how to make ogee bracket feet?

[chris toomey]

hey guys,

how do you make ogee bracket feet? i'm drawing a blank here. i assume you mill the profile in long stock then cut the individual feet out. do i draw my feet on the curved side or flat side of the stock? ( flat side is down while cutting out the feet right?) any help is appreciated.

[Carl Eyman]

I have some feet to make and am considering how to do it. Several years ago I made the NYW chest on chest which had very nice feet, I thought, I dug out the video and viewed it yesterday. Norm drew the contour on long stock and then using the router with a guide fence and a core box bit routed out the contour on the long piece. After he had cut the pieces into short lengths he drew the profile on the back and sawed it out on the bandsaw. Then using drum sanders of several diameters and a bench belt sander he smoothed out the roughness left by the repeated passes of the core bit. I'm using the word contour for the form on the long piece and profile for the shape you see from the fron and side in elevation.

My current project is the Pennsylvania desk by Lonnie Bird described in FWW mag in 2002 #154,55,and56. Lonnie shows how to cut the contour on the bandsaw one foot at a time. I think I'm going do it Norm's way, though. I've done it once and they came out very well. I am however going to consult Lonnie's book, "Shaping Wood" and see what he has to say in there. If you need more detailed info such as the shape of the contour, PM me.

[Chris Rosenberger]

hey guys,


how do you make ogee bracket feet? i'm drawing a blank here. i assume you mill the profile in long stock then cut the individual feet out. do i draw my feet on the curved side or flat side of the stock? ( flat side is down while cutting out the feet right?) any help is appreciated.

That is how I make them. I do draw on the flat side. If you cut the profile on the bandsaw, you my need to shim the piece so the flat side is level with the table.

[Alan Turner]

Chris,
The way I do an ogee bracket foot is to mill up the stock, long, and cut it into the feet needed. The milling I do as a cove cut on a TS, with a homeade angeled fence. I finish with a hand scraped, radiused. This is pretty quick. Many have illustrated the method. If you are careful, and take only small bites, it is safe. I shape the top curve with a hand plane. Very quick. Bring it in with sandpaper, 100 grit, on a soft backer so you can force the curve you want.


As to the cutting, I saw them on the BS, flat side down. Only the marking is a bit tricky, but not too bad. Make up a pattern, I use 3mm BB, and just keep your pencil dead vertical. Clean up is with a rasp. I generally don't sand the inner faces.

[chris toomey]

thanks guys......i'm gonna try to shape with the tablesaw and router table. carl, i have that issue here somewhere.....i'm gonna look at that too. i appreciate the responses.

[lou sansone]

I agree with alan.... that is the way I make them as well.. At some point you have to assemble them with a miter joint.
lou

[Alan Turner]

Lou,
Or, for the brave, a full secret dovetail. I have never cut one myself, but they are widely written of, oft in awe. Someday I will get around to it. It seems quite doable with the right tools, but patience will be an important feature of that task.

[chris toomey]

Lou,
Or, for the brave, a full secret dovetail. I have never cut one myself, but they are widely written of, oft in awe. Someday I will get around to it. It seems quite doable with the right tools, but patience will be an important feature of that task.
is there any other way?

[Cecil Arnold]

Had to do some pictures before adding my .02 cents, but if this is what you are talking about I used a pattern from Lonnie Bird's book that I sized up to what I needed on my printer/copier, then made a pattern. I used the pattern to cut the mahogany (I found a short 2X4 at the lumber yard) after assembly, on the band saw and finished up with a BOSS. The front feet are joined at a 45 using a biscut and glue block in the back and the rear is dadoed with a piece of birch ply to act as a support. When I was finishing them, before putting them on to the carcus, I used a 1/8 piloted roundover on the router table to refine the bottom and slightly under cut the foot so I coule hopefully avoid splintering should the unit be dragged across a floor. Hope the pics come out.

[Richard McComas]

Jus follow the instructions from the file below. This is what I use and it make looking feet.


http://www.woodsmith.com/main/pdf/145-bracket-feet.pdf

[Jason Tuinstra]

Chris,

I'm glad Richard gave you that link. This is the best way that I know of to cut these feet. I've cut a number of these feet, and they turn out great every time. I made one small change. I used a #20 biscuit on the miter instead of their suggestion. Also, I didn't like the thought of going through all the work that they suggest for clamping. I just used regular wood glue on the miter, held the miter tight for a few minutes, and then let them dry on their own - no clamps. :eek: I know. I haven't had any problems with them and the miters are nice and tight.

You can go to one of the projects that I posted here and check out how they turned out for me. Click <A HREF="http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=5967" TARGET="_blank">here</A></EM></font> to see. Hope you have fun with them. They're very rewarding to make!