What are the pros and cons of making rocking chair rockers by laminating multiple thin strips vs. cutting them out of a wide board?
“Man is so made that he can only find relaxation from one kind of labor by taking up another.”
-Anatole France
-Anatole France
Replies
On the pro side;
You don’t get grain run out with laminated rockers and it’s more fugal with material
On the con side;
The glue up can be messy and requires a mold to form the rockers, takes longer to make
On the pro side;
Cutting out of a single board is quicker and little mess.
On the con side;
May have to deal with grain run out, sometimes
Depending on what kind of rocker you are building will dictate which method to use.
DustyMc
Sam Maloof has done pretty well with laminated rockers for the past 60 years. Domer
and what glue does Sam use?Brian
Hey Brian ,
At $ 52,000 per chair it must be pretty good stuff .
Maybe we should get some of this stuff .
dusty
Yes, Sam and the gaggle of "inspired bys" all use laminated rockers.
Others choose to use solid wood. My question is what is the reasoning behind the choice?
Is it just based on appearance? Saving wood? Strength?"Man is so made that he can only find relaxation from one kind of labor by taking up another."
-Anatole France
It is my understanding that Sam Maloof uses laminated rockers for both strength and beauty.I think he uses regular yellow woodworking glue. I know there has been at least one article in Fine Woodworking about Sam making a rocker.Fine Woodworking also has a video that you can buy.The amazing thing about his prices is that not only does he get his price but there is a three year wait. The Boston Museum of Fine Arts has furniture spread out around the museum that you can sit in. One of the pieces on display when we recently visited family there was a Sam Maloof bench. It was amazing how comfortable it is and how beautiful. Domer
Domer ,
" Marketing " That's how and why Maloof gets his price with a waiting list to boot .
dusty
Sam Maloof says he has never advertised and all of his sales come
from word of mouth. People seek him out.He made furniture for a lot of years that won a lot of awards but
sold for pretty low prices but over the years he became more well
known and his prices went up. People consider his work as art as well as furniture. He is in the
Smithsonian, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, plus lots of other galleries. So I would not really call that marketing.
He was always in the right place at the right time, he knew people who did the word of mouth advertising for him.
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He’s what some would call a natural, while the rest of us just keep treading along.
I Would !
His work is his advertising, and I get the impression that the quality is exactly the same as it would be if the pieces sold for far less. Brian
From what I have read, his quality of work is the same now as it was when he sold it for far less. He was just less famous.Domer
Hi Domer ,
When I said it was marketing , what he did was sell himself .
Through being known his name was associated with his furniture and works , one thing leads to another and so on and so on .
Being written up in numerous magazines brought Maloofs name in to the common household of many , now you may not consider that advertising but it certainly is a form of marketing .
Advertising takes many forms , word of mouth through happy clients speaks volumes , this is my form of advertising as well .After 27 years in business other then my name in the Yellow pages I have never advertised and am still in business, although not wealthy like Sam .
dusty
Agreed. Sam Maloof did not make any money until late in life so there is
still hope for you.Domer
What kind of rocking chair are you thinking about making?
DustyMc
I made this one to fit my wife. (Not quite finished yet).
She is "rather petite" (short ;-)). It's pretty small and the solid wood rockers are fine.
I'm now working a larger one (for "normal" sized folks) and am try to decide if I want to use solid wood or bent lam."Man is so made that he can only find relaxation from one kind of labor by taking up another."
-Anatole France
Both kinds of rockers would go well with your design; it’s just a matter of your taste. Solid rockers would be my choice.
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