Arms

Christmas was wonderful.  I’m a morning person, so while the rest of the family was sleeping in, I was busy reviewing the Brock DVD and book, or sharpening tools.  I don’t really like to sharpen things, but I know it’s necessary.  So, I try to dedicate a day every quarter to just sharpen every tool I have: knives, planes, chisels, turning tools, etc. 

Santa was good to me, so I went shopping at Woodcraft today and picked up a few more tools.  I picked up the Miller dowel 1X drill bit, the “Dowel-it” jig, and some Titebond III long open time glue for the rockers.  I also stopped by Harbor Freight to pick up ten 6” C-clamps (on sale!), and Home Depot (a.k.a. BORG…Big Orange Retail Giant) for some Spax #10x3” screws.

In my “free time”, I came across the Sawmill Creek woodworking forum.  There is a great discussion thread there on Maloof rockers with 5 or 6 people who are also currently building chairs.  It was great to see that other people are experiencing some of the same issues I’m having.   I also learned a lot by reading the problems and solutions of others.  That’s what I hope this blog will do for the readers. 

I was struggling with my first arm.  The plans call for 6 degree cuts on the bottom/front of the stock where it attaches to the front leg, and the back where the arm attaches to the back leg.  I quickly realized that because of my earlier mistake, the arm transition on the back legs were now 1” higher than planned, so the 6 degree elevation was not working.  After some trial and error, I found that 8 degrees seemed to work.  Once things were aligned, I traced the spot where the front leg contacts the arm stock.  I recommend using stock that is slightly longer than required (~20”).  This will give you more material to play when working on the fit.

The plans call for a 1/2" dowel center to be placed in the top of the arm, and then the arm stock is pounded down to mark the spot to drill for the dowel.  I don’t have a dowel center, so I simply used my compass to find the center of the circle I had drawn.  Then I used my new dowel jig and a 1/2" brad point bit to make a 1-1/4” deep hole.

Next, I traced the top and side arm templates to the stock.  You have to be careful of the orientation of the top template to ensure you cut a right and a left arm.  I marked the template on the bottom of the stock, that way I can ensure that the inside edge is 1/2" from the leg circle I traced.  In the Brock DVD, he cuts one side of the arm, and then the other by carefully balancing the arm.  This seems difficult to me.  I use the technique I learned from years of compound cutting on the scroll saw. I start by cutting the top and bottom areas off, and then I use clear packing tape to reassemble the parts.  This method provides a flat surface for cutting the other face.  Here are some pictures to show you what I’m talking about.

I created some dowels for the front leg joint and mounted the arms to the chair.  For some reason the arms fit even better than they did before I cut them to shape!  I should mention that I created a simple jig to hold the back of the arm in place.  This was a big help when trying to get the arm-to-back leg cuts to match.  Now the chair is really starting to look like a chair.  My goal this week is to complete the rough cut of all the parts.  Later, I can take my time to shape everything.

I was very interested in the Miller dowel bit and Spax screw combination.  I did a test using a scrap piece of wood and it worked well.  However, I wanted to see exactly how it worked.  So, I cut through the wood to take a look inside.  This picture shows that the shank of the screw is not touching the wood, but the threads on the end are.  This is due to the stepped shape of the bit.  When screwing together two pieces of wood, this will result in the inside piece being pulled back into the outer piece for a very strong joint.  The Miller bit also does the countersinking to prepare for the plugs.