Sam Maloof

[woodguy7]

I just received my Sam Maloof dvd today.  I think i have watched it 3 times already.  The guy was such a great craftsman & he seemed like a really nice guy also.  I really fancy having a stab at making a Maloof inspired rocker & i notice you can buy a dvd with full sized templates from Charles Brock for 89.99 USD.

Has anyone bought this set or build a rocker ?

I can recommend this dvd to anyone

Woodguy.

 

[wnagle]

I'd be interested in more info too.  Coincidentally, I received an email today from American Furniture advertising full size plans for  this "Maloof style" rocker:

http://www.americanfurnituredsgn.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AFD&Product_Code=415

I wondered if anyone has seen or used these as well.

 

[woodguy7]

This is the set i had planed to get.

http://www.charlesbrockchairmaker.com/

I have e-mailed them to see if they would ship to the UK & how much it would be.  After watching Sam in action it has inspired me to have a go  [smile]

Woodguy

 

[davee]

I purchased the plans a couple of months ago and began building over Christmas vacation time.  The patterns are very good, leaving much room for customization and creativity.  I have all the pieces roughed out and fitted.  I'm now sculpting all of the pieces together.  Its been much fun.  

[attachthumb=1]

 

[woodguy7]

Welcome Davee

Glad to see this thread has encouraged you to make your first post on the FOG.  The chair looks really nice so far, is it black walnut you are using ?  Where did you get your plans, was it from either the places mentioned in the previous posts.  I really want to build this chair & it is good to hear it can be customised to give it a little bit of individuality.

I look forward to seeing more pictures as the build progresses,

Thanks for posting, Woodguy

 

[davee]

Sorry for the long delay, I don't log on too often.  The wood is black walnut, and I obtained the plans (and a few new tools required to build the chair) from Highland Hardware.  Making a project for my wife seems to make the tools easier to obtain.  The Veritas spoke shaves and a variety of rasps are essential.  The sculpting portion of the chair has been especially fun, but as the first I'm taking it slow.  I'll post more pictures once it is fully assembled. 

 

[woodguy7]

Thanks Davee.  I don't have a bandsaw which Sam used for sculpting many of the parts including hollowing out the bulk of the seat.  I was planning on using a 4" grinder with an Arbortech carving wheel to remove the bulk.  Do you think this would work or is a bandsaw a must ?

Thanks for returning,
Woodguy

 

[mwhafner]

The grinder and carving disc will work fine for a start.  There was a pretty good tutorial a few months ago on using the Kutzall discs for this purpose.

 

[davee]

The grinder should work fine for the seat, although it will be really dusty.  I wouldn't (yet) want to  build the rocker without the bandsaw.  I have a 14 inch Jet and puchased the height extender in order to cut the headrest.  I could have finished the headrest without the extender (faster than it took to go buy and install the extender) but it will help with other work in the future.  I suspect a jig saw could be used to cut the rear legs to shape.  The spindles would be the hardest (for me) to cut by hand.  The band saw allows you to get the basic shape of the 7 spindles consistent.  Having said this, I look at the work of the past using all hand tools and am ever more impressed.  Over time I find myself using more hand tools just for the fun of it.  I'm glad I had a bandsaw for the first one.  I suspect I'll be a bit more aggressive on the bandsaw for the next rocker - I'm building a matching hard maple next.  I used hard maple as accent on the rockers on the current, and will use walnut as accent on the maple one.  I didn't use the ebony that was used on the dvd, but it is pretty.  I will do a bit more in using the widely different colors of walnut to blend.

 

[woodguy7]

Thanks, if you had to buy another bandsaw for this purpose, what height would you need ?  I might purchase a band saw if i can find a space to put it in.

I may just use the grinder for the first one, not sure yet but i am concerned about the mess it will make.  Being a festool junkie now i am scared of dust  [scared]

Woodguy

 

[joraft]

Thanks, if you had to buy another bandsaw for this purpose, what height would you need ? 

Last year a bunch of us from talkFestool had the opportunity to visit Sam Maloof at his home. Sadly, he passed away just a few weeks later.

He wasn't feeling well the day we visited, so he decided to just give us free run of the place instead of conducting a tour, and that was including his shop, which is pretty rare.

Below is a photo of one of our guys (Poto) standing next to Sam's main Agazzani bandsaw, just to give an idea of the size he used:

 

[woodguy7]

Wow, that thing is a beast  [eek]

That must have been a cool experience to walk around his shop, what i wouldn't have given to meet the man himself.

Woodguy.

 

[joraft]

That must have been a cool experience to walk around his shop ...

It was a GREAT experience, we felt almost like we were walking on "hallowed ground". Here are some more shots in the shop. As you can see from Sam's tool cabinet, great work doesn't necessarily require fancy tools:

 

[joraft]

Here are some shots of Sam's finishing room. I don't think he was ever able to return to work after our visit, so these may be the last chairs he ever worked on:

 

[joraft]

... what i wouldn't have given to meet the man himself.

On top of being so talented, he was truly a kind and gracious man. Even though he didn't feel well, he invited us in to his living room and chatted with us for quite a while. And then posed for a photo with us:

 

[woodguy7]

Well, i bet you wont forget that day in a hurry.

Thanks for sharing

Woodguy

 

[davee]

Wow!!! Great pictures.  Thanks so much for sharing.  I bet that was a fantastic day.  I have a book by Sam Maloof that I really enjoy.  I especially like the picture of the bench.  I'm in the middle of designing a bench based on building the rocker and using the principles I learned.  Seeing the bench is great timing.  Your pictures are better than what's in the book.

 

[davee]

Thanks, if you had to buy another bandsaw for this purpose, what height would you need ?  I might purchase a band saw if i can find a space to put it in.

You need a minimum of 7-inches cutting height and better yet 8 for clearance or a modified design.  My 14-inch Jet did great for all but the largest cuts.  With the 6-inch extender block it does fine.  I'd love one like shown in the previous picture!