# My Maloof lowback



## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

*Its on!*

After reading Maloof's book last summer, I ordered the DVD and templates from Scott Morrison, claiming the lowback to be my "winter project". Now its (actually "they" as I'm making a pair) on the way as I officially have completed the first few steps:

Glued the templates on plywood, cut out with a bandsaw and sanded to line:









Milled, ripped, ripped to 3 degree angle, cross cut the seats:










In fact, after sleeping on it a couple of weeks, went back and jointed to 3 degrees, as I had some smoke coming out of the table saw blade when ripping to 3 degrees. Also had some other issues holding the pieces. Hint: Rip very close to final width before ripping to 3 degrees, otherwise it will bind…









Being the smart woodworker, I made several practice pieces to be used in the different phases of making the Maloof-joint:










So no wonder that the first step on the actual piece succeeded fine. I first made several cuts with a table saw, and then clamped several pieces together and used a bullnose shoulder plane to get the surface even:










Since I have a biscuit router, I used biscuits and not dowels. I'm not worried about the strength, only the alignment when clamping. And yes, I did (try to) compensate for the 3 degree angle:








I also already bandsaw the backlegs. After bandsawing the DVD carried on with next steps. I clearly needed another step; tape the template to the blank, and rout flush…










And here my practice pieces came in handy again. I routed one piece to see the final width, and used that (to yet another practice piece) to find out the fact width for the upper part of the front legs. Since I don't have access to a dado set, I have concocted a very elaborate sequence to rout the dados into the legs. So far, so good. The next steps of the sequence only exist in my mind, so I won't bother trying to explain them yet. We'll se how it goes…










Later…

But don't hold your breath, this may take a while. My goal for applying the finish is somewhere during my summer vacation in July…


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## HalDougherty (Jul 15, 2009)

Antti said:


> *Its on!*
> 
> After reading Maloof's book last summer, I ordered the DVD and templates from Scott Morrison, claiming the lowback to be my "winter project". Now its (actually "they" as I'm making a pair) on the way as I officially have completed the first few steps:
> 
> ...


It's going to be beautiful! I've got a cherry crotch that I slab sawed 2" thick and it's been drying for 3 years. I'm going to start a maloof type rocker this summer. I should have enough figured cherry for at least two chairs. Here's what the crotch slabs looked like when I cut them:

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/19868


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## toddc (Mar 6, 2007)

Antti said:


> *Its on!*
> 
> After reading Maloof's book last summer, I ordered the DVD and templates from Scott Morrison, claiming the lowback to be my "winter project". Now its (actually "they" as I'm making a pair) on the way as I officially have completed the first few steps:
> 
> ...


Awesome! Scott puts out a pretty good product in his plans and he will back them with support if you have any problems.

I look forward to seeing the final project.


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

Antti said:


> *Its on!*
> 
> After reading Maloof's book last summer, I ordered the DVD and templates from Scott Morrison, claiming the lowback to be my "winter project". Now its (actually "they" as I'm making a pair) on the way as I officially have completed the first few steps:
> 
> ...


Thx for the encouragement!

There is no way I could make this without the instructions. Looking at the final product makes you think its beyond us amateurs. Watching the DVD makes you think you can complete it almost as fast as it takes to watch the DVD…

The truth lies somewhere in between, I hope… I'm not even trying to follow the instructions exactly, as I cant make myself to cut based on measurement alone - I have to make trial pieces to make sure its coming out OK.

Anyway, watching Scott's DVD makes you realize none of the steps are impossible, and so far I seem to be on the right track. I think his side table plans will come in handy when the pair of lowbacks start to surrender.


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## RBWoodworker (Mar 22, 2009)

Antti said:


> *Its on!*
> 
> After reading Maloof's book last summer, I ordered the DVD and templates from Scott Morrison, claiming the lowback to be my "winter project". Now its (actually "they" as I'm making a pair) on the way as I officially have completed the first few steps:
> 
> ...


Assembling the chair and getting all the parts to fit is relatively easy..just take your time.. double check.. it's going to be the sculpting and shaping that will take the most time.. you have several "two's" of parts meaning two front legs..two back legs..making them identical will be the challenge.. you also have a curved front legs that are rounded that have to be shaped by hand.. its a great project..I have made these chairs before and you can see the results here if you want to look..feel free to PM me if you have any questions..I love to help where I can..

http://randallalanfurniture.squarespace.com/blog/2011/12/23/maloof-lowback-chair.html


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

Antti said:


> *Its on!*
> 
> After reading Maloof's book last summer, I ordered the DVD and templates from Scott Morrison, claiming the lowback to be my "winter project". Now its (actually "they" as I'm making a pair) on the way as I officially have completed the first few steps:
> 
> ...


Randall, your work is very impressive! I'm not sure if if gets lost in translation, but in Finnish there is a saying "everything is easy, as long as you know how to do it….". In this case it means that it might be somewhat easier for you than for me!

I have a question right away: When sculpting the seat, do you do it by feel, or have you routed/drilled/table sawed/.... some sort of depth references in beforehand? I was planning to do one of those things to the middle board before glue-up.


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## RBWoodworker (Mar 22, 2009)

Antti said:


> *Its on!*
> 
> After reading Maloof's book last summer, I ordered the DVD and templates from Scott Morrison, claiming the lowback to be my "winter project". Now its (actually "they" as I'm making a pair) on the way as I officially have completed the first few steps:
> 
> ...


Hi Antti.. I sculpt a portion out of the seat with the bandsaw before i glue the seat together, then..with that middle sculpted board..I place it on the boards next to it and use it as a template to cut out those boards taking care not to go too deep or stray from my line.. then after glue-up I have a lancelot grinder and a lancelot donut wheel to blend it..I follow up with scrapers and sanders.. you can place a story stick across the seat to see the depth and see if one side is off more than the other..works well

here are some of the tools I use in sculpting the seat..

http://www.katools.com/shop/lancelot-tooth-chain-blade-p-51.html?osCsid=ronaut2rjbflii9bgq8kkfpee5

http://www.katools.com/shop/holey-galahad-round-coarse-blue-p-30.html

please PM me if you have any questions..I had no idea you asked a question..I apologize for not responding sooner..

http://www.katools.com/shop/guinevere-sanding-system-p-28.html


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

*Joint effort*

Cant say the project is "gaining momentum", but at least it is inching forward. I made a jig for getting a straight joint for the back legs, and used it to saw the leg where it joins the seat:



















This was directly from Scott's instructions, but it worked so well I think I will be making a similar jig for the part where the back legs meet the backrest. Just have to check I won't cut off part of the legs in the process…

I also got around to making the Maloof joints. I first cut a dado to a scrap piece (using the self made jig in the picture) to figure out the correct depth for the round over bit when routing the seat










Once I had a practice dado, I used another scrap piece of same thickness with my seat boards; I experimented with the router bit height until I got a perfect fit. The first corner (in the picture) was too loose, and the 3rd corner was perfect.Then I moved on to the actual seat boards




























Now I used YET ANOTHER scrap piece to rout the dado with the correct depth to correspond to joint in the seat boards. Once the right depth was established, I routed the front legs, including the round over. 
There felt tip markings are to remind myself not to rout the wrong side:



















I also glued the seats together.



















You can also see that my boiler room/workshop has extended to cover our downstairs family room. My wife had a comment when se saw the glue oozing seats on the sofa… (oh come on, the sofa is at least 15 years old!)

The next step is either to figure out (required jigs for making) the maloof joints for the back legs, or to grind the seats. I think I will go with grinding as that sounds rewarding, at least now before doing it and possibly spoiling the whole project!

Later!


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## buffalosean (Feb 15, 2009)

Antti said:


> *Joint effort*
> 
> Cant say the project is "gaining momentum", but at least it is inching forward. I made a jig for getting a straight joint for the back legs, and used it to saw the leg where it joins the seat:
> 
> ...


looking good! keep it up


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## Ken90712 (Sep 2, 2009)

Antti said:


> *Joint effort*
> 
> Cant say the project is "gaining momentum", but at least it is inching forward. I made a jig for getting a straight joint for the back legs, and used it to saw the leg where it joins the seat:
> 
> ...


Wow great job, very fun to watch this unfold!


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## RBWoodworker (Mar 22, 2009)

Antti said:


> *Joint effort*
> 
> Cant say the project is "gaining momentum", but at least it is inching forward. I made a jig for getting a straight joint for the back legs, and used it to saw the leg where it joins the seat:
> 
> ...


Looks good.. your taking it slow.. test and fit..test and fit.. creep up on it till you got it perfect..it will all pay off in the final finished chair..after you do one and have a good working understanding of how it all goes together and what NOT to do.. you will be cranking these out with little effort.. again..PM me if you need anything or have any questions..glad to help..


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## toothmechanic (Mar 12, 2011)

Antti said:


> *Joint effort*
> 
> Cant say the project is "gaining momentum", but at least it is inching forward. I made a jig for getting a straight joint for the back legs, and used it to saw the leg where it joins the seat:
> 
> ...


I will follow this one as I am considering taking this on , or maybe the "Armstrong" chair as soon as he gets the DVD out. Keep up the good work!!!

JW


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

*Just like when eating an elephant...*

...small piece at a time. So no spectacular progress, but progress anyway. I made a jig for the back-leg surface which meets the hand rest, the same way as was instructed for the joint surface. Worked as planned, and now the surfaces are nice and flat, and ready to glue.



















The other thing I managed today was the routing of the joints for the backlegs. Again, I made a jig. It didn't exactly "work like a charm", but with careful set-up, I managed to machine the joints. As with the front legs, the routing leaves some fine-tuning to be done with hand tools - which is OK of course.


















































































It seems I still haven't made a fatal mistake. Next thing is the fine tuning of the backlog joints, and then it will be grinding-time…


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## Timbo (Aug 21, 2008)

Antti said:


> *Just like when eating an elephant...*
> 
> ...small piece at a time. So no spectacular progress, but progress anyway. I made a jig for the back-leg surface which meets the hand rest, the same way as was instructed for the joint surface. Worked as planned, and now the surfaces are nice and flat, and ready to glue.
> 
> ...


Progressing along nicely, great pics along the way too.

Thanks for posting.


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## mbs (May 8, 2010)

Antti said:


> *Just like when eating an elephant...*
> 
> ...small piece at a time. So no spectacular progress, but progress anyway. I made a jig for the back-leg surface which meets the hand rest, the same way as was instructed for the joint surface. Worked as planned, and now the surfaces are nice and flat, and ready to glue.
> 
> ...


Very nice work. I just finished my first chair today and read your blog. I like the way you made your joints before you glued the seat up. I made mine after I did the seat and I think I will try your technique next time. Keep up the blog. I


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

*The grind*

The intensity is not overwhelming as I get to work on my project about once a month. Today was the day, and I made some progress. Also made some minor mistakes - as long as they are not "fatal", i.e. force me to start over I'm not too concerned as this is just a hobby… right?

To get me warmed up, I fine-tuned the joints for the backlegs. I thanked myself for having watched some fine woodworking podcasts (from an iPod, during my commute to work…): I used my business cards as spacers; I lowered the blade to just touch the joint with the cards under my plane. When cards were removed, I knew I would plane just that much. Worked well, and the joints dry-fit real nice.










The grinding progressed just as advertised (in Scott Morrison's instructional DVD). Him having done it a couple of times and me being a first timer I foresee a day's worth of hand sanding to finish off the shaping of the seat. I used first the Holey Galahad medium:



















I didn't bother to measure anything; Feeling the shape with my hands seemed accurate enough to me, so the stick is just for show.




























After the initial shaping with the Holey Galahad I used the sanding disc (that came with the Bosch sander) 40 grit. Pretty aggressive…










I used the random orbit sander, hoping it would give me more control. That worked fine for the bottom, but as mentioned, I have to revisit the "show-face" of the seat with a sanding block, and I think there will be a significant amount of sweat involved. Thats OK, I can then call my lowbacks handmade with a good conscience…










I have to admit that I'm slightly surprised how the thing is progressing - each separate step is not so difficult and it is starting to look like there will be chairs… This was (is) not to be taken for granted, as I started "fine woodworking" only about a year and a half ago, and looking at the picture of the finished product is quite intimidating!


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Antti said:


> *The grind*
> 
> The intensity is not overwhelming as I get to work on my project about once a month. Today was the day, and I made some progress. Also made some minor mistakes - as long as they are not "fatal", i.e. force me to start over I'm not too concerned as this is just a hobby… right?
> 
> ...


Super blog and very good photography .


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## Rob_n_Wood (Mar 25, 2009)

Antti said:


> *The grind*
> 
> The intensity is not overwhelming as I get to work on my project about once a month. Today was the day, and I made some progress. Also made some minor mistakes - as long as they are not "fatal", i.e. force me to start over I'm not too concerned as this is just a hobby… right?
> 
> ...


Really impressive I have looked at this type of grinder before. Was it very intimidating I think it might be for me.
You give me hope that someone like me could actually do this.
Keep up the good work and we will be watching


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

Antti said:


> *The grind*
> 
> The intensity is not overwhelming as I get to work on my project about once a month. Today was the day, and I made some progress. Also made some minor mistakes - as long as they are not "fatal", i.e. force me to start over I'm not too concerned as this is just a hobby… right?
> 
> ...


thanks for the feedback! Regarding photography, the secret of success has to be either the lighting (outdoors) or the equipment (phone), since it sure ain't me - yesterday my hands were noticeably shaking from the grinding, and using rubber gloves didn't help with the touchscreen either.

I would recommend the Holey Galahad to others, but you have to discount for the fact that it is the only kind I have ever used… I did use it with the drawer fronts of my "propeller" credenza earlier, and before that I had already practiced with the table top. So this time I already knew what to expect, but I was still worrying that this might be the step where the good start turns into firewood.


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## phtaylor36 (Jun 13, 2011)

Antti said:


> *The grind*
> 
> The intensity is not overwhelming as I get to work on my project about once a month. Today was the day, and I made some progress. Also made some minor mistakes - as long as they are not "fatal", i.e. force me to start over I'm not too concerned as this is just a hobby… right?
> 
> ...


That is great, can't wait to see it come together.


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

*The volume of sanding...*

...will make me appreciate the end result even more. Assuming it works out.

Yesterday, I spent about 4-5 hours hand sanding and rasping the seats. First with 40 grit to get the dents etc. out of the shaped portion, which I managed to do for both seats. Then I rounded / shaped the front section with my Auriou rasps (I got two of them, purpose bought for this project - well worth the investment).

I opted for hand tools as there is not that much room for error. Attacking the seats with power tools didn't seem like a good strategy. Sanding is mostly just "labor" and you can't wait it to end, but when it comes to straightening out the hardline in the middle, it feels like "fine woodworking"... The rasping on the other hand feels like fine woodworking all the way through! I'm not convinced that my shape came out identical to Scott Morrison's instructions, nor Sam Maloof's originals, but that's OK; I like mine just fine.

After the 40 grit overall treatment & the rasping action, I moved on to finer grits - the logic was that without the legs attached, the sanding is so much easier. The temptation to glue the legs is huge, but I know I will thank myself later. Unfortunately I had nothing between 40 and 180 grit, and being Easter I could get none. Getting the 40 grit scratches out with the 180 was hard work, and I was exhausted after the first seat. I foresee about another 4-5 hours sanding session before moving on. I plan to spend some time on getting the middle hardline as straight as possible, but you can already see that there will be a ridge - so proud…


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## HalDougherty (Jul 15, 2009)

Antti said:


> *The volume of sanding...*
> 
> ...will make me appreciate the end result even more. Assuming it works out.
> 
> ...


If the rest of your chair looks this good, it's going to be great. All that sanding will be worth it in the final product.


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## tsangell (Jan 10, 2011)

Antti said:


> *The volume of sanding...*
> 
> ...will make me appreciate the end result even more. Assuming it works out.
> 
> ...


You should take a look at scraping. You would save yourselves hours and hours of sanding.


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

Antti said:


> *The volume of sanding...*
> 
> ...will make me appreciate the end result even more. Assuming it works out.
> 
> ...


Thanks for feedback! 
I did have a gooseneck scraper on hand, and I used it to straighten out obvious bumps etc. However, without any training in its proper use, while I get a smooth surface, I dont get straight surface (i.e. my chair became silky smooth, but bumpy using only the scraper). Maybe next chairs…


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

*Backrest*

Its been a while since I last got to work on these. The opening for the backrest wasn't perfectly square, so I made quite a lot of compound angle test cuts. I forgot to reset the saw, which I realized when I did some other stuff later with the same cabin saw (at this communal workshop type of a place). Some other poor lumberjock is probably now sratching his head as he can't get his boards to align… sorry…

Bandsawing was easy. Single handed gluing - or more specifically getting in the first clamp while the slippery piece was trying to escape wasn't.




























Next up, the handrests!


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## ShipWreck (Feb 16, 2008)

Antti said:


> *Backrest*
> 
> Its been a while since I last got to work on these. The opening for the backrest wasn't perfectly square, so I made quite a lot of compound angle test cuts. I forgot to reset the saw, which I realized when I did some other stuff later with the same cabin saw (at this communal workshop type of a place). Some other poor lumberjock is probably now sratching his head as he can't get his boards to align… sorry…
> 
> ...


Looks great.


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## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

Antti said:


> *Backrest*
> 
> Its been a while since I last got to work on these. The opening for the backrest wasn't perfectly square, so I made quite a lot of compound angle test cuts. I forgot to reset the saw, which I realized when I did some other stuff later with the same cabin saw (at this communal workshop type of a place). Some other poor lumberjock is probably now sratching his head as he can't get his boards to align… sorry…
> 
> ...


So far, so good, right.

Lee


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## HalDougherty (Jul 15, 2009)

Antti said:


> *Backrest*
> 
> Its been a while since I last got to work on these. The opening for the backrest wasn't perfectly square, so I made quite a lot of compound angle test cuts. I forgot to reset the saw, which I realized when I did some other stuff later with the same cabin saw (at this communal workshop type of a place). Some other poor lumberjock is probably now sratching his head as he can't get his boards to align… sorry…
> 
> ...


I wish I was that far along with the chairs I'm planning to build. I've got the templates cut out and I'm waiting for the wood I'm going to make the first one from to dry.


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

*Armrest blanks*

I'm not sure if this little progress even warrants a blog post, but still:

Not having a bandsaw nor enough clamps, I'm doing (also) this bit at this communal workshop. And since I can't hog all the clamps to myself, I'm doing the sawing and gluing one by one; when I pick up the previous one, I saw and glue a new one. Since the workshop is open after "normal business hours" only on Mondays and Thursdays, it takes some weeks (as I also have to get the stars aligned for the logistics; typically I take the train to work, but every once in a while I have to take my car - if that happens to be a Monday or a Thursday, I get one armrest blank done!)










My original target schedule (in December…) was to be ready for final shaping when my summer vacation starts; that will be the second week of July. It will be a close call…

P.S. Good thing I took this photo, as I just now realized that the curve for the one on the left has to be drawn "the other way around", to get the grain and shape flow together and not against each other!


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## sras (Oct 31, 2009)

Antti said:


> *Armrest blanks*
> 
> I'm not sure if this little progress even warrants a blog post, but still:
> 
> ...


Slow and steady ends up with a finished project!


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

*Finally starting to take shape*

I finally managed to saw and drill the armrest blanks so I could glue the whole thing together.










I had my doubts on getting the glueline tight with only one screw from behind so I put in two. After it was too late, I realized this might affect the possibilities to shape later…



















I wish I could already put up an "after" picture to complement this "before" picture: There's a Maloof joint in there somewhere:









Unfortunately I only scratched the surface, so here are a couple of "interim" pictures:




































At this stage I dont want to rush it (and I ran out of time…), so I have to continue later. I'm almost convinced that the chairs will succeed…but there obviously is a lot of angle grinding, rotary tooling, rasping and sanding before that! It also appears that the "extra" screw didnt screw my shaping possibilities…


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## HalDougherty (Jul 15, 2009)

Antti said:


> *Finally starting to take shape*
> 
> I finally managed to saw and drill the armrest blanks so I could glue the whole thing together.
> 
> ...


Wow great looking pictures. Thanks for sharing. I'd like to build a set of chairs and a dining table for a Christmas gift. Just building one of the Maloof style chairs appears to be a daunting project. Trying to get 6 of them to look alike is going to be even more difficult… The amount of sculpting to get from the almost square roughed out chair, to the flowing curves of the finished chair is very apparent from your photographs. Thanks again for sharing your progress.


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## sras (Oct 31, 2009)

Antti said:


> *Finally starting to take shape*
> 
> I finally managed to saw and drill the armrest blanks so I could glue the whole thing together.
> 
> ...


It looks to me like you have made a LOT of progress! They are looking great - you'll get there!


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

Antti said:


> *Finally starting to take shape*
> 
> I finally managed to saw and drill the armrest blanks so I could glue the whole thing together.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your comments. 
Hal, if you just have the time, you should go ahead with your dining set. The project is great and very very rewarding. In my case the challenge is the lack of available time. As you can see from the frequency of postings, I only get to work on these a couple of hours a month. If I had for example half a day each week, I'd be doing your plan…

With my current schedule, I think I will select an easier/shorter next project - its nice to get something finished more often than once a year!


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

*Still chipping away at eating my elephant...*

...little by little.

I'm shaping the two chairs so that I always work on both chairs for the same spots, while I still remember how I did the other one. These are just random pictures from different angles, documenting the work in progress. Mostly I wanted pictures, which I could later compare to the final product. I'm planning on making a hardcopy of some sorts of my blog pictures - to testify to guests that I have made the pieces myself…



























































































I did get to attack the pair once more after these pictures were taken. Next time I post, you should be able to tell that I'm trying to build chairs… but dont get your hopes up; the final finish line has been pushed to December in my mind.


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## HalDougherty (Jul 15, 2009)

Antti said:


> *Still chipping away at eating my elephant...*
> 
> ...little by little.
> 
> ...


You can see the curves that are starting to form. All you have to do now, is cut away everything that isn't a chair! Good start. I can't wait to see how they turn out. One day, I want to build a set of 6 and a dining room table. I can't imagine trying to build 6 exactly alike.


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

*The dark spots are my sweat*

Except for a small rotary tool I use around the joints, I dont dare to use power tools at this stage. So yes, those dark spots are my sweat. Dripping sweat makes the chairs that much more handmade? Anyway, I can see the form slowly coming together - a glimpse of the hardline here and there, a maloof joint starting to look its part,...

I have to pace myself, as if I keep going too tired, I become careless and make mistakes. I hope they sand out…


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## HalDougherty (Jul 15, 2009)

Antti said:


> *The dark spots are my sweat*
> 
> Except for a small rotary tool I use around the joints, I dont dare to use power tools at this stage. So yes, those dark spots are my sweat. Dripping sweat makes the chairs that much more handmade? Anyway, I can see the form slowly coming together - a glimpse of the hardline here and there, a maloof joint starting to look its part,...
> 
> I have to pace myself, as if I keep going too tired, I become careless and make mistakes. I hope they sand out…


Your chair is looking great! My projects at this point have both sweat and blood stains… I used to be very cautious when removing wood, but after carving and sanding a lot of gunstocks, I use power tools and aggressive grit that would scare me to death when I started. How many chairs are going to be in your set? I am going to have a hard time getting 6 built that look alike. Everybody will be able to tell they were handcrafted…


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

Antti said:


> *The dark spots are my sweat*
> 
> Except for a small rotary tool I use around the joints, I dont dare to use power tools at this stage. So yes, those dark spots are my sweat. Dripping sweat makes the chairs that much more handmade? Anyway, I can see the form slowly coming together - a glimpse of the hardline here and there, a maloof joint starting to look its part,...
> 
> I have to pace myself, as if I keep going too tired, I become careless and make mistakes. I hope they sand out…


Thanks!

I'm thinking two will suffice, as I started working on these last December… The plan is to make a sculpted tea table between them. And on top of that, a photo album of how these were made!


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## vcooney (Jan 4, 2009)

Antti said:


> *The dark spots are my sweat*
> 
> Except for a small rotary tool I use around the joints, I dont dare to use power tools at this stage. So yes, those dark spots are my sweat. Dripping sweat makes the chairs that much more handmade? Anyway, I can see the form slowly coming together - a glimpse of the hardline here and there, a maloof joint starting to look its part,...
> 
> I have to pace myself, as if I keep going too tired, I become careless and make mistakes. I hope they sand out…


Nice looking chair, what type of wood did you use for the dowel pins? Also what finish do you plan to use?


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

Antti said:


> *The dark spots are my sweat*
> 
> Except for a small rotary tool I use around the joints, I dont dare to use power tools at this stage. So yes, those dark spots are my sweat. Dripping sweat makes the chairs that much more handmade? Anyway, I can see the form slowly coming together - a glimpse of the hardline here and there, a maloof joint starting to look its part,...
> 
> I have to pace myself, as if I keep going too tired, I become careless and make mistakes. I hope they sand out…


The plugs are ebony. It was like drilling metal when making them. Regarding the finish, I hope to imitate the original, but unfortunately Maloof finishes cannot be shipped via air, and are not sold here in Finland. I have to study that a little more before choosing. I have been using Osmo Colors "oil wax" (direct translation from Finnish, I'm not sure what it would be in terms of normally used English names) with good results. I started with that stuff after talking to a pro cabinet maker, who uses it. The instructions on the oil wax can tell to stop standing around 200 grit. I have to do little testing, as my plan is to go to maybe 320, 400 or even 500. All suggestions welcome.


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## LittlePaw (Dec 21, 2009)

Antti said:


> *The dark spots are my sweat*
> 
> Except for a small rotary tool I use around the joints, I dont dare to use power tools at this stage. So yes, those dark spots are my sweat. Dripping sweat makes the chairs that much more handmade? Anyway, I can see the form slowly coming together - a glimpse of the hardline here and there, a maloof joint starting to look its part,...
> 
> I have to pace myself, as if I keep going too tired, I become careless and make mistakes. I hope they sand out…


Looks like it's going to be a really nice custom chair when you're finished with it. Don't worry about getting them all looking alike. One of the greatest appeal handmade furniture offers is its uniqueness -each in a set of handmade chairs would look different. You do excellent work!


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## phtaylor36 (Jun 13, 2011)

Antti said:


> *The dark spots are my sweat*
> 
> Except for a small rotary tool I use around the joints, I dont dare to use power tools at this stage. So yes, those dark spots are my sweat. Dripping sweat makes the chairs that much more handmade? Anyway, I can see the form slowly coming together - a glimpse of the hardline here and there, a maloof joint starting to look its part,...
> 
> I have to pace myself, as if I keep going too tired, I become careless and make mistakes. I hope they sand out…


Coming along nicely! Don't give up, this is where you make it or break it.


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

*Back in business*

It has been 98 days since I last worked on these: I got a motorcycle and started riding again. I dont have enough spare time for two hobbies, so this had to wait until the bike was put away for the winter. Since August the onboard computer says I have ridden 21 hours, which is exactly 100% of the discretionary time I have had for myself in the last 98 days.

But now its woodworking again:
First I evened the legs, using a tip from a magazine - the pictures need no further explanation:































































The method worked perfectly. I chose the thickness of the plywood based on the leg that needed the most tuning, so that I would cut the minimum necessary length away.

Next I took one of the chairs outside, and straightened the upper parts of the backlegs.



















Also did some general rasping around the joints and backlegs, couple of hours in total. Its good to be back…


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## HalDougherty (Jul 15, 2009)

Antti said:


> *Back in business*
> 
> It has been 98 days since I last worked on these: I got a motorcycle and started riding again. I dont have enough spare time for two hobbies, so this had to wait until the bike was put away for the winter. Since August the onboard computer says I have ridden 21 hours, which is exactly 100% of the discretionary time I have had for myself in the last 98 days.
> 
> ...


That's one good looking chair… It's going to soon be time to start the other 7 in the set. (big grin)


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

*On a scale from 0 to Sam Maloof...*

...I can start to see that I wont achieve the perfection I was expecting from my first chairs ever… It is quite a shock! When approaching the final shape I begin to fully appreciate Sam's talent, as the shapes prove so difficult to recreate. However, I foresee the final product to be well above zero!

Today I finished most of the shaping with rasps. Next time I attack these puppies, I will be using sanding blocks.






















































































































P.S. It is winter here in Finland, and I decided I wont risk the wood to change shape (and break the glue-ups) due to minus degrees celcius and very dry air, so I'm working inside. My shop = the boiler room is quite warm, and there's a lot of dust flying around (despite my dust filter at full blast). So I decided it was most practical to work 'au naturel' to not mess up clothes with sweat and dust , and due to the heat… there's an image for you!


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Antti said:


> *On a scale from 0 to Sam Maloof...*
> 
> ...I can start to see that I wont achieve the perfection I was expecting from my first chairs ever… It is quite a shock! When approaching the final shape I begin to fully appreciate Sam's talent, as the shapes prove so difficult to recreate. However, I foresee the final product to be well above zero!
> 
> ...


Just another form of a sauna. You might not be happy with the shape, but I sure would be. Your chair looks brilliant to me!


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

Antti said:


> *On a scale from 0 to Sam Maloof...*
> 
> ...I can start to see that I wont achieve the perfection I was expecting from my first chairs ever… It is quite a shock! When approaching the final shape I begin to fully appreciate Sam's talent, as the shapes prove so difficult to recreate. However, I foresee the final product to be well above zero!
> 
> ...


In all honesty, I'm very happy with the chairs, but up until this point it was possible to imagine perfect imitation of the original… At this stage there is so little extra wood left to be removed, that it is very easy to take out too much from here and there, or scratch the seat where you shouldn't.

Awful lot of work though, but at the moment I expect to get them ready for finish with a couple more sessions: First one to finalize the shaping with coarse sand paper, and the second to work through all the grits.


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## HalDougherty (Jul 15, 2009)

Antti said:


> *On a scale from 0 to Sam Maloof...*
> 
> ...I can start to see that I wont achieve the perfection I was expecting from my first chairs ever… It is quite a shock! When approaching the final shape I begin to fully appreciate Sam's talent, as the shapes prove so difficult to recreate. However, I foresee the final product to be well above zero!
> 
> ...


your chair is way above average! It's beautiful and after you get the rest of the set built, you are going to be good at it! Very impressive.


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

*I'm calling this one finished - except for the finish*

I swear I'll never do a sculpted piece of furniture again… the volume of sanding is staggering! 
This one is about one working day ahead of its younger sister, but I wanted to get something finished, so I have been allocating my efforts only to this one.

Just slap the Osmo oil wax on this, and take it upstairs for the ooh's and aah's ?

The plan was to use the "original formula" for the finish, but they don't sell that stuff in Finland, and the US distributors don't airfreight (I guess its either banned to ship chemicals, or they would freeze and go bad?).


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## Tkf (Feb 14, 2013)

Antti said:


> *I'm calling this one finished - except for the finish*
> 
> I swear I'll never do a sculpted piece of furniture again… the volume of sanding is staggering!
> This one is about one working day ahead of its younger sister, but I wanted to get something finished, so I have been allocating my efforts only to this one.
> ...


Put some, San Maloof on it. It's a varnish blend of Lin seed oil, varnish and mineral spirits. 1/3 of each.


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## RBWoodworker (Mar 22, 2009)

Antti said:


> *I'm calling this one finished - except for the finish*
> 
> I swear I'll never do a sculpted piece of furniture again… the volume of sanding is staggering!
> This one is about one working day ahead of its younger sister, but I wanted to get something finished, so I have been allocating my efforts only to this one.
> ...


Say what?? Its varnish, linseed oil and mineral spirits?? noo..sorry..thats not correct..close..The Maloof mixture is 1/3 boiled linseed oil, 1/3 raw tung oil and 1/3 polyurethane varnish -semi gloss.. or if you can, get some General Finishes Arm-R-Seal semi gloss..that will give you the same look but better protection properties


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## toddc (Mar 6, 2007)

Antti said:


> *I'm calling this one finished - except for the finish*
> 
> I swear I'll never do a sculpted piece of furniture again… the volume of sanding is staggering!
> This one is about one working day ahead of its younger sister, but I wanted to get something finished, so I have been allocating my efforts only to this one.
> ...


Nice job - can't wait to see the finish on it!


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## Timbo (Aug 21, 2008)

Antti said:


> *I'm calling this one finished - except for the finish*
> 
> I swear I'll never do a sculpted piece of furniture again… the volume of sanding is staggering!
> This one is about one working day ahead of its younger sister, but I wanted to get something finished, so I have been allocating my efforts only to this one.
> ...


Looks good Antii! I think I would have been overwhelmed too had I tried to do two chairs at once. Lots of work and sanding but beautiful.


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## Deycart (Mar 21, 2012)

Antti said:


> *I'm calling this one finished - except for the finish*
> 
> I swear I'll never do a sculpted piece of furniture again… the volume of sanding is staggering!
> This one is about one working day ahead of its younger sister, but I wanted to get something finished, so I have been allocating my efforts only to this one.
> ...


If you hate sanding try using some high quality rasp! They will make short work of the rounding and some of the really nice owns will leave a finish nicer than 120 sand paper. Just avoid the cheap nicholson and the like and you will have never go back to paper. Plus they pay for them selves after a while with the reduced sand paper usage.


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## RBWoodworker (Mar 22, 2009)

Antti said:


> *I'm calling this one finished - except for the finish*
> 
> I swear I'll never do a sculpted piece of furniture again… the volume of sanding is staggering!
> This one is about one working day ahead of its younger sister, but I wanted to get something finished, so I have been allocating my efforts only to this one.
> ...


"The cheap Nicholson one's??" while although Auriou and other handmade rasps are nice and work good..the Nicholson patternmakers rasps are not necessarily cheap and they do work quite well..I wouldn't necessarily call them cheap rasps..they were and still are the preferred rasps of the late Sam Maloof and now, the boys at his workshop..and I'm not sure if a rasps can ever take the place of fine sanding..not that I have ever seen..you can see my work on my website..all done with Nicholson patternmakers rasps..but the final sanding starting with 100,120,150,220,320, and finally 400 grit followed with 0000 steelwool and burnished with a rag..


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## Deycart (Mar 21, 2012)

Antti said:


> *I'm calling this one finished - except for the finish*
> 
> I swear I'll never do a sculpted piece of furniture again… the volume of sanding is staggering!
> This one is about one working day ahead of its younger sister, but I wanted to get something finished, so I have been allocating my efforts only to this one.
> ...


I'm referring to the ones you can buy at homedepo the double sided round and flat one where the pattern does not go to the edge.


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

Antti said:


> *I'm calling this one finished - except for the finish*
> 
> I swear I'll never do a sculpted piece of furniture again… the volume of sanding is staggering!
> This one is about one working day ahead of its younger sister, but I wanted to get something finished, so I have been allocating my efforts only to this one.
> ...


I've been using rasps as well - Aurio's not-the-cheap-types. I still can see no way around huuuge volume of sanding remains after most gentle rasping if one wants to get rid of all scratches, marks etc. leaving only smooth satin surface…

But everybody is of course free to use whatever works for you. I'm sure Sam Maloof and his colleagues have found more efficient ways compared to mine. Otherwise they really would have starved to death!


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## RBWoodworker (Mar 22, 2009)

Antti said:


> *I'm calling this one finished - except for the finish*
> 
> I swear I'll never do a sculpted piece of furniture again… the volume of sanding is staggering!
> This one is about one working day ahead of its younger sister, but I wanted to get something finished, so I have been allocating my efforts only to this one.
> ...


Sanding is the least favorite chore of making these chairs and any fine woodworking projects..i have learned to break up the chair in sections and do each section per day..that way it doesnt seem so tedious and long and you actually get to see the finished sections as you go..it is a long process but also a very necessary one for you can ruin a perfectly beautifully piece by skimping on the sanding step


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## Antti (Apr 3, 2011)

*Done! Almost.*

1,5 years later, here it is. I have to admit, it only has one coat so far. Couple more, and maybe polish with a pad or steel wool.


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## jap (Oct 10, 2012)

Antti said:


> *Done! Almost.*
> 
> 1,5 years later, here it is. I have to admit, it only has one coat so far. Couple more, and maybe polish with a pad or steel wool.


looks amazing


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## phtaylor36 (Jun 13, 2011)

Antti said:


> *Done! Almost.*
> 
> 1,5 years later, here it is. I have to admit, it only has one coat so far. Couple more, and maybe polish with a pad or steel wool.


Fantastic, these chairs are amazing. Job well done on those crisp lines. Hard to shape I'm sure!


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## Reddial (Mar 2, 2012)

Antti said:


> *Done! Almost.*
> 
> 1,5 years later, here it is. I have to admit, it only has one coat so far. Couple more, and maybe polish with a pad or steel wool.


Thanks for our post on my Maloof Rocker. You did an outstanding job on your chair. I am truely impressed. What finish are you using. I was reluctant to use the Maloof Oil/Poly and Oil/Wax, but did it because Scott Morrison suggested. I was really impressed with both. The Oil/Wax really puts the final touch on it. Anyway..GREAT work!!


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