Leg wood blank stock??

[Brian Knop]

I want to try my hand at making a ball and claw leg. Anyone know a good place to get 3"x3" stock?
Thanks Brian

[Rob Millard]

I get my 12/4 stock from Groff and Groff lumber. It is better to purchase it, as wider stock and saw the blanks from that. This will allow you to select the stock for the best appearance, although you‘ll need to buy as much as twice the amount you actually need. 12/4 stock is somewhat expensive, but the labor to produce ball and claw feet is too, so it is worth it to be selective. The growth rings should run as close to diagonally across the stock as possible. This way the grain pattern of the sides of the legs will look similar on each side. If you fail to do this, one side could have a flat sawn grain pattern, and the adjacent side a quarter or rift sawn pattern. I just finished a set of B&C legs in curly maple, where I broke this rule, in order to have the best possible curl on the most visible faces. The curl hid the underlying grain pattern.

Rob Millard

[Alan Turner]

Although I am admittedly a new carver, I have plenty of trouble with carving just mahogany. I can't imagine carving a B&C from curly maple. Rob, would you mind posting a pix of one of the legs?

I second the vote for Groff & Groff. If you call them, and tell them that you want rift sawn 12/4 leg stock, they will send you what you need, although as Rob says there may be quite a bit of extra there as well. For leg stock, if that is all I need, I just call them and have it shipped instead of driving there (3 hrs, round trip). They are wonderfully reliable and knowledgeable, and will pick appropriate stock for you. And, UPS, west to east in Pa., is automatic overnight delivery with no up charge.

[Rob Millard]

Alan,

I'm in the process of preparing an article on making the chest on frame that I carved the B&C feet for. In a couple of weeks when the piece is finished I'll post the article on this forum.
Rob Millard

[Rob Millard]

Alan,

I forgot to attach the photo so here it is. The curl barely shows, but it is actually fairly pronounced.

Rob Millard

[Christopher Pine]

I have a guy I get most of my larger turning stock (cherry,walnut,maple) in 3x3 I don't think he will mind if I pass his name on Michael McGuire, m_n_mcg@msn.com

JUst tell him the size you are looking for etc.. he is great guy and will make a good deal no doubt...
You can tell him I recomended you if you want.
Chris

[Richard Wolf]

Nice carving work!!

Richard

[Steve Cox]

Brian, where exactly are you? Depending on your location, there is Crosscut Hardwoods in Seattle or Edensaw in Port Townsend. There are other suppliers plus some local mills depending on the wood you are looking for.

[lou sansone]

dear Rob

excellent carving on the legs. It has been my understainding that many times the legs on chest on frame did not necessarily need to have figure in them. I personally think it sort of looks weird when they don't but many of the pieces that I have seen don't.

I think the other problem with trying to find 12/4 curly stock is that the curl starts to poop out as you get toward the heart ( at least the stuff I have sawn on my mill ). I have managed to get some decent 12/4 stuff recently.

if you look at one of the pictures in this post
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=17916
you will see a stack of curly maple 12/4 on the left hand side of the photo

[Alan Turner]

Rob,
Beautiful legs. Thanks for the shot. I will look forward to your article.

[Rob Millard]

Lou,

You have more lumber than my local hardwood supplier!

I too have noticed that some originals have plain lumber for legs, as well as drawer dividers. I'm not sure of the reason for this, because it certainly wasn't from a lack of suitable stock.

Thanks for the comment on the feet. I'm only a fair carver. Feet, shells, pie crust tops and finials, I can handle ( although slowly) but I'm just barely able to do leaf carving, such as the vines on Philadelphia drawer fronts. I should stick to inlaid furniture.





Rob Millard

[lou sansone]

I get my 12/4 stock from Groff and Groff lumber. It is better to purchase it, as wider stock and saw the blanks from that. This will allow you to select the stock for the best appearance, although you‘ll need to buy as much as twice the amount you actually need. 12/4 stock is somewhat expensive, but the labor to produce ball and claw feet is too, so it is worth it to be selective. The growth rings should run as close to diagonally across the stock as possible. This way the grain pattern of the sides of the legs will look similar on each side. If you fail to do this, one side could have a flat sawn grain pattern, and the adjacent side a quarter or rift sawn pattern. I just finished a set of B&C legs in curly maple, where I broke this rule, in order to have the best possible curl on the most visible faces. The curl hid the underlying grain pattern.

Rob Millard


HI rob

good advice on the diagonal grain. The legs look excellent. Real good proportion at the ankle and very crisp. I haven't done b/c yet, but they dont really look that hard. I have found with carving to just take time and it will happen. I want to build a 18th cent men's corner chair and that will have b/c legs. have you built one? I think vandal shows one in his book.

Where are you located ?

regards lou

[Alan Turner]

I decided I would weigh in on the issue of curly/figured leg stock where the balance of the piece is curly/figured, and share a position which is counseled by my eye only, with no historical or design reference to support it.

I think that curly or figured stock on legs that are heavily shaped, such as cabriole legs, with or without special foot treatment, brings the eye to the curl, and detracts from the basic shape and curves of the leg. My favorite legs are cabriole, with any variety of feet, from plain, pad, slipper, or triffid, to ball and claw. The shape of the leg, the graceful cyma curve, the knee block, the ankle, etc., are in and of themselves wonderful elements, and the use of a figured wood in the legs detracts from the grace of the leg shape and execution. I guess as to this issue, less is more is one way to put it.

I write this post with with much trepidation as I have no historical reference for this view, and I have the greatest of respect and admiration for Rob Millard's work. Would that I could do half as much with a few boards!

I wonder if others share my perhaps parochial view on this topic.

[Rob Millard]

Alan,

I had not thought of it in that way, but it makes a lot of sense.

The stock I selected for the legs had what I would call medium figure. Now I'll be honest and say I did this not so much for appearance, but for ease of carving ( which ended up to be a non issue), but I also had in mind how period pieces often have lightly figured stock used here. Luck would have it, that this approach ended up giving the look I wanted, some figure but in keeping with period examples.
Rob Millard

[lou sansone]

I decided I would weigh in on the issue of curly/figured leg stock where the balance of the piece is curly/figured, and share a position which is counseled by my eye only, with no historical or design reference to support it.

I think that curly or figured stock on legs that are heavily shaped, such as cabriole legs, with or without special foot treatment, brings the eye to the curl, and detracts from the basic shape and curves of the leg. My favorite legs are cabriole, with any variety of feet, from plain, pad, slipper, or triffid, to ball and claw. The shape of the leg, the graceful cyma curve, the knee block, the ankle, etc., are in and of themselves wonderful elements, and the use of a figured wood in the legs detracts from the grace of the leg shape and execution. I guess as to this issue, less is more is one way to put it.

I write this post with with much trepidation as I have no historical reference for this view, and I have the greatest of respect and admiration for Rob Millard's work. Would that I could do half as much with a few boards!

I wonder if others share my perhaps parochial view on this topic.
I think that allen is on to something. IMHO mahogany is a pretty plain wood, but townsend made good use of it with his shells and other features. Maybe that is why the originals did not over emphasis the curl in parts like the shell or legs. I built a chest of drawers that had fluted quarter columns, out of some real curly stock and the columns look sort of distrubing. I think the whole piece would have looked better in mahogany or cherry. But, like allen, I do respect the work of Rob and his opinions.

lou