Sometimes you just want to challenge yourself. Such is the case with my latest project. A Maloof inspired rocking chair. This has been on my "bucket" list for sometime and I finally got a good reason to build one. This will be for a friends son's wedding gift in the spring.

As with just about all my projects, I did a great deal of research. A Maloof rocker was a given, but just who's plans was I going to use? In the end it came down to
A Charles Brock interpretation:
MALOOF INSPIRED ROCKER Instructional DVD, Book and Rocker Patterns - Home
Between the plans, a step by step book and a couple of DVD's I should have all my bases covered as far as the basic construction of the rocker goes. Cost of the plans was about 90 bucks. Not cheap, but considering what all I got, I figure it to be a fair price to pay. I ordered em up and they arrived quickly. First thing I did was open up the paper template guides that came with the purchase. Really kinda rough was my first impression. I guess I was thinking more along the lines of blueprints. This is however a "sculptured" chair. Just about everything gets shaped to some extent. The templates are just a guide, cut em close and go from there. Read over the book and viewed the rocker DVD. All good stuff. Well written, well explained. So should be easy enough, as easy enough goes *L* to follow along with. The 2nd DVD is on shaping the rocker. That part I am really looking forward to. This is where you kinda add your own twist to the project if you like. A couple areas of the construction allow you to do that to some extent, but I"m not sure I wanna fiddle around too much. Especially considering what I paid for the lumber to do this project. 65bf of 10/4 figured cherry. I wanted some really NICE wood for this project. This one is special for a couple of reasons and wood choice was important. When I have to have the right wood for a project, I go to one place: Horizon Wood Products in Kersey Pa.. These boys are a good 3 hr drive away, but I have never been disappointed in anything I've gotten from there. Great guys to deal with. Outstanding facility that is just immaculate. I could walk around this place all day. The wood is just incredible. You'd have to see it to believe it. Pricing is a bit on the high side, however I've never had reason to complain.
Horizon Evolutions: Unique American Hardwood For Sale
After a couple of emails regarding the last chess table I posted, I thought maybe Ill give step by step photo shoot a try. So bear with me. If there is interest I'll keep it going throughout the entire project, if not, I'll let it fade away and just hit ya up with the end result.
Here are a few pictures of the rough cut 10/4 after getting it home. I let it sit a few days to acclimate before I began carving it up. 4 boards, 8-9' long, 10-14"s wide. The last couple pics give you an idea of what you can expect when you go out and buy lumber like this. It may look like alot of wood when you get started, but once you start breaking it down, cutting away checks and sap wood..squaring it up, its amazing sometimes what you got left.

Attached Thumbnails

Bill, after seeing the chess table, I am sure the rocker will become a family heirloom in very short time.....

Please keep the posts coming. I'm sure you will attract a large following. I was surprised to see the wood came with bark and I noted quite a curve in one of the pieces. When I buy raw wood it is roughly squared up so it's easier to figure how much is needed and the cost. Is it common to buy wood this rough in your area or is this unique to that mill? Do they factor out the curves in pricing?
I have the same model table saw as you. I quite like it.

I certainly envy your access to wood like that Bill.

Thanks for the link Bill as I am a big fan of Sam Maloof, I will be very happy to watch your progress. Rest in Peace Sam. Neville

Thanks James... this one ought to be alot of fun...and one heck of a challenge as for "very short time..." I dunno...with the holidays coming up, I've got several other irons in the fire sort-to-speak..I guess the good news is that the sawdust will be flying around here for at least the next several months...

Dennis... good catch on the live edge wood. A good deal of the wood sold up at Horizon is sold live edge. Actually, originally this is what I wanted. My original plan was to use the sapwood on the outside edges of the armrests and headrest, then on both outter edges of the seat. Unfortunately once I started to mill things up, I began to find a good deal of hair line checks in the sapwood. So as it stands right now, I may go with a glueup between halfs with either a maple or walnut to give the rocker a little more flare.
As for the curves, Sometimes ya gotta go with what they got *L*. All four boards had a good curve to em. All four boards were consecutive from the same tree. All of this was factored into the price of the wood when I came to terms with the seller.
There is good and bad to buying wood like this, you can save a bit on bf costs because the mill has spent less time milling the wood square...the bad is you can run into alot of 'hidden' defects if you don't do a proper inspection of the wood. These boards have a very minimal amount of pitch, pith isn't a issue and not a knot to be found. Figure is consistent throughout the set. A good size check on one end *pictured*..and a few checks in the edges that run only a few inches, found one that ran a little under 6"s and I'll be able to work around that.
This mill offers both live edge and milled 4S.. just depends on what you want. Live edge has become quite a popular medium to work with of late. When pricing out the boards, they take into account any defects that might appear, checks, knots, pith etc. and make allowences. Typically milled 4S is the norm. Thats what I go with,, this project was a exception.

The old craftsman hybrid... she's been a solid performer over the years. and I do put it to the test quite often. This 10/4 cherry pushes its limits...I"ve done 12/4 maple and thought I was going to burn her up *L*...ya gotta know you limits I suppose..but all in all, for the money, a great saw.

Hey Charles,,, its out there, you just gotta be willing to go after it..this was a good 6+ hour drive round trip.....nice thing was the wife and I both enjoy the fall and love to go and see the leaves changing. I talked her into taking the day off and go with me....so everything kinda worked out just fine...a beautiful drive into central Pa., picked up some great wood and got to see more of the mill and a fine diner to end the day... everybody was happy, happy, happy

I'll be looking forward to your comments Neville!!! Yes, Maloof set a very high bar during his career. He created some absolutely stunning designs to say least. He was one of those guys who I would have loved to just grab a chair and sit in the back of the room and watch him work.

Bill, thanks for the detailed reply on my wood questions. It's interesting to see how things vary from one place to the next. Looking forward to your progress.