the best way to cut a curve on legs?

[Robert Trotter]

I have a design for a chest of drawers and the legs are straight on the inside and curved on the outside.
233513233512
What is best way to cut the curve and finish it.

I can cut it with a turners saw (gramercy) or I can plane it down close to the line
To get the curved surface smooth (finished) can I plane the curve with a regular bench plane since the radius is large?
or
Do I use a spokeshave or rasp and scaper?
Any other suggestions. Hand tools only.
Legs will be walnut.

Rob

[Tony Shea]

An outside curve like the one you've posted can be faired using a bench plane an other flat bottomed tools. It takes a little practice to get the feel of how to hold the front of the tool down to get continuous shavings but is certainly doable. I have been struggling of late trying to get concave curved legs to the right shape using the tools I have on hand. I only have flat bottom spokeshaves and bench planes therefore a concave curve creates a bit more issue.

[Jeff Heath]

If you have to remove a lot of wood.....1/2" or more, I would use a turner's saw and fair to the line with a spoke shave. You can certainly do it with a smoothing plane by just figuring out how to rock the plane just right to stay in the cut. For me, the spokeshave makes short work of it.

Jeff

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I'd be tempted to remove the bulk of the waste with a few straight cuts and a panel saw, and then chopping across the grain with a chisel to remove the extra waste, then use a spokeshave to fair the curves and do final smoothing.

[Jim Koepke]

You may want to set this up so all four legs are being done at the same time to help with matching them.

For convex curves, a smoother can handle the work.

You may also find that you have to rotate the work so the plane is always going downhill on the curves.

A flat bottom spokeshave is another option.

jtk

[Mark Dorman]

I used the cut a kerf every inch close to the the line and pop the waste out with a chisel then a draw knife to get close followed by a spokeshave to finish method for a chair I built.
there is an example on Close Grain Build a Bow Saw blog
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/B9anCiuXWvhPnKNiCkCMhw?feat=embedwebsite

[Jim Matthews]

+1 on kerfing to depth.

That's how I made the curve on my dining table stretchers.
I suggest gaining the legs together, where possible to get the curves constant.

It may be useful to make an MDF template for guidance, as you go.

[Shawn Pixley]

I am a blended woodworker, so I won't go into the roughing part. For convex shapes, I use a spokeshave. I have used a plane and rocked my way down fairing the curve. Watch your technique. I overworked a nerve in my thumb, that took a week to subside.

[Dave Beauchesne]

Robert - Have a look at this on You Tube -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu6gM17Pv38&feature=youtu.be

Liogier video -

I just got a Liogier handle makers rasp - I used it to do the curves on a Gramercy Bow Saw kit - I was impressed, as I am a straight line kinda' guy -
I know it wasn't the leg on a table, but the video is impressive -

Good luck;

Dave B

[John Coloccia]

I would probably just quickly rough plane some facets, and then smooth them out with a more finely set plane. Practice on some scrap. It's actually pretty easy to do.

[John McPhail]

I think I would use my turning saw to rough in the cut and then try my #13. I say "try my #13" because I bought it for a specific project that I haven't started, and have little experience using it. I might also try using a spoke shave, or as others suggest a bench plane following the curve.

[Zach Dillinger]

You could rough it out with a drawknife, then clean up with spokeshaves.

[Robert Trotter]

Thanks for the replies...

The exact dimension of the legs have not been decided yet as I wanted to get the carcase (box) done first and check the for the best proportions. However if say the legs came out to about 40mm is that too wide for a spoke shave? I haven't used a spoke shave since high school and that was on fairly thin material. Not afraid of using one, just don't have one. Would the Lee valley flat spoke shave be appropriate?

Dave, the rasps look entising.

I have just order the lumber so have a little time for it to aclimatize and evaluate the grain etc. I can also give a sample a go with the BU jack plane. or maybe I'll some of the smaller planes and see how they work.

I have more question on joinery for this project so looking forward to more of your help.

Thanks

Rob

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I think the thing you'll see about all the approaches mentioned is to use as coarse and fast a tool as you can to to remove as much as you can, as close as you dare, and then refine with finer and finer tools until you have a finished surfaced. Same general concept whether you go bandsaw to rasps to sandpaper, or drawknife to spokeshave. The most important thing is going to be that you're comfortable with the tools you're using - a nice piece of wood at the end of a project isn't the best time to find out you aren't the best at controlling whatever you've chosen to use to hack off the big pieces. How accurate you can be is important too - something like a bowsaw is going to take a long time - if you can't track close to that line and leave yourself a lot of waste to remove and smooth away, you probably made the job take longer, not quicker. And just like sharpening or surfacing, going from the coarse tool to the fine tool too soon just means you spend too long on the fine tool trying to do the coarse tools work.

Think about what you've got, how comfortable you are at using it, and have at it! That said, I find a bowsaw, unlike a bandsaw, not necessarily faster unless I'm cutting the kind of curves I can't get at with other tools.

As far as the spokeshave, I've faired curves on material about as wide as the blade, but I prefer something a little narrower so I can skew the cut a little bit. Sometimes when working wider stock, I tend to work a little on each side, leaving just a bit of a crown, so I'm never really working the full width. Then I bring down the "peak" just a hair - the final surface ends up being just slightly crowned, but you don't notice it unless you're feeling for it. Ideally, I like to use the spokeshave the same way I would use a smoothing plane, just on curves - I've never found them the best tools for lots of shaping. For a convex curve like this, a flat bottom shave would work fine, and probably be easier to control if you don't have a lot of experience with them. Round bottom shaves can be a little frustrating at first.