There is a small amount of shaping work that has to be done
to the headrest and some final sanding before it and the slats are
installed. Most of the shaping to
the headrest tying it into the legs is done after it is in place.
I start by drawing some guide lines for the rounding over of
the bottom of the headrest.
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| Headrest Blank with Slat Holes |
Since the round over has a progressively smaller radius
similar to a quarter ellipse and tapers at each end it is not practical to cut
it with a router. I started with the
pneumatic grinder and burr and got a rough shape.
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| Headrest Initial Shaping in Progress |
From there rasps and sanding give me a finish shape. I sanded where the slats go and the roundover
to 320 grit since it is a lot easier to finish sanding there without the slats
in place.
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| Headrest Ready to Install |
The same logic applies to the slats. I had already sanded them to 150 and now
worked my way through the grits to end up at 320. Lots of hand sanding and my fingers were really complaining by the time I finished. While using the 320 grit sandpaper I also broke the hard
edges just slightly. The idea is to still have a hard edge but not one that's sharp enough to cut you.
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| Slats Sanded and Ready to Install |
To give me the long time I needed to install the slats I used a slow
set epoxy. It has a working time of
nearly an hour and a curing time of between 24 and 36 hours. In order to minimize the mess I applied blue
painters tape to the rear of the seat and the bottom of the headrest then cut
out the holes for the slats.
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| Seat and Headrest Taped for Slat Install |
I used a razor knife to cut the holes in the blue tape. However, my razor knife had too square an edge for me to get in and
make a clean cut in a half inch hole so I ended up regrinding the blade tip to
a greater taper.
The glue-up process is not bad. I load the holes in both the seat and the
headrest with the epoxy then install the slats in the seat first.
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| Slats Installed in Seat |
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| Slats and Headrest Installed |
After they are in place I line up the 7 slats with their respective holes
in the headrest, not quite like herding cats but close. From there assembly sequence is, drive the
headrest in place, clean up the epoxy that oozes out, apply Tightbond glue for
the headrest to leg joint and clamp in place.
Lastly, I need to twist the slats so the flat face you will be leaning
against follows the slight arc of your back and the holes drilled in the seat. Since the epoxy has a long open time I had
to come back after an hour or so to check for any additional ooze out.
Because the headrest piece in the headrest to leg joint is
an end grain glue joint it is not strong enough
as is for regular use. The
solution is to add some #10 X 2½” screws, 6 of them in fact. While the epoxy was curing I cut a small
piece off the katalox and made six ½” plugs.
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| Cutting Plugs for Headrest |
The next morning after the epoxy cured I removed the clamps
and the blue tape. After that I
installed the screws through the rear legs into the headrest. The process is the same as the other plugged
holes: drill ½” holes for the plugs, drill clearance and pilot holes for the
screw, install screws and glue plugs in place.
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| Headrest Plugs Installed |
Next up – Final Headrest Shaping
I am in the final throws of making a Maloof rocker and have been viewing ALL your posts thruout.. You have helped me immensely..Thanks so much George Lucido
ReplyDeleteGeorge, glad that the posts have helped you in building the rocker. I looked at the progress photo you shared of your walnut chair and remember that point well. Lots of shaping and sanding still to go, I pity your poor fingers. It looks like your rockers are sawn from a solid piece rather than laminated - interesting choice. Good luck in finishing the project.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand exactly why to use epoxy in a joint which is not so stressed. Maybe is due to its better filling properties?
ReplyDeleteGiovanni, I used the epoxy not because of a need for strength, as you point out but because I needed a long working time. I had to apply the epoxy to the 14 holes, insert the slats which was easy in the base but getting all them aligned in the headrest was not. They are all slippery and wiggly so it took some time to get them all started. Once they were in place I had to drive the headrest down and align it with the reference line I had added to the leg then glue up the headrest to leg joint. After that I went back and twisted the slats so their face was in a gentle arc so they could be comfortable when leaning back against them. All in all, I bet it too probably half an hour from start to finish. A lot longer working time that with other glues.
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