Gus B.’s wife gave him a set of plans for a Sam Maloof-style rocking chair for Christmas. Sixteen months later — with a spiral-staircase project squeezed in alongside — he had this: a walnut rocker with sculpted seat, hand-shaped spindles and bent-laminated rockers, trimmed with maple and ziricote and finished in Osmo.
If you’ve ever looked at a Maloof rocker and wondered how much work is hiding in those curves, Gus’s progress photos below are a pretty honest answer.
In Gus’s words
My wife bought me a CD and plans for a Sam Maloof rocking chair for Christmas. It took me about 16 months, as I was also converting my spiral staircase from carpet to oak. I needed a lot of patience, as the plans were not the most precise. It took a lot of shaping of the back spindles, arms and seat. I also learned how to make a mold to bend the rockers.
The build
- Project type: Furniture
- Skill level: Advanced
- Wood: Walnut, maple and ziricote
- Finish: Osmo, applied with a cloth — “love that finish”
- Tools: Table saw, angle grinder with a carving disc, Veritas tapered tenon cutter, sanders
- Time: About 16 months, alongside a staircase renovation
- Cost: Roughly $700
- Plans: A purchased Maloof-style plan set (Gus doesn’t recall which — there are several online)
Biggest challenge
The screws they suggested did not work properly, and I had to find screws that would actually hold the arms, back and seat.
Photos
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