Dresser Spindle Molding

[Don Abele]

I am getting ready to build a couple of dressers for my daughters. My wife likes the quarter spindle molding on an old dresser we have. I've attached a pic of it. Any suggestions on duplicating this? I do not have a lathe (and can not buy one for this project). My thought was to buy a full spindle (source???) and then cut it into quarters (using some kind of jig???). The wood will be maple.

Your experience and insight is appreciated.

Thanks,

[Richard Allen]

Hi Don

These spindles are usualy cut into quarters and then glued back together with brown paper in the joints before they are turned.

There is an active woodturning club in your area called Tidewater Turners of Virginia. You might be able to hook up with one of them to "trade" some woodworking.

Contact Jerry Whitehurst at chipsrflyin@aol.com or by phone at 757 426-2238 to see if he can suggest someone to help.

They have their meeting scheduled for next Tuesday evening at Woodcraft store in the Janaf Shopping Center. If you can attend the meeting you might find an interested turner. The web site for the club is:

http://www.esva.net/~woodturner

Good Luck

Richard

[Dean Baumgartner]

Doc,
I think you've got the right idea about buying a spindle you like and then cutting. I can't quite tell from the pic if you need 180 degrees or 270. If it's 180 it should be fairly straightforward to attache the spindle to a jig with some short screws and run it over the TS. If you need 270 degrees use the same proceedure just with a 90 degree rotation after you make one cut. Buy your spindle a little long so you can put the screws outside of the area you want to keep.

Let me know how it works, I've got to do something similar on the armoir I'm bulding for LOML.


Dean

[Chris Padilla]

Well shoot, Richard, you just about set Doc up! :)

[Greg Heppeard]

You should actually be able to buy the fluted part in the middle and just turn the top and bottom ends of the moulding. In cabinet shops we did it that way.

[Mark Stutz]

Don,
It is possible to cut a spindle using a carraige in the tablesaw. Just remember that the saw kerf will result in less than a full quarter spindle, or at the least, will ruduce the radius of the original piece.

[Fred LeBail]

Don ,
Regardless, if you go the route of having what you want turned as Richard has suggested or you can actually find something to fit your application, get 2 for each dresser. When you cut them make your off cuts less than 1/4 of the turning. Sacriface the off cuts to make a larger turning for your project. I remember reading this tip in an issue of FWW.
Good luck, Fred

[Steve Clardy]

Just make a L-shaped sled and screw or hot glue the spindle to it and cut it in half.
You will cut off the bottom of the sled at the same time, so keep in mind how you build the sled as to not be cutting the nails or screws you use, or just glue your sled together.

Steve

[Don Abele]

Thanks all for the replies, sorry I'm late in responding.

The piece I need is actually 270 degrees. But I can use 180 degrees and put a "V" shaped wedge behind it (I've mocked it up with some pine). Regardless, I'll be using 2 complete spindles for each one. Trying to split one that close in half isn't worth the hassle. And yes, I found that using an "L" shaped sacrificial sled worked great.

I've contacted several friends who are turners and even a few members of the local turning club. There's only 1 that can do the fluting I'm really interested in and unfortunately, he's asking a lot for it. In regards to gluing up the piece into two halves with brown paper in between - none of the turners I asked would do it. All said they have had too many of them blow apart on them and wouldn't do it again.

So, the hard part is the fluted section (I was told today the machine to make them is >$1000). Greg (or anyone else), have any idea where I can get this (preferably in maple). I'm having a hard time just finding maple spindles with any kind of turning on them (they can't be tapered like table legs).

Total length needs to be about 24 inches with a diameter of about 2-3 inches. At this point I may forgo the fluting if I can just find a spindle that's ornate enough to get LOML's approval.

Again, your input is appreciated. Thanks.

[Greg Heppeard]

Look in your phone book for a moulding company close by...they should have that stuff in stock.

[Mark Stutz]

Don,
It will be a very involved process and you need to be good friends with the lathe owner/operator, but....turn the spindle with the fluted section solid, and either build a carraige for a router to sit on the lathe, or take it off and build a sled for the router table to do the flutes. Alot of work, but likely cheaper than a moulding company for only 2 pieces.

[Steve Clardy]

I have some detailed pics of my homemade router fluting jig if you are interested.
Steve