My Maloof Rocker (Part 3 – A Leg to Stand On)

Step 4: The Back Legs
To make the back legs, I first made a template out of plywood.  You will need to have 3 joint areas: 1 to attach to the seat, on for the arm and finally an area to attach the head rest. Once I had the template cut out on the jigsaw, I sanded it and then traced the pattern onto 2 pieces of 2”x4 ½”x47” maple.  I then cut out the legs on the bandsaw.  If the picture bellow, you can also see one of the arms that I cut out on the bandsaw. The arms are cut from two blocks of 2 ½” x 4 ½” x 19 ½”. I also made a small plywood template for the arms to insure consistency.

Step 5: The Front Legs
The front legs were much easier to make. I cut a dado on 3 sides were the leg will be attached to the seat.  I then rounded over the sides with a router so that it fits snugly onto the seat. The front leg blanks measure 2” x 2 ¾” x 19 ½”.  Once the dados where cut and routed, I mounted the blank on the lath and started shaping the top and bottom of the leg. I then drilled a 3/8” dowel hole at the top and bottom of the leg to be able to attach it to the arm and runner.

Step 6: Test the Fit
I cut the dado on the back legs with a hand saw. I clamped the leg to the seat to locate where to cut the dados. Then, I did a dry fit to make sure everything was lining up correctly.

Once I was happy with the fit, it was time to glue up!