Grinding wood

[Austin Branson]

Greetings Oh Sage Ones,
I’ve bought a set of plans, book and DVD’s to have a go at making a Sam Maloof type rocking chair. The instructions came from Charles Brock, a professional chair maker.
I have a couple of questions, firstly he uses a Festool to grind the shapes onto the components. I can’t justify a tool like that - I have a cheap and cheerful angle grinder, can I use that? Can anyone recommend the abrasive component?
I live in rural Normandy, it’s easy to get oak, and sometimes possible for other domestically grown wood, imports are hard to find. Can anyone recommend timber(s) to use? I like European cherry. I know traditional windsor chairs use Elm for the seat, and often Ash, Beech or Oak. Elm is not available here.
Thanks,
Austin

 

[Awac]

Have you looked on line for "wood carving disc"? If for example you go to Amazon you will see lots of different options. From about £10. Not used them myself, so do come back and let us know your experiences.

 

[Alpha-Dave]

There are several good makes of grinding/cutting disc that should fit a standard angle grinder (4 to 5 inch), the best that I have used are carbide ones from Arbortech, but I hear good things about the kutzall range. Flap/sanding discs are cheap and plentiful from diy and industrial supplies.

Whatever you choose, avoid the ones that look like a chainsaw wrapped around a 4” disc. Those can grab and get out of control faster than you can react. See Stump Nubs’s experience here:

 

[Racers]

You could use rasps, spokeshaves, chisels, knives etc, it doesn't have to scream to cut wood.

Pete

 

[Inspector]

Sam Maloof was making furniture long before Festool was even heard of here or possibly by you gents too. He did a lot of his shaping free hand on the bandsaw and then glued the parts together to be refined with hand tools. He used some sanders and even routers for shaping but much was done by hand. If you can find a copy of his book Sam Maloof Woodworker you'll see it from the pictures of his shop and of the work in progress. Work with what you have and practice on scrap before taking the power tools to your chair. Good luck with your rocker. Among the many woods he worked with Sam used Cherry in his rockers and I think he wouldn't turn in his grave if you used Oak.

Pete

 

[Austin Branson]

Thanks guys. I made a Windsor chair with James Mursell, using an adze (and other, mostly, hand tools). I really enjoyed his course, btw.

 

[Keith 66]

Standard angle grinder fiber sanding discs are quite adequate, Use 24 or even 16 grit for heavy grinding & sanding, we used to use these by the boxful for GRP repairs. Also used in the boat trade for trimming parts even wooden trims inside, in this guise the angle grinder was known as a Canvey Plane as that was where it was first used as the fits everything tool in the boat factories. Main drawback is the mountains of dust produced.

 

[PAC1]

I did the seat and head rest for the one in my picture with gouges, a travisher, circular plane and sander. The legs can be done with spokeshaves. You will need a router for the leg joints but thereafter it can be done by hand which is far more satisfying, less noise and far less dust to swallow. If you feel you must use an angle grinder check out Saburrtooth Saburrtooth Carving Wheels. Best wishes for a very satisfying if challenging project.

 

[Droogs]

If you plan on using your angle grinder then go for the type of attachment shown below. do not go near any that have the chainsaw teeth or ninja death star look until you have a lot of experience using the grinder:

you can get these in various grit equivalents to suite your needs,

https://uk.banggood.com/Drillpro-Tu...WURev-OYtiegwlJXphJ7Q3GCiNPzdDRxoCadYQAvD_BwE
Happy shaping

 

[Yojevol]

I made 6 of these in oak-

so make them much the same I made a set of 6 profiles to represent the desired form from front to back and side to side.
I then used a chain saw type cutter to rough it out, checking frequently with the profiles. I agree these cutters need care and practice before using in earnest.
Next I used one of these. Cheap and cheerful but very successful.
Lastly I used sanding discs on a flexible rubber backing plate, going down through the grades. This stage was done with an electric drill which was much less restrictive in movement than the angle grinder.
Brian

 

[Austin Branson]

Hello Pete, I’ve found a copy of the book by Sam Maloof, it should be here before New Year. Many thanks.
Austin