Maloof inspired stool

cyclopentadiene

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My latest project, a Maloof inspired stool is completed. This was a design with no plan, just pieces from other projects. This was designed to go in our bathroom between the door to the room and my closet. It is about 32 inches wide, with the seat 17 inches. The seat is coopered and much wider than a typical chair seat. The legs my pattern for the front legs on the Maloof low back chair. The arms are similar in style to the low back chair as well. I used the front portion for both the back and front of this design and just created an arc between the two legs. It is built from cherry with ebony plugs in the legs. The entire piece was fumed with ammonia and finished with Waterlox.


 

Wiley's Woodworks

Wiley
Corporate Member
Nice work! You captured the lines and flow of the wood from piece to piece that are the signature features of Sam Maloof furniture. I know first hand how difficult it is to make the Maloof joint between the legs and the seat. If yours are tight and free of filler you really did a great job...be proud of it.
 

mlzettl

Matt
Corporate Member
Beautiful craftsmanship, but I especially appreciate your ability to design your own piece in the Maloof style. Well done.
 

JohnnyR

John
Corporate Member
Really nice piece! Never considered fuming Cherry and it looks great from the picture. Does this create a darker color than aged Cherry?
 

cyclopentadiene

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This was my 21st Maloof inspired piece. My wife does bot like it as she thinks the arms and wide seat make it look like an adult “potty seat”. This may end up as the prototype design until I build one she likes. I may end up selling this one.
She had the same opinion of my Nakashima bench a few years ago. She hated it. That piece won best in show at State Fair and Isold it in a gallery. To answer the question from Johnny R. I alyays fume cherry. I do not like the pinkish tones if Cherry is finished as is. Ammonia reacts with the tannins in much the same way as UV light over time as a piece ages. Because this piece was small, I was able to use two large trash bags for a tent and fumed for 48 hours with 28% ammonia. Due to the small size of the tent, the concentration was high so this is my darkest piece yet. I did the fuming last week when it was so cold. Typically the color is even better in the summer. Another advantage of fuming is that it evens the blotchy nature of Cherry.
The difficulty with a maloof piece is that it has to be assembled before you shape the Joinery. I am not sure if the ammonia penetrates enough to fume before assembly. If not, I could never get the color uniform. I can do significant sanding after fuming.
I have fumed oak as well and that is my preference. The color can be adjusted to look like a 100 year old antique. In addition woods with limited tannin like Maple can be saturated with tannic acid and fumed. Tannic acid is available online or at a beer and wine making supply shop.
I ebonized ash using tannic acid and the vinegar/steel wool solution approach. It is not as jet black as ebonized cherry or walnut but seems OK. Ash done this way does have a blueish tone in bright sunlight.
 

Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
Very Nice .......... now all you need is a Ornate Carpet to go under i. It would be a nice accent to the Maloof maybe your wife could volunteer to weave and knot one up ....... :p
 

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