On Making a Chair

[JR]

It has been suggested that we present the details of some of our projects. I may be taking this concept too literally, but I am going to share all the hairy details as I learn to make chairs.

I am sort of obsessed with Sam Maloof's work. His highly sculpted chairs present high levels of craftsmanship and some unique joinery. Using a Fine Woodworking CD, a reference book on Maloof's work, and some back issues of FWW, I will attempt to learn the basics of how his chairs come together. He has been very forthcoming with how he works, but I believe he expects craftspeople to learn from, rather than copy, his work. I'll try to stay true to that philosophy. Here are a couple of examples of Maloof's chairs.



I'll be posting as much detail as I can as I stumble through this. I expect to make mistakes and will try not to hold back as they materialize. Any comments you find appropriate are welcome. I expect to learn in real time, as well as present a platform for others who are interested to learn as well.

JR

[shoottx]

JR

I don't know if you have seen this set of video on Sam Maloof. I sat up one night and watched them all until about 3:00 am

http://www.woodworkingchannel.com/do...eo_library.php

[drumpriest]

I too sat up late to watch that, there's some great info in there, as well as some crazy bandsaw work. Good luck JR, and keep posting!

[JR]

I've taken a shot at learning the basic joinery. Well, total disclosure demands that I admit to having taken a shot the "trick" while fooling around in the shop. These pics, though, represent my first serious attempt at learning and documenting the necessary techniques.

I used 2-by stock in this exercise. Here I've milled up some 4-1/4" seat blanks, a couple of 2x4 front legs and 2x6 back legs.



If you look closely at the seat blanks you'll see a few gaps. This is because the are ripped with alternating 3-degree bevels. The result is that the seat sort of "pre-forms" itself into a facsimile of its final shape. This supposedly cuts down on the forming necessary to complete the seat.



This overhead shot of the chair shows that the back is about 3-1/2" narrower than the front. You may also be able to see that the legs are joined with the seat in a very intersting way, then sculpted to a pleasing shape.



Here is a bad scan of Maloof holding some sample pieces of a seat side, and pieces of front leg and back leg, in order to expose the joinery. This unique joint, invented by Maloof, combines dadoes and rabets to make what is essentially a free-standing joint, obviating the need for stretchers. The result is the clean, uncluttered look seen in the pics above. It should become clearer what this looks like as my pics are posted.



Ok, here we go.

First, the seat pieces need to be joined. Maloof uses 1/2" dowels, formed on a horizontal boring machine, a tool I don't have. Remember the seat parts are ripped on a 3-degree bevel. Maloof places a yard stick under the stock to get the beveled edged square to the drill. Here I've put a piece of 1/8" MDF at the bottom of the DP fence to emulate his technique. I'm not entirely sure it worked properly - we'll see later. (BTW - I think that little DP table was the first shop fixture I ever built. It's decidely unfancy, but I've never felt the need to upgrade.)



Next, it was time to cut the seat sides in anticipation of the width change highlighted in the overhead picture above. This was accomplished in a pretty straightforward fashion on the tablesaw, by cutting out a 3"x3" chunk from the back of the sides. I first ran the pieces through vertically, then horizontally. I had made some fresh tall-ish fences for the rip fence and SMT fence. The pics are "re-creations" made after the cuts were complete.





Now we get into the details of the joinery. First, dadoes must be cut on the seat sides and on the legs. The front dadoes on the seat sides are are the width of the legs minus 1/2". There are no dadoes on the rear sides, just the 3"x3" notch created above. The legs get dadoes which are the thickness of the seat minus 1/2".



Now comes the "trick". These two router bits are used together to make the pieces fit firmly and strongly. The rabetting bit is 1" diameter overall, with a 1/4" rabetting reveal. It will be used on the dadoes in the seat. The 1/2" roundover bit will be used on the legs to fit perfectly into the rabets.




The rabetting bit is set up for 1/4" depth. It simply run around the dadoes on top and bottom of the seat, in both the front and rear joints. Maloof has a way of using rabetting bits with 3-degree or 5-degree bevels, which also requires that the dadoes be cut on that angle. I won't be doing that stuff any time soon!



Now the roundover bit is used on the legs. It actually only needs to be used in the area of the joint, but I ran it down the full length of the leg.



Here's what the front leg looks like when put together.



Here it is with the leg flipped around, exposing the details, including tearout!



And the back leg.



It starts to look like a chair.







Lessons learned, or that need to be learned, so far:

• Tearout with the rabetting bit is a big issue. There's no easy way to create some sort of zero-clearance or backer fence, so I'm not sure how to solve this.
• The dadoes need to be cut a tad deep. A little shallow is no good.
• The dowels need some close attention. I've managed to glue up the seat, but it didn't just snap together. It needed some persuasion with the clamps.

Next:

• The rear legs need to cut on the bandsaw to make that curved shape seen in Maloof's pics.
• The front legs need to be turned with a pleasing taper.
• The seat needs to be shaped to match the legs and to form the business end of things.

Th-th-th-that's all I have at this point.

JR

[JR]

JR

I don't know if you have seen this set of video on Sam Maloof. I sat up one night and watched them all until about 3:00 am

http://www.woodworkingchannel.com/do...eo_library.php

Thanks for the link. I have seen those videos before. As Keith says the bandsaw work is pretty wild. He shows those same techniques in the video I have, with the same caveats to "not try this at home."

JR

[drumpriest]

I'm not able to see any pictures JR, did you upload them to the site? Or linked from another site?

[leehljp]

I'm not able to see any pictures JR, did you upload them to the site? Or linked from another site?

Same here. I was wondering if my computer wasn't getting something.

That became one of my dreams about 10 years ago - to make a Maloof chair. That is still one of my goals but I will have to wait until retirement - just over 2 years to return home.

Keep us updated on this project.

[cabinetman]

Add me to the list...I have... GAPS.
.

[JR]

I'm not able to see any pictures JR, did you upload them to the site? Or linked from another site?

Yep, linked from BT3Central!

it looks fine on my screen.

I'll work on it.

JR

[JR]

Can the pics be seen now? I changed the album configuration from private viewing to public.

JR

[SARGE..g-47]

I see them fine... good luck and have have fun..

[Black wallnut]

You do know that it is unsafe to use the rip fence and the miter guage at the same time? Very high likelyhood of kickback!

[JR]

You do know that it is unsafe to use the rip fence and the miter guage at the same time? Very high likelyhood of kickback!

Perhaps another of Maloof's techniques of questionable safety. It is not a through cut, so I felt pretty safe doing it. Perhaps safety coule be improved by moving the rip fence away for the final, off-cut operation?

JR

[leehljp]

On the scanned image of Maloof holding the two pieces, I saw one of those joints at a specialty wood shop in Memphis about 10 years ago and instantly recognized it. Still have the image in my mind. It was clever and great looking too.

I like the way you are using common pine as a mock-up.

[dtam]

JR,
How big of a bandsaw and drill press would you need? I only have the $100 new Sears steel frame 10" bandsaw (I used to have 3 bandsaws, but was forced to sell them), and the little 5-speed HF drill press that goes on sale regularly for $40.

And how much skill would you need? The most complicated furniture I have ever built was a set of chairs from this woodsmith plan:
http://plansnow.com/chairsdine.html

I'm seriously considering buying the Hay Taylor rocking chair plans (I can't make anything without a plan), but want to make sure I have the necessary equipment and skill before I spend $275 on it.

Thanks.
dtam