Jarah Rocker

[Scally]

Another rocking chair on the forum.

It is all jarrah and finihed with Livos oil.
It brings out the deep dark red colour nicely.

It would be more comfortable with a padded seat but I like the look of all timber.

It is comfortable to sit in but it is too upright to fall asleep in. I remember Rocker saying he used his Scobie version as a desk chair and I agree. If I shortened the back legs it would have a more restful seating position.

My grandson thought it was pretty cool to rock in.

[Ironwood]

Nice looking chair Scally.

How long did it take you to make it?

A rocking chair is on my "will do it one day list"

[TassieKiwi]

Really good job! I like the sculpted armrests. Is this a 'Rocker' rocker, or a Scally version?

[Flowboy]

Looks great, beautifully made and brilliant finish.

Regards,

Rob

[Trifid]

That chair is stunning. It just seems to flow with all the curves everywhere.

[Wongo]

Lovely rocker Scally. Did you use a plan and how did you join the legs and the seat together?

I am still studying Maloof’s rockers. I am trying to work out how to do his slotted rabbet joint (5 degree outwards) and the way he makes the seat. One day I will be ready.:)

Well done mate.

[TassieKiwi]

Lovely rocker Scally. Did you use a plan and how did you join the legs and the seat together?

I am still studying Maloof’s rockers. I am trying to work out how to do his slotted rabbet joint (5 degree outwards) and the way he makes the seat. One day I will be ready.:)

Well done mate.

D'you have the Taunton video? He does a step-by-step, which looks easy until you realise that he's done this about a thousand times by 1986. He has had special router bits made that help. I love his flair on the bandsaw - as he says ' I draw with it'. Some pencil.

[Rocker]

Nice rocker, Scally. I agree that the solid-wood seat looks nicer, but I have to settle for an an upholstered seat in the interests of comfort.

Scott,

Sam Maloof explains his joinery in FW #42 (1983). It involves a custom-made router bit. I think it might be feasible to use floating-tenon, or domino, joinery instead, though.

Rocker

[DPB]

Scally, this is one beautiful looking rocker. :)

I am interested in your comment that if you shortened the back legs it would be a more restful seating position. This begs the question - how well does it rock? From the pictures, it looks like the chair is sitting on the floor half-way between the front and rear legs. I've learned from experience that the chair should sit so that the rockers contact the floor almost directly below the rear legs.

It looks similar to the one I made which has a center-of-gravity too far forward. Rocker has proposed I shorten the rear legs to correct this. I plan to do so after I finish my Christmas projects, but I'm concerned that doing so might be the ruin of the chair. :(

[echnidna]

Scally, this is one beautiful looking rocker. :)

I am interested in your comment that if you shortened the back legs it would be a more restful seating position. This begs the question - how well does it rock? From the pictures, it looks like the chair is sitting on the floor half-way between the front and rear legs. I've learned from experience that the chair should sit so that the rockers contact the floor almost directly below the rear legs.

It looks similar to the one I made which has a center-of-gravity too far forward. Rocker has proposed I shorten the rear legs to correct this. I plan to do so after I finish my Christmas projects, but I'm concerned that doing so might be the ruin of the chair. :(

If you shorten any legs the relationship of legs to the actual rocking surface alters. Could you make up temporary "rockers" that you clamp to the bottom of the existing rockers just to check the balance before you go whole hog and alter the legs.

[Wongo]

Yes, I have the DVD and “THE BOOK”:cool: . Well it isn’t really step by step in the video. It is just enough to get the idea. It is a lot of “figure it out” to do.:o

He used to cut the joint by hand before he had the specially made router bits, so I will probably do the same. Talking about the router bit, I am still not sure how the joint works.

The front legs are square to the seat so it is easy. The back legs are square to the seat in 1 direction and 85 degree (5 degree outwards) in the other direction. How does it work when you cut a 85 degree rabbet on top and 95 degree rabbet from under the seat all around? How does he make the matching joint? It is hard to explain really.

Rocker, I will be using your plan so you are still a big part of it.:)

[TassieKiwi]

I must admit that I was somewhat mesmerized at the time, and have only watched it the once. I agree with Rocker (ooohhhmmmmm, oz rocker god) that the joint could be done differently, but when I make the rocker I will be doing SM's joint, as it is so elegantly efficient. Maybe we could knock up some 'prototypes' from pine - first the front leg joint to get the idea, and then the rear, hand cut. Maybe a competition for BB wannabe Maloofs?

As you know, SM often would make a whole scale model first, for a new design. How'd he make the time? he's done nearly 4000 pieces in a little over 40 yrs.

BTW I got the second book too - lots of drooling, but a bit verbose and detailed about peripheral stuff.

D

[Wongo]

IMaybe we could knock up some 'prototypes' from pine

Yep

[TassieKiwi]

OK you're on. Looking at the calendar, I will have the first joint done by, saaaaaaaaayyyyyyy March.:rolleyes:

[Scally]

So many questions.
Thanks for the interest. Chairs are really interesting. You change one thing and it affects everything else.

How long?

Well a couple of years agon I went to Neil School and worked up a prototype Dining Chair and a Rocking Chair.

When I got home I made 8 dining chairs.
I had trouble laminating the legs and rockers for the rocking chair. Then one excuse after another meant I have just finished it. ( Sam Maloof says he can rough out an arm in 15 minutes).
I enjoyed sculpturing the arms- I looked at lots of chairs but probably concentrated on SM's. Most of the shaping was done with the arbortec with help froma bandsaw and rasp.
I think they are still too bulky and need to lengthen the hollow for the arm.

The legs are joined to the seat by lap joints. The legs were clamped to the seat to eyeball the angles. Legs and seat were marked. Recesses were cut and chiselled. They were pretty tight fits.
The whole seat locks together and a little glue helps.

Moving the chair back on the rockers and shortening the legs, I expect would give a more laid back position and maybe more rocking.
I don't inten chopping the legs off this chair so I will wait for someone else to test the theory.

SM's joints - yes they look good - I looked at them often but couldn't get my head around them. I think Robert Chapman uses them on his rocking chairs?

Good luck with your challenge. I might see if I can make one. I need another excuse to look through my SM book.

I might throw a soft cushion on that cold hard seat and think about it.

[Rocker]

Rocker, I will be using your plan so you are still a big part of it.:)

Scott,

I don't really see how my plan can be much use to you, if you want to make a rocker with a solid-wood seat, since virtually all the joinery and parts would have to be different. I would not trust myself to be up to the task of making a wooden-seated rocker. When I made my first upholstered one, I did not make a prototype, I just drew it as accurately as I could with 2-D CAD software, and, more by luck than good management, the design came out quite satisfactorily; but I doubt if I would be as lucky with a solid-wood seat design.

Another question that bothers me is how exactly SM does his dowel joints that join the legs to the rockers. I suspect that this is probably a secret that he is not too willing to share. He is certainly vague on the subject in his 1983 article. But I have not seen his books.

Hal Taylor does not even use dowels; he uses screws driven through the rockers into the end grain of the legs, and glued in place with epoxy. That method seems to me to be inherently liable to failure, unless cross-dowels were inserted in the legs to give the screws something to bite on; but he seems to be happy with it.

Rocker

[Wongo]

2 things David, the dimensions and the back legs. I might modify them but it is a head start for me.

[Scally]

The legs are joined to the rockers by dowels.

First we dry assembled the legs to the seat and the top rail.
Then clamped the over long legs to the rockers. Adjusted the location until the chair rested the way we liked.
Using the rocker and leg block as a guide we traced the desired join line onto the leg.

The legs were cut to the line. Then rechecked. (At this stage the legs were still square).
Centre lines were drawn on the faces of the legs to give the location of the dowels.
The 4 lines were transferred to the rockers. Once the chair was dismantled, the 4 points on the rockers from the centre line of the dowels were joined to give the centre point of the dowels in the rockers.
(No wonder Sam M never gave an explanation).

Drilling the dowel holes in the rockers was done on a drill press. The rocker was wedged and clamped to hold it in the right position. This is easier with two people because you can get both axis lined up at the same time.
Drill the hole to depth – about ¾ the thickness of the rocker plus 20mm thick leg block.
We used 12mm diameter dowels.

Mating dowel holes in the legs was done on a horizontal borer but it could be done freehand.
The centre line of the dowel was lined up by eye with the drill bit. A ramp on a sled was used to hold the leg at the correct angle for the centre line on the other face of the leg.
The leg on the sled is fed into the horizontal bit.
This was pretty fiddly but after a few dry runs I was ready to drill.

I was surprised how well everything lined up.

I hope this helps. If David could draw some sketches it might be easier to understand.

[Harry72]

Beautiful work Scally

[Rocker]

Scally,

I used a much easier way to drill the dowel holes. I routed them, using the simple jig illustrated in this thread: http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=35290 , using the process as explained in this thread in post#36-37: http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=35118&page=3&highlight=spats.

What I am more concerned about with a solid-wood seated rocker, as made by SM, is how to fit the rockers to the chair, once the dowel holes have been drilled. SM says that he glues up the chair before attaching it to the rockers. But, since the back leg is not parallel to the front, there must be a problem in assembling the chair onto the dowels in the rockers. SM talks vaguely about giving a big whack with a mallet and praying, but I think it would be more logical to get the legs onto their dowels before glueing them to the seat.

Rocker

[MurrayD99]

I followed this thread with interest. One day..... maybe. But thanks for the 'ways & means' guidance. My Adirondack chairs are a breeze compared to what you guys are doing.

[AlexS]

Nice one Scally. One day......:rolleyes:

[Scally]

Yes, I know.
If only the weekends would get longer to give me a chance to build a few more of the projects on my growing list of things to do.

Rocker, your router jig sounds good to me.

My legs needed a pretty good wack to fit to the seat.
When we glued the seat-legs-arm rests - top rail, we fitted the rockers with undersized dowels.
This kept everything in place for when we glued the rockers on later.

Trying to glue everything in one step would be a very tricky operation.


The second time is always easier so I am sure Sam would have it down pat after making several hundred chairs.

[Wongo]

OK you're on. Looking at the calendar, I will have the first joint done by, saaaaaaaaayyyyyyy March.:rolleyes:



http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?p=410919#post410919

[TassieKiwi]

:cool:

[zenwood]

Beautiful work, scally. Something I only dream about.