January 2018 General Meeting – Jim Bassett – Maloof Rocker

There were 63 people in attendance at this month’s meeting. That number included 12 guests.

Feature Presentation

Jim Bassett presented his version of making a Sam Maloof rocking chair.

Previously during a show and tell, Jim presented a cherry version of this chair, this version is in maple.

Understandably, there is a learning curve in imitating a master such as Mr. Maloof, so practice makes perfect.

Jim stated that making this chair has added years to his life, not from the physical activity of working in his now air conditioned shop, but rather from the joy of learning new things to do. He shared some poignant points of the chair’s construction.

He started with 8/4 (eight quarter) maple boards that he planed and jointed to 1-3/4 inches thick. Five pieces were angled at 3° to form a groove for the seat, as he showed in just one of his slides. He needed care to layout the chair joints some of which were dadoes. Since the rear legs spayed out at 5° a special router bit was required and another excuse was found for purchasing a new tool! The joints on the legs were formed before turning to take advantage of the square sides for layout. Alan Brown helped with the lathe work.

At several points during construction, the chair pieces were aggressively shaped with a special bit used in a hand-held grinder and with a bit used in a Foredom style high speed rotary tool. The chair’s arms are twisted, and began with larger wood shaped down to final size, a little at a time. Jim said that files are important, and no doubt rasps as well. As an aside, Jim mentions the technology changes in the new non loading sand paper, alluding to the amount of time he spent sanding.

The leg joints are strengthened with two screws per joint, with the screw holes plugged. The rockers (at the bottom) started out as 10 pieces of 1/8” by 1-1/2” slots bent in a heavy form with strong clamps. He used a round over bit on all four sides.

At some locations, Jim used a climb cut with his router to prevent tear out and says, “You better hang on doing a climb cut.”

Finishing required several saturation coats, starting with Tung Oil and then moving on to a mixture of 1/3 poly, 1/3 BLO, and 1/3 thinner. These coats were sanded in with 4/0 Liberon© brand steel wool followed by two coats of oil and beeswax rubbed in in the same manner. He then waited two weeks and followed with a coat of paste wax.

Jim lamented the use of five minute epoxy on the styles of the chair, as his first attempt needed to be redone, and suggests that anyone following in Sam Maloof’s work use a slower set epoxy allowing more time to situate everything. Jim said the epoxy did not need to be clamped once held in the correct position, and just needed time to cure. Many people admired Jim Bassett’s work.

Business Meeting and Announcements

Club dues are now due.
Via the map map made by Larry Simmons, car pooling is encouraged to the St.Petersburg Woodcrafters Guild on January 23, 2018 and again on February 27, 2018
Shop meet at Sun and Fun January 22, 2018
Volunteers are needed for the Florida State Fair
Shop meet on February 26 at the shop of Fred Damianos
Volunteers are needed for the Tampa Woodworkers Show
Demo meet on February 19 at the shop of Marvin Stolzfus
Next general meeting on February 14, 2018 with a presentation by Mr. Jim Christenson from 3M on abrasives.

Show and Tell:

Thelma Proctor presented a model of a wooden truck carrying block letters that spells out a name on each side, of which Thelma made one for each of the children in her family.
Larry Simmons presented slides of an arts and crafts rocking chair he made, a pair of bedside tables in poplar, ash, and plywood veneer. He also showed slides of a picture frame he made.
John Peasley presented two works of intarsia he made of a bear and a fish.
Terry Bair had two items in a Harris hawk pattern done in scroll work.
Mike Swart introduced an armadillo race machine. No word was given on any pari-mutual wagering being available in the future.
Ed Columbo showed us his Christmas ornament of wood.
Fred Damianos brought several photos of his rosewood turnings of lid and a bowl.
Dennis Daudelin showed off a sunburst gold leaf turning in the shape of a Chinese Gong.
John Philips brought in a small rosewood coffee table, a medium and a large round platter, a carving of a dog, a rosewood bowl, and a DaVinci helicopter model kit from a 400 year old design.