The last week was spent doing more sanding. I went over every inch of the chair and continued to find more nicks and small scratches. It was as if there were gremlins in my shop adding scratches when I wasn’t looking. By the time I got down to 320 grit, the wood was silky smooth. This morning I finally completed the sanding to a point I was happy with. Here's a picture of it fully sanded.
I wanted to mark my chair before I applied the finish, so I branded the bottom of the seat with my name. (The brand was a Christmas present.) I also wanted to date the chair, so I embedded a new penny. I used a 0.75” forstner bit to sink a shallow hole, and then I epoxied the penny into the hole. I think this makes for a nice decoration and helps to date the chair for future generations.
I made a stop by Rockler and purchased the Sam Maloof signature finish. It’s composed of 1/3 tung oil, 1/3 linseed oil, and 1/3 poly varnish. The instructions recommend 4 coats. It is wiped on liberally, and then wiped off. I have to wait 24 hours between coats. For the top coat, I will use the Sam Maloof finish that is tung oil, linseed oil, and carnuba wax. I will apply one or two coats of this and then buff it to a glossy shine.
I applied the first finish coat today. The grain darkened nicely and really popped! It looks great. I can’t wait to get the remaining coats on. Here is what it looks like.
This has been an amazing learning process. My rocking chair project has taken me almost 10 months to complete (I’m sure most people can do it in far less). Many people have asked me how many total hours I have spent. I never kept track, but I estimate somewhere between 300 and 400. Now that I have all of the patterns and jigs completed, and I know what I’m doing, I’m sure the next one will take much less time.
Once I have all of the finish applied, I plan to get some professional pictures taken of the chair. I will post them as soon as I can. Rock on…
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