they’re progressing really well. I really like the look of thin looking slats, but I need to be careful to not make them so thin that they may break.

At this point I probably should have finished sculpting the chair and prepare for sanding, but I honestly couldn’t wait to start working on the rockers. The rockers are made up laminated walnut, with a strip of jarrah and huon pine. The jarrah and huon were gifted from Fletty, a really kind gesture.

I tell you what, this was one stressful glue up! I literally worked up a sweat trying to get the laminations glued up and over to the bench and into the form. In the end it worked out great.





I couldn’t help myself, I just HAD to put the rocker under the legs to see what it looked like. They’re a bit long and the transition blocks (another short laminated section that goes under each leg) still needs to be made, but man I’m pleased so far.



Cheers,
Andy

Looking good. It’s such a beautiful build, don’t rush it.

Originally Posted by Lappa

Looking good. It’s such a beautiful build, don’t rush it.

Not too much fear of that, Lappa - it's been a while since this build started....

I know the feeling, though - we were up to child #3 by the time I got the cradle made (also in American walnut): Cradle.jpg

Have to admit, it was overkill for something that only lasts for a few months before the kids are too active to be safe in it, but it's now getting a second round with grandchildren, which makes it a bit better return for effort. At least Andy's chair will be used constantly...

Cheers,

I finished my owner-built, 5 bedroom house in the same month my third daughter left home.

I’m certainly not rushing it, my daughter will be 2 in February and I started building it before she was born. I initially wanted it finished before she was born so we could use it during those first 6 months, but clearly that never happened. In a way it was a good thing, it gave me time to really think about how I’d like it to look and not just settle on a spare of the moment idea.

But I’ve learned a lot so far during the build, and the next one I build will come together so much faster. There’s a few key things I’d do differently next time which would have saved a ton of time, but I guess that’s all part of the learning process, which has been mostly enjoyable so far.

Originally Posted by groeneaj

......But I’ve learned a lot so far during the build, and the next one I build will come together so much faster. There’s a few key things I’d do differently next time which would have saved a ton of time, but I guess that’s all part of the learning process, which has been mostly enjoyable so far.....

If you are contemplating a second chair, what you've learned on this job should make the second much easier, for sure. Most of us amateurs only do something like this once, but one-offs are still valuable experience. What you learn on any job almost always has some relevance on the next, even if it's just honing manual skills. As long as you are enjoying the ride, it's all good...
Cheers,

Yes I know it’s been a while IanW. I’ve been following from the very first. I’ve seen some disasters happen (DAMHIK) when one gets back into something after a break and rushes to finish it.

Andy, if you built a second chair, would you change the design at all/ do things differently, learning what you have during this build?
You already have templates and forms built so an exact copy, I’d imagine, would be easier the second time around.

Hi Lappa,

I do intend to make another one, but not sure if I’d change the design too much. The only thing I might consider doing differently is using bent laminations for the back slats. I’ll probably change the way I’ve sculpted the seat also, if I had my time again I’d leave more material on the front edge.

But I certainly would change how I built the chair and the processes. If you remember at the start when I used the bandsaw to pre sculpt the seat, next time I’ll be more daring and remove more material. It would make the seat sculpting go a lot faster. I’d also use my table saw sled to cut the dados for the leg joinery, I used my router and a template and I wasn’t that happy how it turned out. There’s lots of small things like that inevitably comes with building something for the first time

As far as the timber choice, I’m so glad I used US walnut. It’s so nice to work with and I’m sure it’ll look amazing when I apply the finish. The next rocker will be made from something else, I was initially keen to use curly US maple which is another of Maloof’s favourites. I got a quote from the US and it was almost $1600 delivered (about $650 in postage). So I’m on the lookout for some really nice figured boards, maybe even slabs.

Andy - what about with figured Blackwood? It would match chair #1 quite well, & is almost as nice to work with as Walnut if you strike the right pieces.

Or Qld Maple if you want a light-coloured wood. It can be as nicely figured as 'real' Maples, and is every bit as nice to work with as Walnut, imo.

My rule for making anything is to definitely stop at three. On #2 you get it pretty right, based on experience gained with #1. Number 3 is as good as it ever gets, because by then I think I know what I'm doing, & the mistakes begin to creep in!

Cheers

Originally Posted by IanW

Andy - what about with figured Blackwood? It would match chair #1 quite well, & is almost as nice to work with as Walnut if you strike the right pieces.

Or Qld Maple if you want a light-coloured wood. It can be as nicely figured as 'real' Maples, and is every bit as nice to work with as Walnut, imo.

My rule for making anything is to definitely stop at three. On #2 you get it pretty right, based on experience gained with #1. Number 3 is as good as it ever gets, because by then I think I know what I'm doing, & the mistakes begin to creep in!

Cheers

I would absolutely love to make one out of fiddleback blackwood. I actually contacted two suppliers of FB blackwood last week, one said he doesn’t mill boards longer than 600mm long. The other never bothered to reply. I guess their market is guitar makers.

I’ve used QLD blackwood a few times, and got some really nice figured boards from boutique timbers in the workshop. But I need 50mm boards and they can be rather tricky to find. I do like figured QLD maple, and have seen a rocker at Bungendore gallery a few years ago, and it was amazing. From memory it was around $15,000 and this thing was perfect.

Apologies Andy, BUT I've been laughing at you two in your old age on the porch in your hand made rockers, reading the paper, enjoying a cuppa together.... Peter

Originally Posted by fletty

I finished my owner-built, 5 bedroom house in the same month my third daughter left home.

but what does "finished the house" mean?

was it the start or end of the shed build?

Originally Posted by ian

but what does "finished the house" mean?

was it the start or end of the shed build?

The shed build started immediately after I had been informed that I wasn’t going to be allowed to use ANY of the spare 4 bedrooms as a workshop!