How would you shape this?

[Craig Zettle]

I have been commissioned to make 2 copies of this 100+ year old plant stand.

plant stand 2.jpg

The part that I need opinions on is the thick (5 inches square) curve on the lower third. I was thinking of gluing up a 6 inch or so block. and bandsawing the curves, then either rasping and hand sanding it smooth, but I am open to any other suggestions. I no longer have access to a drum sander, so that idea is out.
Any ideas?

[john whittaker]

Craig,
I'm not able to open up the attachment. Others might have the same problem.

[Don Baer]

What John said.

[Craig Zettle]

I think I got it.

[Don Baer]

Yes, I think the band saw would be your best option. Rasps to clean up followed by ROS.

[tod evans]

yup, bandsaw....02 tod

[Craig Zettle]

My biggest concern is being consistant on all 4 sides. Looking at it, it has tha appearance of a truly hand made piece of furniture, so I guess if I am off a little it won't be too bad.

[Frank Fusco]

Bandsaw or Neanderthal bow saw.

[john whittaker]

What Don & Tod said...:D

[Don Baer]

Craig,
Make a template for the contour. Then scrib/draw the shape onto all four sides. This should keep it pretty much the same.

[tod evans]

My biggest concern is being consistant on all 4 sides. Looking at it, it has tha appearance of a truly hand made piece of furniture, so I guess if I am off a little it won't be too bad.

craig, make a pattern follower for your bandsaw and use a pattern..that`ll get you pretty close except for the tight areas at the bottom...02 tod

[Craig Zettle]

A pattern follower? I'm pretty smart:D , so give me 1 or 2 clues, and I am good to go.

[tod evans]

use a stick, 1-2" wide as thick as your pattern, notch the stick to engulf the blade from the side, mount it on a block as thick or slightly thicker than your stock and secure it to the table so the notched stick is surrounding the blade front/left/rear open on right .....wait a min. i`ll make a quickie....tod

[tod evans]

here ya go, blade guard removed for ever...whoops for clarity:rolleyes:

43466

43467

43468

[Gail O'Rourke]

Hi Craig, I agree with the above- once you bandsaw off a side, consider taping it back on, so that when you turn it, you still have a flat edge for the table.

It's a pretty plant stand. I like it.

[Jim DeLaney]

What Gail said.

Use the bandsaw to cut the two oposing sides, then tape or hot glue the cut-offs back on and cut the other two sides. If you use a fine enough blade, there will be very little sanding to do.

Don't forget to post pics of the completed project!

[Craig Zettle]

Thanks guys, (you too Gail)! Now this is what this forum is REALLY all about!!!

Thanks Todd for the graphic details as I never would have "got it" on description alone.

[Alan Turner]

Craig,
I think this could be pattern shaped, although it would have to be done from both sides on each side (8 operations), and you would need at least a 3" head. Bandsaw it close, and then pattern shape it, and from there a cabinet scraper should get you home.

As to the stock, I would have to do a bit of math, but mitering together the four faces would eliminate the scarf line. I have not seen 5" cherry available, and would doubt its long term resistance to checking.

[Keith Christopher]

MDF ribs cut to shape, flexible plywood, then some nice veneer of your choice.

[Ben Grunow]

Is there such a thing as a 6" straight bit for a router/shaper? I would think that if you band sawed close to the line and then cleaned it up with a straght bit with bearing following a profile pattern you could eliminate a lot of hand work. Maybe some careful set up and a 3" long bit with one pass from each side (on the second pass the bearing rides on the cleaned up face from first pass). I guess this could be done with some very careful setup.

[Dino Makropoulos]

Another way is to make a carving dublicator for a grinder.
Or, a side by side dublicator for a router.
You can make any duplicator with wood.

Call me if you like to stop over (Edison NJ)
Bring some extra wood, just in case. :rolleyes:

[Craig Zettle]

You know Ben, I thought about that too, but my biggest flush trim bit is a 2" CMT. I even thought about taking the bearing off the tip, hyper extending it and using a bushing to guide it. There would be little room for error. BTW, I did not mention the customer wants them made out of curly maple(just to further compound the difficulty factor).

Dino, if I get desperate enough I just might show up at your doorstep!

[Dino Makropoulos]

Craig.
Looks to me like a large cove.???????????????????????????????????
Nothing like having the piece in front of you.
If the cove is symmetrical, the job is easier than we think.
Have fun.

[Ben Grunow]

Craig- do you have a bit with the bearing on top? You could combine a couple of passes with that with your bottom bearing bit and get it done. I would try this because the bearings will always be riding on an already smoothed surface. Might be worth investing in a couple of new longer bits (new tool? Hmm? Hmm?) to ease the work. Either way you will still have to set up carefully so the stock is always parallel to the table and stable enough to push by the bit several times. I might put some square pieces on the ends to ride on the table top (5" x 5" or whatever the largest width of the column is).

[Burt Waddell]

I think that the EZ Smart SRK as a duplicator would do a great job on this one. In using the duplicator function, you'd attach something to follow the pattern as the routers cuts the copy. Roughing it with a band saw could speed the process. Here is a link that will help: http://eurekazone.com/gallery/EZ-Duplicator

[Ben Grunow]

What did you do Craig? Don't leave us (me?) hanging any longer!

[Craig Zettle]

I had some walnut I wanted to use for the prototype before I use (or waste) the curly maple the customer wants. First I glued up the stock for the column, and as you can see I need some of those cawls you guys talk about!
43844

Next was the actual cutting method, so I took my pattern to the E16 and attempted to use Tod's pattern guide, and I royally screwed that up. I think the stock was just too heavy and akward for me to successfully guide it through. Anyway, I ended up pencilling the shape on the stock and freehanding it.

A lot of sanding later, and I think it looks close, but not entierly to spec. One reason is that I left some of the stock thicker than 3/4 because that is the way alot of the older stuff I've seen seems to be. Kind of gives it a stouter look, in my opinion.

43845

43846

BTW, the new walnut one is the one to the left, sorry if the pics do not make that obvious. The overall dimensions are a little off, but I tried to stick as close to the original as possible. Now its off to the lumber yard for some curly maple!

[Ben Grunow]

Looks great Craig, hopefully that prototype is for you to keep. THanks for the reply and pics. (I hope you have and OSS)