On Making a Chair

[atgcpaul]

When I lived in San Diego and took WWing classes at Palomar College, I was
fortunate to visit Sam Maloof's shop AND meet with Sam himself. Great guy! He
demonstrated cutting one of his curved armrests on the bandsaw. Not for the
faint of heart because there's about 12" of blade showing when he makes that
cut. His bandsaw is a 21" or something bigger.

The lock joint of the arm to the seat is definitely a toughie. He showed that
off, too, but it still puzzles me. It's almost all machine cut. He even uses
drywall screws to secure that joint and covers it up with a wood plug. I have
his book, The Furniture of Sam Maloof, and I think it shows some closeups of
the joint, too.

Thousand Oaks is probably 2 hours from his shop. Maybe you can arrange a
visit and get some face time with the Master. He gives the all access pass
to WWing groups.

Paul

[JR]

How big of a bandsaw and drill press would you need? dtam

I saw your post refering to that plan. It's very interesting!

I don't think you need a big bandsaw. Maloof makes some pretty fancy cuts, but the wood is only 5" or so at its widest point. If you've got 6" of resaw capacity you'll probably be fine. Otherwise you'll have to figure it out, which is half the fun.

I use the 5-speed DP, too. I figgered it out, so you can, too.

I don't know if I'm up for $275 plans. I guess as an alternative to his $10K class it looks good! Maloof gives enough instruction in the materials I have for me to get going. He really stresses that it's all about learning the approach he has, not the specific details.

JR

[JR]

Thousand Oaks is probably 2 hours from his shop. Maybe you can arrange a visit and get some face time with the Master. He gives the all access pass to WWing groups.l

Yeah, Paul, I've thought about that. He's getting on in age, but still will greet visitors. I think he still gives a class out at Redlands College. Now that would be cool.

JR

[bmyers]

Good show JR! I'm interested in how one of these chairs come together. Thanks for giving us a little deeper look on how they go together.

You must continue on with this thread if you can. I know I'd appreciate, looks like other are interested too.


Bill

[dtam]

I saw your post refering to that plan. It's very interesting!

I don't think you need a big bandsaw. Maloof makes some pretty fancy cuts, but the wood is only 5" or so at its widest point. If you've got 6" of resaw capacity you'll probably be fine. Otherwise you'll have to figure it out, which is half the fun.

I use the 5-speed DP, too. I figgered it out, so you can, too.

I don't know if I'm up for $275 plans. I guess as an alternative to his $10K class it looks good! Maloof gives enough instruction in the materials I have for me to get going. He really stresses that it's all about learning the approach he has, not the specific details.

JR

The price of the Hal Taylor plans has been reduced significantly. It's $20 for the new 240 page book, $35 for the full size template, and $35 for the back brace template. I just ordered all 3 for less than $110 including shipping. Glad I waited.

http://www.rockingchairuniversity.co...air_plans.html