Finish sanding the headrest and moving on

After routing the inside and outside curve of the headrest it can now be sanded. I sand to 220 grit and then set the headrest aside. I don't cut it to length just yet. Keep in mind that I've made the headrest out of sequence. Once I have the seat and legs attached I will then cut the headrest to length, dryfit it to the chair and shape it to the legs. All prior to final glue up to the legs.

shaping the headrest

To shape the headrest I made three jigs. The first two jigs to shape the inner and outer curves using a router. The second to final cut the headrest to length. I won't cut the headrest to final length until almost the last step.

I will use the bandsaw to remove some of the waste prior to the router setup. If you don't have a bandsaw don't worry as the router will work without but the bandsaw saves some router passes.

Cut the added glue strips off flush with the top and bottom. Mark the curve on the top. Both the inner and outer curves. The headrest thickness should be about 1 1/4" thick. I now rough cut the curves with the bandsaw. I try to leave the lines on as the router operation will get the final shape to within sanding size. The bandsaw just gets the basic curve so the headrest will sit in the jig evenly. If you get it to within 1/8" of your line that is good enough. This maybe the perfect time to get that bandsaw you've been wanting if you don't have one. Your spouse should understand unless you already made other promises. In that case, it's chisel time. I have a 14" powermatic with a riser block. I use a 1/4", 6 tooth blade. Again, go slow but steady. If you find the blade drifting backup and re-enter. I sometimes forget to change the blade for cutting the curves, get started and wonder why I can't follow the line or smell smoke. Smoke in a woodshop is not good. The correct blade makes a big difference. Years ago, I had a woodshop in my garage while living in SE Wisc. I made a woodstove out of a 55 gal and a 30 gal drum. The 30 gal was stacked over the 50gal. This allowed more heat to escape into the room before heading out thru the chimney. I would sometimes forget about the dust on the barrels and start smelling smoke when the fire was going and panic. Eventually I learned to clean the outside of the stove before starting the fire. Makes me glad I'm now living in CA. I have a pic of that ole stove somewhere. It was ugly but it sure was cheap to make and it worked very well. My friends and I would play poker around that stove in the winter.

The first router jig for the headrest is the outer shape. This jig allows the router to follow and correct shape of the curve. I lower the router to take about 1/8" at a time until I reach the mark. Make sure your jig is secure to your work table or bench. Go slow. I use a 1/2" up spiral bit.

The pc that I added to the router base plate was to take up some of the depth of the bit. I didn't want to buy another bit for this at the time. It was from scrape so I ain't pretty but then again most of my jigs are ugly but they work. I seen some jigs that are nicer than the project they are ment for. If it's your first jig, then make it work first and then remake it pretty if you get the time.

The picture shows the routing when complete and after lowering the bit 3-4 times. I take time when assembling the headrest pcs and cutting the stock to 7 1/2" high. My jig will accomadate the 7 1/2". You can make the jig adjustable to different headrest heights. I found this to be a good height. The 1/4" all thread you see locks the material in. I have wing nuts on the ends so I can hand tighten. The outside forms of the jig need to be carefully cut. I run the router back and forth length wise and make multiple passes. Then on to the next jig which routes the inner curve. It's basically the same jig only the reverse.
I set up a high tech dust collection system for this operation. (cardboard, elect conduit and canvas) I works and keeps the chips all in one area. I now have a rough headrest made of four pieces ready for sanding. This is when I wish I had a 36" drum sander. Wonder if they make such a beast. I guess if you have kids and want to keep them out of trouble you could make a 36" barrel, glue sand paper to it, attach a crank and axle and make them stand there and crank while you hold the headrest to it. Now there's an idea waiting to happen.

The four headrest pieces are glued up in 2 steps. Because of the angled sides it is hard to glue them up all at the same time. I will glue pcs 1 and 2 together. I will then glue pcs 3 and 4 together. Let them set overnight. The next step involves gluing the 2 halves together. Again because of the bevels you will need to add some clamping scraps to the sides to be joined for your clamps to grab hold of. Take care to place these scraps square to the headrest joint. If they are off, the clamping will be misaligned. The scrape pcs should overhang the headrest by 2 inches or more to allow the clamps to grab in the next step. My headrest pcs are 7 to 7 1/2" high so the scrap pcs will be 11 - 12" long. Before gluing the strips to the headrest, bevel the edge that the clamps will be tighten up against. The bevel should be 9 degrees again. If you don't bevel this edge your clamps will tend to slid off and you will have to add beveled shims to keep them online. I sometimes forget so I still look at my picture log book to remind me. This reminds me of a tip. Get a nice digital camera and take lots of pics. Lots of pics. You can always delete the ones you don't want. You will find yourself looking at them on your next chair build over and over. These scrap pcs will be cut flush with the headrest pcs after glue up and then final cut from the body prior to the bandsawing of the curve. I rough cut them off using my bandsaw. In the picture you will see the grooves for the biscuits. I double biscuit to help in the alignment. Again, because of the bevels, the more you do to prep your pcs the easier it will be when gluing and the headrest will sit level and plum on your workbench. This helps later during the bandsaw process. Let the pcs sit overnight for a good solid hold. The strips will be asked to hold the next glue up step.

The next and final glue up is ready. You can make a jig to hold the pcs. I use my great grandfathers workbench and vise to hold the parts. The wood clamps are also my great grandfathers. I like them because they can adjust to slight angles and I can really get a good grip on them and tighten until I see the glue squeeze out. Add the bicuits, spread the glue and clamp the 2 half sections together and let set overnight. Take care to line the joint up as it will make the following steps easier. Patience is hard when you have to wait til the glue dries or you want to get going on the next step. I find myself constantly wanting to jump ahead but learned over the years not to. Keep telling yourself how much you spent on the material. This should help you take your time. These chair parts are all so interwound on each other that making a mistake may cause you to start over. It's not the worst as sometimes that is the best learning tool but it's expensive. Don't get scared into not wanting to try but think ahead as in the game of checkers or chess. Measure and prefit, measure and prefit and then measure and prefit again. After the joint has set you are ready to cut the curve. I use the bandsaw for a rough curve and then my router in a jig I made to final finish the shape. After that, it's a whole lot of hand work and sanding. Some of the final sanding I do before I attach the headrest to the back leg assembly. You can just leave it as is after you use the router until it's attached. Once you attach the headrest more shaping and sanding will need to be done so it's okay if it's a little rough at this stage. Most likely after attaching to the legs you will need to change the profile a little. Now on to rough shaping the headrest as a whole finally glued up piece.

material layout

I purchased about 80 board ft of cherry wood. It is all 8/4 in thickness, planned on 4 sides. This means I can start cutting the boards to size without sending them through a thickness planner. I like to buy the wood already "surfaced". I can see the grain, color and heartwood better. I like using heartwood as it gives the project some character. You need to take the time to layout all your material and decide what pieces to use. I take my templates and start making chalk lines or light pencil outlines of each piece. I can shift the templates around to cut down on waste. There will be waste, how much depends on careful use of the wood. Exotic woods are very expensive so I sometimes do a lot of erasing and rearranging of my templates. I select the best pieces for the seat, headrest and arms. These are the areas that will draw the most attention.

For this chair I decided to start on the headrest. I started on the seat the previous chair. I like to mix it up. I already know I will do the rocker and back brace strips next to get them out of the way and also to start the laminating process early as it takes 5 plus days of glueing and clamping. I only have enough clamps and forms for one glue up per day. Multiple glue ups of the laminated rockers and back braces would require additional forms. One glue up per day works as there is plenty to do on the other pieces. The headrest will require 4 pcs, 6 1/2 inches wide and 7 1/2 inches long. I cut them from the same piece as I wanted to book match the center pieces to use the heartwood edge. Start with a piece roughly 32"- 33" long and 6 1/2" wide. Cut 4 pcs 7 1/2" long. You then arrange them to get the best look. I keep heartwood to heartwood at the center. as I will do the same with the 4 seat pcs.

In the picture you see the pcs as they were cut and also the headrest template showing the inside curve of the arched headrest. The inside curve segment is 36 degrees. Not a 36 degree radius. I make my templates out of 1/4" masonite. Masonite will not dryout and warp. My templete is 23 1/4" long with a 3 3/8" rise. There is a math formula for calculating the radius but using these measurements will get you close. This is a sample of what Sam Maloof would do as far as giving you the info as he did all the calculations. I actually lost my template and had to start over using that dreaded word "math". Most people don't like math. I happen to be someone who does so it was a nice challange for me to figure it out again. Take your time in cutting templates. They will save a great deal of time if they are accurate as the jigs that you will make based on these templates to rough out the glued up headrest shape will depend on it being made with care.

I now cut the beveles on all 4 pcs. The 2 center pcs have a 9 degree bevel on each side. The outer pcs are only beveled on one edge. I label each pc starting with 1 on the left. I roughly mark the bevel direction on each pc so I don't get confused when beveling on the table saw. So looking from the top down on all the pcs as they are standing somewhat in an arc, I mark each pc and also mark the bevels. Each pc is already cut to width so I set my table saw on a 9 degree bevel and cut accordingly. I use a digital "Wixey" to set the degree. I don't depend on the saw scale as I want these pcs all exact. You can leave the square edge on the left side of pc 1 and the right side of pc 4 as they will be cut to the correct length later. Much later.........................After beveling the edges I cut biscuits into the edges (2 per pc) to help with the line up during the glue/clamp process. You don't need the biscuits or dowels for strenght but I found it helps when lining them up during clamping as you will be clamping pcs on a bevel. The glue up is a 3 step process. I first glue pcs 1 and 2 together and set them aside. I then glue pcs 3 and 4 together and set then aside. After 24 hrs, I now glue clamp strips to the 2 sections of previously joined headrest sections.

Making a Maloof style rocking chair

This is my 1st attempt at becoming a woodworker "Blogger". I am a journeyman carpenter by trade and not afraid to tackle any and all carpentry related projects. In the past I have worked on residential homes, commercial buildings, shopping centers, condo/apartments and schools. I am at present just a woodworker doing what I really enjoy. That is, working in my shop (my garage) on projects that I pick. I would like to finish my working career as a fulltime woodworker making furniture for my family and others. I don't think I will get rich but I hope life will be a little less stressful and much more fullfilling. Thirty six years ago I built a rolltop desk. I was self taught. I thought that because I was a carpenter apprentice I could build anything because I had the tools. I was young and ambitious. I was also wrong and didn't know it. I still have the desk. It's a little crude in ways but it was an honest attempt. Some things I did right and it gave me the courage to do more. Last year I was finally able to work along side a very good furniture maker and more specifically, someone who would teach me how to build a rocking chair inspired by the ever so humble Sam Maloof. It was the best 2 weeks spent on a project. I was both excited and nervous. I knew my way around woodworking tools and machines so wasn't worried about the tool part but I didn't know the "joinery" part. I know terms like rafters, joists, decking, stucco, drywall, roach coach, porta potty, sore back etc etc. For the past few months I have been visiting woodworking forums. Places where others with the same interest can go and discuss projects or whatever. I mostly just read what others posted. A few have expressed an interest in learning how to make a Maloof style chair. They look very pleasing to the eye and to the touch. Sam Maloof passed away this past June. I was lucky enough to meet him this spring. What a wonderful person he was. I came away from his home with a very positive feeling as I discovered I was doing some of the same things Sam did. I made and sold another chair in the meantime and also entered my first chair in a woodworking competition which I am happy to report earned an Honorable Mention.

If after reading my blog you decide to build a rocking chair, then I have succeeded in doing what Sam would do and that is spreading his knowledge, tricks and time saving methods so others could learn from his mistakes and enjoy building furniture as much as he did.

This first posting took awhile so I'm calling it a day.