Fluted columns without a lathe?

[Mike Allen1010]

Even though I don't have a lathe, I'm recklessly considering building a project with fluted columns, which I've never done before.

All the articles I've seen about how to build fluted columns seem to involve leaving the turned round work piece on the lathe and then building a carriage that slides along the lathe bed and holds an electric router to cut the flute.

I could probably borrow a lathe to turn the columns round, but I'm wondering if anyone has a suggestion about how I could cut the flutes at the workbench?

I'm thinking I could clamp the turn columned between dogs on the work bench and then build some kind of fences/guides on either side of the workpiece that would keep the router bit at the appropriate height and also cutting a straight line -- does that make sense? Has anyone seen plans/descriptions of some kind of jig for doing this?

I don't think it would be practical to try and cut the flutes freehand with a gouge because I don't think I have the talent to keep them straight. How did pre-industrial woodworkers do this? Did it always require some kind of lathe or were they ever cut freehand?

I appreciate any advice, suggestions information. Thanks in advance,

All the best,Mike

[Dan Carroll]

There was an article in PW a while back that had a description of a jig for routing sliding dovetails in a column for a spider leg candle stand. That might be a good place to start. You might be able to modify the jig to do what you want to attempt. Fluting with hand tools is not a very common practice. This is a case where the invention of power tools has not so much duplicated how work was done, but has actually changed the work. If you want to go with hand tool, I would think you would use a scratch tool of some kind and clean up the ends with a gouge. That would be my best guess, maybe others have better ideas and experience with doing this.

Dan Carroll

[Joel Ficke]

I end up carving all the flutes in my columns. Start by drawing lines on the lathe. Then use a smaller gouge to start the process. Then progress to a larger gouge to fine tune the final channel. If they end up getting a little wavy, I will take a dowel wrapped in sandpaper or even a small round molding plane with blade removed and also wrapped in sandpaper to straighten the channels up. This really works well for me.

[george wilson]

You can make a long,narrow plywood box. Suspend the column inside the box between centers with its upper surface(where you want to flute) parallel with the top of the box. Make a plywood base that fits over the box and holds the router,or a flat scraping cutter shaped like the flute. Drag it down the box to rout or scrape the flute. Also,have a disc attached to the column to index it to cut the next flute,etc..

[Mel Fulks]

Saw George's suggestion used once ,and it worked well. The guy who did it owned a large lathe with indexing stuff,that part seemed strange...

[Megan Fitzpatrick]

Chuck Bender has a story in the upcoming April issue of PWM on using a (sorry) router to make fluted columns; I've read through it once (so far), and it's pretty slick.

[Jim Koepke]

Being one to use planes for everything, including slicing onions, a method to do this was mentioned in my post on an epiphany with a Stanley 45.

It would likely work well with the "lathe box" George described in his post.

Of course, it would require a Stanley 45, a flute cutter and a gouge.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?196104-Today-s-Epiphany-With-the-Stanley-45

I am hoping to submit a much refined write up on this as an article to PW.

jtk

[David Keller NC]

Mike - If you prefer to do this with hand tools, it's actually quite easy. Fluted columns on furniture were very, very common on Federal-era American furniture, and I can guarantee they weren't done with a router. :)

There are 2 basic methods - one uses a v-tool to establish the position of the flutes. The easiest method is to divide the column into quarters with 4 lines, then divide the quadrants, and so forth until you have the desired number of flutes. I generally do the v-tool grooving freehand with a mallet, but if you find that daunting, you can go down the length of your line with a broad chisel, striking it lightly as you go. If done carefully, you then have a continuous track for your v-tool. Once the v-tool has been used to establish a straight-sided track, you go back over the line with the appropriate sized gouge. By carefully watching the width of the material coming off of the gouge on both sides of the groove, you can ensure that you leave a nice, even and straight flute.

Note that this method can also be used to add reeds to legs - one simply rounds the sides of the v-tool track with an upside-down gouge.

The second method requires that you build a jig, but it's a simple one. Cut two, straight hardwood boards long enough to accomodate your leg and 2 end-blocks. Pre-drill holes through the end blocks to serve as the pivot points for your leg. Clamp the blocks together when you drill them; it's not necessary that the holes be absolutely centered on the blocks, but it is necessary that they be colinear with each other. Drill one additional hole slightly to the side of the center hole in one of the blocks; this will serve as a way to prevent the leg from rotating while you are cutting the flutes. Drive two screws through the pivot holes into the center points of each end of your furniture leg, then drive another screw through the auxillary hole to lock the leg in place.

Then make a scraper holder that will run down the length of the two sides of the jig. The scraper holder is simply a wooden block that's long enough to provide two handles on either side of the jig, and has two rectangular cuts in it that will let it ride down the rails of the jig. This holder then needs to have a stopped kerf sawn longitudinally down the center that provides a groove to insert a scraper made from a bit of steel from a bandsaw blade, a leftover cardscraper, or a piece from an old saw plate. One simply scrapes down the length of the leg, re-adjusts the scraper to cut deeper, and repeats until the flute is at the desired depth.

Note that the above scraper method assumes that you're fluting a round leg. If you're fluting a square leg, then there's one other neander method that's way easier than building the jig - a Stanley #66 beading tool, or the Lie-Nielsen equivalent:

http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?grp=1224

Lee Valley also makes a slick beading/fluting tool.

[george wilson]

As I mentioned,you can use a scraper blade shaped to cut the flutes instead of a router. No need for fancy planes.

[Mike Allen1010]

Thanks a lot folks-- I really appreciate the helpful suggestions! David, your description of both the jig and free hand method are particularly helpful -- thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge.

I think with some of the advice here I might actually be able to do this - I am definitely going to have to build a few extra columns in case things go haywire -- which is pretty likely.

All the best,Mike

[Matt Bickford]

This was my solution. The fence rides one side of the poplar rails.
249840 249841

[Jim Koepke]

This looks like one of many things with so many ways it can be done. The best way to do it may depend on what tools and skills are in your arsenal.

It is great that there have been so many ideas presented.

jtk

[george wilson]

An easy solution,Matt!!:) You didn't have to make the scraper holder.

[David Keller NC]

Mike - Jeff Headley demonstrated the scraper method in one of the Woodwright's Shop episodes. I spent a bit of time looking for it on-line, but apparently on-line access to The Woodwright's Shop doesn't go back as far as season 25 (it's episode #3, "Jeff Headley, Cabinetmaker"). In this episode, Jeff takes apart a walnut reproduction of an 18th century desk, and during one segment, demonstrates how he cut the stop-fluting on the columns of the desk. Essentially, it's the method of the axial jig and scraper, but the twist is the substitution of a purpose-made scraper that cuts the convex portion of the stop-fluting.

What Matt has shown is a simpler method of work-holding than the axial jig, though one does need the Lie-Nielsen or Stanley #66. While I've made custom scrapers and scraper holders for this sort of job, I much prefer the #66 and its blades to cutting up bandsaw blades or cabinet scrapers. If you buy one, I highly suggest getting the extra blank blades. While 2 blanks are included, there's a lot of opportunity in 18th century furniture to make custom scrapers to set in moldings on a curved edge. To date, I've made 9 custom-ground blanks for my L-N, and all of them see use.

That was an excellent thought, Matt - as many times as I've made two blocks as your photo illustrates for drilling into the end grain of a round blank, it never really occurred to me to do the same for cutting profiles in the surface. Duh...:rolleyes:


P.S. - Here is a link to a Christie's auction lot that is enlargable - one can see the stop-fluting on the base of the pier table's legs. What Jeff H. reproduced was even more complex - the ends of the stop-flutes on his desk terminated on an arc rather than straight across as on the pier table in the photo:

http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/furniture-lighting/a-chippendale-mahogany-stop-fluted-pier-table-newport-5526247-details.aspx

[mike holden]

Here is an image of the Headley scraper setup.
Let me know if you need more info/pics.
I did a presentation on this to our SAPFM chapter, so have a powerpoint presentation available, but it is rather large.


Mike