Advice on wood

[Shawn Pixley]

For my next project, I need to get 16/4 stock (probably walnut). So my question is should I spend time searching for this or just bite the bullet and glue up two 8/4 pieces?For one of my last project, I laid up mahogany in similar thicknesses, so I am confortable doing this again. The next project will be a double taper of this for legs. I think that 16/4 stock would likely look better as this will be promanant in this piece. If necessary, I could veneer over the seam.

[Tom Fischer]

Can have a wide range of colors and patterns in walnut. If your 8/4" glue-ups are ripped from the same board, probably never see the seam. Just eyeball it.
I wouldn't veneer over a tapered leg. Seems too easy to damage/wear, foot traffic.

If you don't have local suppliers of 16/4" I just googled a west coast place (OR). Pricy, but they sell 16/4" walnut. http://www.gobywalnut.com/

good luck!

[Shawn Pixley]

Thanks, I looked at that site but they are mostly green slabs.

[John TenEyck]

Wow, that's going to be expensive. And, unless it's rift sawn, it's going to look way different on adjoining faces. So why not address both issues like was done by Stickley, etc. Laminate up narrower stock, then use a 1/16 - 1/8" veneer on the two sides with the joints (after you finish tapering them, of course) so that all sides have the same grain pattern. Just an idea.

[Mike Wilkins]

Noted woodworker Jere Osgood perfected the art of tapered legs using a technique of planing a taper into individual planks, then gluing up these tapered blanks to make a leg look like one continuous blank. If you taper a blank glued up from 2 or more boards, the lines will stick out like a sore thumb, unless you paint it. With a tapered lamination, the lines will be all but invisible. You may be able to do a search in the FineWoodworkking site to find an article on doing this. Or one of the Taunton books on joinery.
Try looking for a local sawmill operator for a source of thick lumber. Luckily I have one here in Eastern NC.
Good luck and watch those fingers.

[Jerome Hanby]

If you could generate four blanks that had the taper on the outer face but were "square" on the inside face, I wonder if you could use a lock miter bit to attach the four sides together. I saw some article on doing that for non-tapered legs on some mission style project...


Noted woodworker Jere Osgood perfected the art of tapered legs using a technique of planing a taper into individual planks, then gluing up these tapered blanks to make a leg look like one continuous blank. If you taper a blank glued up from 2 or more boards, the lines will stick out like a sore thumb, unless you paint it. With a tapered lamination, the lines will be all but invisible. You may be able to do a search in the FineWoodworkking site to find an article on doing this. Or one of the Taunton books on joinery.
Try looking for a local sawmill operator for a source of thick lumber. Luckily I have one here in Eastern NC.
Good luck and watch those fingers.