How to make these

[Tom Bender]

These were a little fussy to make using band saw, rasps and sandpaper. Now I want to make several and want to go a little faster and with more consistency. No access to CNC and I don't want to outsource it. Looks like a job for template routing, something I have not done.

So I'm thinking to rough out on the band saw then route to a pattern.

Router table?

Pattern material?

Bit that won't bite the end grain?

The pattern can have a pin to locate the stock to it but then how to secure it?

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[John TenEyck]

That looks pretty delicate for pattern routing. W/O a CNC I think I'd continue to make them as you did for the first one.

John

[Jim Allen]

Looks a job for 3D printing.

[Jamie Buxton]

I think you could do it with pattern routing on a router table. A challenge will be cutting those long thin parts. They will want to bend into or away from the router bit. I'd be thinking about gluing the stock to a waste piece on the outside, which you later cut off. The saw blade cutting the waste away will be less likely to bend the slender part than the router bit.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Those are a clever bit of carving. That is going to be tough. My soon to become son in law found my workshop an irresistible place. He made a lot of things out there including toaster tongs. It was not always convenient for me to share my shop. He and our daughter moved away and we sure do miss them.

[Tom Bender]

I'm thinking a 1/4" spiral upcutting bit might be best for this.

Then the workpiece would be a sandwich

Against the table the workpiece bandsawn within 1/16" of final dimensions. The workpiece will be purpleheart.

Attached to this with hot melt glue, a spacer of hardwood. This is where the end of the cutting bit will live.

Next will be a pattern of 1/8" thick aluminum hot melt glued to the spacer. It will have a pin to locate it to the workpiece.

The pattern will have a wooden handle screwed to the top.

I will separate the workpiece from the spacer by heating it on a hot surface.

Three challenges, - blowout on the bottom - separating the workpiece after routing - other surprises

[George Yetka]

I think this may get violent if you try and template route this. I would recommend something else.
A super fine bandsaw blade or a scroll saw may be the safest/fastest refine with sand paper.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Here are fixtures that work fairly well for putting a simple 12 foot radius on small parts. The part has to be bandsaw cut very close to the final shape. I like your idea to use a spiral bit. I do this on the router table with regular bits. It is easy to catch the end and split the wood or send the wood flying out of the fixture. I want a down-spiral bit for this in the future.

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[Rich Engelhardt]

Daisy Pin Router maybe? (https://www.hvalleytools.com/product/v9061-mlcs-daisy-pin-router-attachments/router-accessories)

I never got mine setup over the Summer. Something I look forward to doing in the Spring.
I bought it a year ago because it looked like a fun thing to have.
CNC & Lasers have pretty much killed off pin routers & for good reason (if you're after speed and "soulless" function)

[Edward Weber]

"if" both sides are the same,
I think the common leg profile should be made in a batch, (one wide board) then cut off to width one leg at a time. You would get a consistent result with less tool setup.

[Steve Demuth]

If I were going to try to make pieces that small and delicate with a router, I'd make my pattern an oversized negative, and then route the pieces in solid, 3/8" or so overthick, stock, with the the bit not going all the way through the stock. Cut the backing off on a bandsaw after routing, and finish up the edges with a rasp or file.

[Tom Bender]

Whiteside router bit ordered. $55. That smarts a bit. I will look at the spots where climb routing is required and leave those to hand work. The rest should work with the sandwich plan. Still have to test releasing the hot melt glue with heat.

This workpiece is not so delicate relative to the amount of material to be removed if I saw it within 1/16". And purpleheart is not pine.

Still, I may need to add a backer of something to control blowout on the router and on the band saw. Hardboard should work but then there's another layer of glue to release and clean up. I can start a little thick then sand to final thickness.

These pieces are 3/8" thick x 7.5" long

[Steve Demuth]

CA glue might be a better choice than hot-melt glue. It will heat release nicely, and is quite a bit easier to work with as far as getting your sandwich flat with uniform glue coverage.

[Dwayne Watt]

Hot melt glue can be released cleanly with denatured alcohol. Pour (or brush) a few drops on the glue joint, wait a minute and the bond releases. Repeat if not successful the first time. The glue will peel off perfectly.

[Tom Bender]

Some testing is in order

[Edward Weber]

I have to confess, I don't understand how you're planning on making these. From the replies I've read, it sounds more complicated than it need be.
Here is how I would do it.
I would start with a block as thick as each leg is wide, see photo.
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First I would cut the profile on the bandsaw. Then rip legs to width. A forstener bit would take care of the mating hinge area.

(if I had a larger block lying around, I would cut two profiles)

[Tom Bender]

Trying for more precision and a better surface than a band saw delivers. Yes a Forstner bit for the ID but the OD is not so easy.

Bit just arrived. It has a 1" cutting length so I should be able to make pairs.

This post is helping me plan thru it so thanks all for the replys.

[Edward Weber]

Can you post some photos of your method as you go. I'm still confused as to how you're planning on making them.
I urge against routing a thin leg such as these but that's just my two cents.
Not knowing what tools you have makes suggestions difficult.
Good luck with your project.

[jim gossage]

I have to confess, I don't understand how you're planning on making these. From the replies I've read, it sounds more complicated than it need be.
Here is how I would do it.
I would start with a block as thick as each leg is wide, see photo.
510685
First I would cut the profile on the bandsaw. Then rip legs to width. A forstener bit would take care of the mating hinge area.

(if I had a larger block lying around, I would cut two profiles)

I was thinking the same basic concept except use a thinner (less wide) block, cut out on the scroll saw, and then rip the legs to width. Won't make as many as above, but may allow for finer work.

[Rob Luter]

Toast Tweezers?

[Bradley Gray]

I think you need better band saw blades. Lennox 1/8 x 14 tpi 5 tooth pattern will leave a way better finish. I love using band saws. I dislike running routers. For me, pattern routing would take the joy out of it, if it is even possible.

I googled "toast tongs". Several hundred offerings averaging $.99 each.

[Bert McMahan]

I can't tell how big that inner radius is, but I'd think a robo-sander would be a safer way to do this than a router table for the long, thin parts: http://www.luthiersfriend.com/robosander/robosander.html

That won't work for the tiny indents, but it might get you there for most of the outer profile.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I was introduced to the Robo Sander at the mandolin factory. The Robo Sander can do things that a router can not, slowly and at the expense of lots of abrasive. This is a tough production problem. This thread has me thinking about stories I have heard about the guy who makes the Monkey Pipe with CNC. (the pipe is not my thing but his use of CNC is intriguing).