Thread: Rocking Chair help

Send a PM to Rocker on these forums. Find one of his posts, click on his name and 'Send rocker a private message'. A few people have done/are doing his chairs and seem to be pretty happy.

Hi Lena,

What you really need is a video of the special that ABC had on Sam Maloof a few months ago - perhaps your teacher has a copy - they showed how he made the chair in a basic outline.

You've picked an interesting project.

What I'm a bit concerned about is why you want a plan (I'm a senior Industrial Technology teacher) as it's meant to be primarily your design. Sure, you can modify plans to suit and get around it that way, but this one's an organic design that doesn't really have one.

I just did a quick google search as listed below and found you a few links. I must admit to being a bit surprised that you didn't turn at least some of these up in your search:

http://www.google.com.au/search?num=...G=Search&meta=
http://www.google.com.au/search?q=ma...ient=firefox-a

Top two of these are something similar to what you want, I haven't seen the third one.
http://shop.woodreview.com.au/details/158780.html
http://shop.woodreview.com.au/details/184143.html
http://shop.woodreview.com.au/details/161535.html
Shaping the arm for a wooden chair using the freehand band saw technique as practiced by Sam Maloof.
FINE WOODWORKING #137 Jul-Aug 1999 pg. 102


http://www.haltaylor.com/Make_own_rocker.htm
http://shootingboard.net/rocker.htm
http://www.garyweeks.com/copy_maloof.htm
http://americanart.si.edu/maloof/design/index.html
http://www.furnituresociety.org/dc/d...ode=full&page=
http://www.komejo.com/woodworking/ch...ocking%20Chair
http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/i...ember/mall.php
http://www.woodcentral.com/shots/shot640.shtml
http://www.eaglewoodwright.com/
http://www.garyweeks.com/designing_rocking_chair.htm
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rockin...p/messages?o=1
http://www.lindauwoodworks.com/rockingchairgallery.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Maloof
http://www.fairplex.com/fp/Calendar/...inalmaloof.pdf

This was about 15 minutes searching from a fairly basic google search.


This is more than sufficient to get you started on your research. If you're looking for justification on why Sam Maloof doesn't use a straight design, look at the smithsonian page above. Use this to justify your design

What you need to do is to design the chair yourself, as opposed to work from a plan to get the best mark in Industrial Technology.

This should get you started regarding joinery and other features.

From here, draw out a full-size plan and take it from there (use butchers' paper or MDF) Work on the joinery (Save EVERY mockup so that you can show the markers you developed the joint detail) and then off you go.

Look at ergonomics before you go too much further.

Have fun (most importantly.) They really are fun to make - do a mockup in pine "really" quickly and roughly before you start on the real job -> it will save you heaps in wasted time and material cost - this and practise the joinery to ensure that you know what you're up against.

Oh - and make sure you attribute advice from this forum as part of your research. The markers check for plagiarism, and they check in to this site occasionally.

I'd better go now - more than enough to point you in the right direction, but you'd better get started immediately as you're currently 14% of the way through your face-to-face class time in year 12. (my engineering class have the countdown running on the board to keep them on track, as do the Ind Tech class.)

Cheers,

eddie

Thankyou all very much, some of the sites you listed I had seen before but some I haven't so thankyou for those resources... I don't think I was looking in google what you were looking for

Thankyou also for the hints & tips. I have been consulting many people about any information I can get & all shall be included in my folio.

Search "Maloof' on this BB. We've been discussing his joints recently. I've only 'discovered' Sam's work in the last 12 months. I don't like everything he does, but I do like the chairs - a rocker is on my 'in the next few years' list.

It will be a challenging project, but a chair is only bits of wood stuck together, one at a time. You'll be right!

You can get all you need at www.kappelusa.com and it is free.

The latest issue of Australian Wood Review (No.53, page 46) has an article on David Haig and his 'signature style' rocking chair. It has a couple of nice photos that could inspire you. Maybe the library has a copy, or if you're quick, you could check the newsagents.