A Sam Maloof Inspired Rocking Chair; Walnut Rocker #2 by Mark A. DeCou

Mark: A beautiful pair of chairs. nice job. You make me proud to know you.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Very nice Mark!! I like the wave in the back around the back slats. Keep them coming!

-- " All Things At First Appear Difficult"

that’s just beautiful… I don’t think I can say anymore!

-- www.darrylmasterson.com ~ www.darrylmasterson.etsy.com

Wow! Beautiful craftsmanship!

-- Z Rockwall, TX

Beautiful chairs Mark! Thanks for sharing.

God Bless
tom

-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa

i look at these chairs and there so beautiful, they dont seem real….i dont know if i will be ever able to touch one like these but that would be thrilling…..god blessed your hands and your talent blesses the lives of his children….i agree with what karson said.

-- The Grizzone

Great chair as is all your work

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

Awesome as usual

-- ~ Inspiring those who inspire me ~

That is truly a beautiful piece of work, I only wish I could do half as well.

-- Glyn, North Carolina

Breath taking….a true work of art !!!!

-- Don S.E. OK

Mark this is stunning.

The feature that I really like are the ripples in the back of the headrest. It is amazing how much it adds without being over bearing to the organic feel of the piece.

This piece is like poetry.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Another beauty! Glad to see you’re busy and having fun!

-- "They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." ~ Edgar Allan Poe

Beautiful chair – I like your additional detail of sculpting the back of the crest rail to undulate where the back slats are.

In past posts – you mention that you do not screw the legs in and plug them like Maloof does…..or rather did ;-(

But for attaching the rockers – do you use screws from the bottom? or instead go with completely captured dowels to attach, and not have any plugs showing? Saw a maloof video ‘town hall’ where he was demonstrating and he showed how he doweled the rockers.

Cheers
Dave

-- Its never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

Just gorgeous.

-- Check out my new website! http://www.blakeweberwoodworking.com

remarkable.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Dave: Well, to be honest, those off color plugs covering the screws are the only things I don’t like about Maloof’s work. I made the decision on the first chair I did that I was not going to do that, despite the precedence he set.

He said in his book, if I remember right, that he didn’t know if he needed them or not, but decided to be safe. And then went on to say that since he used them, he decided to make them a focal point. I just would rather pull the observer’s eye to something other than those big off color round plugs, and let the eye follow the hard sculpted lines and the grain flows. Just my opinion, what do I know?

I feel with the complicated, solid fitting joinery and modern glue, you don’t need screws, but what do I know?

So, I don’t use the screws/plugs.

For controlling the possibility of a dowel slipping on it’s glue, I put in small 1/8” dowels to pin the bigger joint dowel. I did this in non-noticeable places, and did not drill all the way through the leg, or arm.

For mounting the runners to the bottom of the legs, I use Dowels again, and then cross pegged the dowels with the small 1/8” wooden dowel. I can not stand the idea of screwing a leg through from the bottom of the rocker runner with a big screw, or lag screws like some do.

Back in the days when I used to restore and repair antiques, I used to really get mad at whomever it was before me that stuck a nail through a joint to pin it, or tried to tighten a chair leg with a screw. Even with screws, many times it was hard to get them out without breaking, or the head slots not breaking.

So, honestly, I try to use as little metal joinery helpers as I can when I do woodworking. I’m am surely not a Pocket Screw guy, despite their apparent commercial success and transformation of the industry. But, what do I know?

So, I typically use a small wooden dowel pin in places where I think it will help, and then if the joint will ever need to pulled apart, then the small dowel could be drilled out, or broken off.

Anyway, I have a reason for every decision I make, I try so hard to make the right ones, study, worry, concentrate, research, and make a decision based on all I know. I know I have made a lot of mistakes, and I enjoy visiting my old work once in awhile to see how things are holding up, or not. I also pick my dad’s brain a lot, as he’s forgotten more about furniture making than I’ve learned yet. He’s a great resource for me.

But, in the end, all that will give us a solid truth about what works and what didn’t, is the passage of time, and human use of what we make. I see a lot of photos of projects that I’m pretty sure won’t last several seasons of use and seasonal movement, and so I try to technically solve as many problems ahead of time as I can. It’s a blessing and a curse to have an engineering degree and and still try to creatively build functional-art. Often times one thought process is diabolically opposed to the other thought process. Somehow, I try to wade through the solid ground between both views. I guess the Engineer in me would say to just use Steel to build a chair and weld it all together. But, who wants to sit on a cold steel chair?

I just love wood.

But then again, What do I know?

thanks for your question,
m

-- Mark DeCou - American Contemporary Craft Artisan - www.decoustudio.com

Sam is smiling right now! You are truly gifted!

-- Fred.... Poconos, PA ---- Chairwright in the making ----

Nice job Mark !!!Glad to see you finally got it done!!What took you soooo… long ??Just kidding ,you do awesome work which can’t be rushed .

-- Scott NM,http://www.shangrilawoodworks.com

Love the beautiful work and your willingness to share detailed photos and your philosophy on woodworking. To follow up on scott’s question, how long does one rocking chair take? Thanks again for sharing.

Best,

-- Jim

I’m impressed !!!! You must have years worth of commisioned work on your schedule. I’ve have looked at several of your projects. Knives, scrimshaw etc. your blessed with your kind of talent. Keep it coming I’m getting inspired.

-- Which way did they go? Tell me, tell me I must know I'm there leader!!

Answering a few questions:

Time to Build: from negotiations to delivery about 250 hours per chair. Had I used the templates and design from my first chair, this would have save about 50 hours of time. This matching chair set was a his/hers set, so I had each take body measurements of 18 different ergonomic considerations, and then I built each chair per their measurements. So, they are similar, but not the same, requiring a completely different set of templates to be made for each. Now, if I use that same set of templates for another chair, I think it will save something like 50 hours of time. Some guys have told me they build rockers in 75 hours. I’m not that good, or quick, or both.

Backlog Presently: busy up to about Christmas time…. if everyone that has committed keeps their jobs in this economy. The backlog has been up to a couple of years in the past, but that was before 2007-2008’s decline in the market. I saw the decline happening in late 2006, and so I started like crazy trying to come up with a plan to stay in business when the expensive furniture pieces stopped being ordered.

That’s when I focused on finding smaller/cheaper things that I could build, such as lot more like walking canes, custom knives, and hat making tools. Had I not done that, I’m pretty sure that I’d already be greeting shoppers at Walmart and putting smiley faces on little kids…...and I may still be, who knows?

I used to work in a department store when I was in high school. I clearly remember those PA announcements on Saturdays…...”Attention please, could we have a stockman to women’s restroom with a mop…...”

I even had to dress up in the “Icee-Bear” Costume Suit and come walking down the main aisle waving my Paws and handing out coupons to the little kids. So, whether it’s furniture, bathroom cleaning, or costume wearing, I can do whatever it takes…....

Please folks, order something in wood…..

m

-- Mark DeCou - American Contemporary Craft Artisan - www.decoustudio.com

truly remarkable!!!

-- Matt, Napa, CA...fun is beautiful...just trying to have some fun...

Breathless!!! I stopped in and found a neat thing from Dan and another from Scott and now these. Absolutely impressed!! Great work, Mark. Do some more.

-- Thos. Angle

Outstanding!!!!!!!!

-- Ben Kahmann Dayton, OH

Truly Inspirational Mark! Love it!

-- When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt! Henry J. Kaiser

You do some very beautiful work! It means a great deal to me, and I’m sure many others, that someone of your talent and standards is so willing to share his knowledge with the rest of us who dream to someday be that talented.

-- Just remember,it was a lone amatuer that built the ark, and a team of experts built the Titanic.

This is a great piece of craftsmanship!
More accurately,functional art. I have always been drawn to Maloofs chair because of its sensous lines,light airy design,and that leg-to-seat joint.I prefer the way you left off the screws and plugs,much cleaner for sure.
One feature of this chair that really catches my eye is the head board.You took the time to check that the grain would yeild a mirror image after shaping.Parallel flat grain I would guess.Its the perfect touch anyway.
Thanks for the commentary too.And I agree with your sentiments.Thanks for sharing it all with us.

-- " If I can make it,so can you" Andy in Oregon

I have been following your work for a long time. I just can’t get over the peices that you have designed and completed. This particular chair is exceptionally good. I always worried about the screws coming loose with time and damaging the peice. Your thought process on the cross dowels makes sense and I beleive this was used with peices made before us and they have held up really well. Can you share with me how you scooped out the seat. I know how Sam Maloof did his and how others have used drills to make holes and then came back with a grinder or Excalibur. How did you do yours. I share your work with others that are interested in real woodworkers. Thanks for sharing your talent with us. Ed.

-- Ed E. " Taking one board at a time "

Oh Mark…You’ve always produced some beautiful work but this chair has got to be one of the best ever! Absolutely stunning. Great job…the new owner really got a deal on the craftsmanship as I don’t think you could really put a price on it. Pat on the back bro.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!