"how to" question

[Phil Mueller]

Just looking for different suggestions on how to remove this much material from a piece of ~ 3"x3" cherry stock for table legs. The penciled area is what needs to be removed. It may not be obvious, but it's a curved taper, not a straight line taper. At the bottom, I need to remove ~ 1 7/8" of material.

I have rip saws, coping & fret saw, spokeshave, card scraper, scraper plane, and a variety of bench planes (block, #3, #4, #5, #62, jointer). What procedure would you do?
By the way, this curved taper will be on the two inner sides, so I need to go through this procedure essentially 8 times (although the second side will be less material).

I was thinking rip saw a majority of it, maybe coping saw or plane closer to the line, then spokeshave?

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[george wilson]

I suggest rip sawing it off.Leave enough to plane smooth,of course.

[Joe Kasier]

Yeah, I agree. You need to rip the pencil area off, so use a rip saw. Follow it up with a few passes with a plane of choice and step back to enjoy the result

[Phil Mueller]

Thanks for the quick replys. That'll be the plan.

[Patrick Chase]

I have a bowsaw set up with a low-profile blade that I use for gradually curved cuts like that.

If you don't have such a thing then you'd probably want to rip along the straight line connecting the top and bottom corners and then waste the middle using cross/diagonal strokes with a plane or kerf+chisel (depending on grain). You can then finish with the spokeshave. That curvature looks too tight to smooth with a #3 to me, but it's hard to tell.

One other option for wasting the middle after ripping might be to clamp the wood bent into the reverse of the desired profile (using a form) and go at it with a jointer, though that may not work in this case (the workpiece may be too thick to bend into the desired shape). You'd ideally want some extra length so that you can make clamping features below the surface if you go that route.

I think that a coping saw would be a bit challenging in 3" thick Maple

[Patrick Chase]

Thanks for the quick replys. That'll be the plan.

I don't see how you can implement the desired curvature that way?

[Dave Beauchesne]

If an inside curve, my vote is the spokeshave.
Good luck.
Dave B

[Mike Holbrook]

Most classes do the larger stock removal with a bandsaw. Maybe you could find access somewhere? There are people who are good enough with an axe/hatchet and or adze to do curved surfaces with them. I want to learn these skills but I am not there yet. Large gouges or slicks are another option.

[Phil Mueller]

Just FYI, I did rip a straight line from top to bottom (as suggested). I was then able to remove some waste from the curve with a #3 and block plane. Then a spokeshave to the line, and final smoothing with a card scraper.

A bit of a process, but pleased with the results.

Thanks again, all. Always great to have options to consider.

George, by the way, I used your thin stock "bow and string" method to create the curve. I planed one end a bit thinner to get the somewhat more gentle curve...worked great!

[John Kananis]

You could crosscut to the line several times and just use a chisel (watching grain direction) with the bevel down to trim out the waste - then finish with spokeshave. No?

[Patrick Chase]

You could crosscut to the line several times and just use a chisel (watching grain direction) with the bevel down to trim out the waste - then finish with spokeshave. No?

That's what I meant when I said "kerf+chisel" in #5.

The thing to note here is that the curvature is fairly gradual, enough so that you can rough out the shape by taking cross or even diagonal strokes with a bench plane. It appears that's what he did, and IMO that's as reasonable as the kerf+chisel approach in this case because the amount of material to remove is fairly small (kerf+chisel wins big when you can lop off thick hunks of material in one cut)

[Phil Mueller]

That's correct. Very gradual curve. I found if I skewed the #3 and then block plane up to 45 degrees I could get darn close to the line. Then spokeshave. Then card scraper.

[John Crawford]

thin stock "bow and string" method to create the curve.

Phil: If you have a link for this, could you post it? Sounds useful!

[Phil Mueller]

John, in a post "How to smooth curves" (8/8), George offered up these suggestions:

"You might try a long,fairly thin,but bendable strip of wood. Made like a bow and arrow. Notch both ends and attach a double "bow string". Add a twisting stick in the middle. You can wind the twisting stick as much as needed to produce a long,gentle,or more bent curve to trace your pencil on. I have a thickness sander,and sawed some large as possible bamboo into 5/8" wide strips. Then,I ran them through the sander and made them nice and parallel. I was planning to make a laminated archery bow from them,but they lost their strength when the hard outer skin was sanded off. But,they certainly are flexible! I used a strip of wood bent to trace and make a plywood template for an arched passage way in our house,when the plasterer could not manage to get it SYMMETRICAL!!!!

Better yet,find a long,thin strip of steel about 1/32" thick and make your bow from that. Preferably spring steel. Or,find a strip of plastic that can bend without breaking. A piece of poly carbonate will do. BUT,this is funny material. ALWAYS loosen the string and let it go back to flat,or you may WELL find it full of little stress fractures if left bent. I know this from experience using the stuff in other applications.

Here is a GOOD TIP: Some craftsmen who can't draw real well have used a large,old CLOCK SPRING as a drawing aid. But,not for long curves,as it will not make long curves,having been coiled for a long time. The spring from an old time wind up floor model Victrola record player(WWI ERA) has a great spring. Good for drawing spirals,too."


So, below is the one I rigged up quickly with a piece of 1/8" scrap. I planed about 8" on one end a bit thinner...to get it to arch more at that end. I drew a full scale 3"x30" rectangle to represent the leg stock on a piece of poster board. Placed the "string bow" on the drawing. There are a few knots in the string on the far end to adjust tension, and then I slid the small scrap of wood to a point where I liked the curve. I then traced the curve onto the poster board and cut it out for a pattern.

I think George's idea of a twisting stick would be much more stable and easier to use than my adjustable knots and piece of scrap, but this worked for now.

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[Reinis Kanders]

Axe would be the fastest. Cleanup with spokeshave.