Maloof Rocker - Plugging Holes, The Headrest & Drilling Slat Installation Holes

After spending all the time on the slats it is nice to move on to something a little different.   Each of the glue joints between the legs and the seat are reinforced with a couple of 2 ½” X #10 screws.  

Drilling Angled Pilot Holes for Screws

Sequence is pretty straightforward; first a ½” forstner bit is used to drill a countersink sink hole about ½” deep, then a pilot hole for the screw and finally a clearance hole just through the leg.  The only wrinkle is the pilot and clearance holes in the front leg are angled toward the center of the seat.  With the screws arranged one over the other and the scooped out seat you want the screws to bite into the meat of the seat.  Splitting the seat or having a screw come through into the scooped out area would ruin my day!

Using a Plug Cutter in Drill Press

Once the screws are driven home I need to plug the ½” countersink holes.   There are two choices for the plugs.  I can either cut a face grain plug from the cherry which would make it nearly invisible when done or go with a contrasting wood.   Typically with this chair design a contrasting wood is used, in this case I will use katalox for the plugs and the feature strips in the rockers.  Because I wanted the maximum contrast between the cherry and the katalox I decided to use an end grain plug versus a face grain plug.  The reason being when I apply a finish the end grain will darken more than the face grain.

Next is to cut the headrest to fit between the legs.  When I pulled the earmarked piece from the stack and checked for flatness I found that it had twisted a bit and needed to be flattened.  Out came the plane only this time I used a power plane and not a hand plane.  The power plane speeds the process up a lot but if you're not careful you can overshoot and take off too much material.

Once flat I ripped to rough width and got an unpleasant surprise.  A hidden flaw showed up that was really unacceptable.  A few bad words were said.  OK, it was more than a few.

Fortunately the wood gods smiled on me and when I laid the headrest template on the piece the bad part would be cut away.

Locating the center point for the hole the slats will go into on the seat is next.  To do this requires a bit of layout.  To make sure things went as planned I did a sketch and put together a sequience that I would use to do the work. 

In case you cannot read my chicken scratching here is the short version of what I did.  First, a base line is established across the seat at the back of the legs then dividers are used to equally space points along this line and a slat center line is then drawn using these points 90 degrees to the base line.  Next to arrange the slats in an arc to fit your back graduated offsets are measured along the slat center lines.  Finally, using a punch the center point of the slat is set along this line.

Punch Marks for Centering Holes for Slats

With the headrest clamped in place the dividers are again used to establish evenly spaced points along the bottom of the headrest.  Since the legs splay outward the spacing between the points is greater at the headrest than at the seat resulting in the fan shaped appearance of the slats.   Only the center slat mounting holes are square to the seat and headrest.  All the others are at graduated angles outward from the center.  To get the appropriate reference lines on the headrest for the mounting hole angles you set one end of a straight edge on the slat seat point.  The other is set at the headrest point and a line is drawn onto the headrest establishing the centerline of the slat and its mounting hole angle.

Using a Straightedge to Establish Drill Angles for Headrest Slat Mounting Holes

With the lines are in place the ½” holes in the seat can be drilled.  The lines provide a sight line you use to establish the angle you hold the drill.  This works great in theory and on my practice piece it worked like a charm.  However, when I went to drill the actual chair a problem arose.  My arms are not long enough for me to hold the drill in place and have my head so I could sight down the line on the headrest.  I had three choices:  grow longer arms, buy a ½” drill two feet long or do something else.  I opted to do something else.  The solution turned out to be clamping a straight piece of wood onto the backrest with the edge following the reference line so that is ended just short of the back of the drill.  I added a center mark at the back of the drill and then kept that in line with the edge of the wood. 

Drilling the Slat Mounting Holes

Now I could go ahead and drill the 7 holes in the seat resetting the piece of wood for each hole at its appropriate angle.

Once the seat holes are drilled that left the holes in the headrest.  They are simpler and less stressful to drill than the seat holes.  Using the drill press and shims to match the reference line angle it was easy to drill the holes at the correct angle.

Setup for Drilling Angled Holes in Headrest

Last step is to cut the arc at the top of the headrest on the bandsaw.

Next up – Sculpting the Legs