Cabriole Leg - Step 1

[John Dykes]

My wife isn't a big fan of Art & Crafts \ Mission type stuff. Unfortunately, I don't have the skills or tools to go much beyond straight lines...

I recently bought a bandsaw, and am hoping to get proficient with cabriole legs (she loves the Queen Anne). What am I looking for as far as shaping tools go? I have a flat spokeshave - and that's it; no rasps or files.

What would be a starter set of shapes, styles, sizes, and (makers!) of shaping tools to learn cabriole leg shaping? Might be a good time to send some good book, method, or DVD suggestions my way too!

Single syllable words and simple sentence structure... I'm a slow learner.

Look for my follow-on post. "How do I get started making Cabriole Legs."

Thanks -

[Mike Henderson]

Your flat spokeshave will work fine - just make sure you're always going "down grain". But I would highly recommend some rasps - the Nicholson 49 and 50 are excellent to start with. A bit expensive - probably about $40 each - but for Queen Anne stuff, they're worth it. And compared to designer rasps, they're cheap. If you can't afford them, look at lower cost rasps at Home Depot - just don't get the extremely coarse ones - you want a medium one to start.

If you get one or more rasps, make sure to make handles for them so you don't wind up with the tang through your hand.

Good luck. Queen Anne is one of my favorite furniture styles - very clean and graceful.

Mike

[Pam Niedermayer]

You may want to take a look at Mack Headley's video (Art and Mystery of Cabinetmaking) on making a colonial game table. He uses all straight tools except for a few carving gouges to make the volute and designs. I don't see this for sale on the Colonial Williamsburg site, but maybe you could find it on ebay or Amazon.

Another very good video is Phil Lowe's.

Pam

[Robert Rozaieski]

I'm with Mike. Straight shave for the majority of the parts and a #49 & #50 for the tighter curves. If you can only get one of the rasps, get the #50. It will cut a little slower but the finish left behind will be a litle better than the #49, which is coarser but faster cutting. A file is nice to have as well for final finishing but sandpaper will work too.

Good luck! I love Queen Anne legs. They are a ton of fun to make.

[mike holden]

John,
This, to me, is simpler and easier, than straight stuff. The eye KNOWS straight and square, it does not KNOW curves. So, as long as the curve has no flat spots, it will look good.

Tip #1 - do all your joints BEFORE cutting the curves

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Tip #2 - make a template. When I took my first stepstool in for upholstery, the guy asked how I made the legs all the same, they arent, but they are close, the template makes that possible.

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Tip #3 - secure your work, and dont be afraid to move it around to get at it from different angles. (this is an older pic, I now find a Jet parallel clamp with the dog attachments easier)

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Tip #4 - you dont need many different gouges to carve the feet.

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Tip #5 - relax and enjoy it! This is fun!

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[Dewey Torres]

Nice example Mike Holden.

Thanks for sharing!

[Dave Anderson NH]

I like it Mike. Somehow none of my cabriole leg furniture has yet gotten around to using trifid feet. My last piece, the handkefchief table, used tiger maple like your project. Did you find it took 3 times as long in tiger maple as in other less finicky woods? I'm comparing against mahogany and walnut by the way.

[John Dykes]

Thanks all -

I've picked up the #49/#50 rasps - and read through quite a few resources.

I'll head over to HD later in the day searching for some cheap wood to practice on.

Mike, I hope I live long enough to gain a portion of your skill...

Again, thanks all - it's comforting to know I've got wiser hands guiding me.

[mike holden]

Dave,
Yes the tiger maple is very hard wood to carve. But it is in effort only, the wood "behaves" nicely.
Mike

[C Scott McDonald]

I use glued up popular as practice to the legs. It is cheap and shapes easy.

For some instruction take a look at this from Glen Huey

http://www.woodworkersedge.com/newreleases.htm#MosesBayleyHighChest

I got it and it is a awesome DVD. He goes step by step on how to make the cabrole leg.

Good luck,
Scott

[Adam Cherubini]

John,

I think you just need one rasp, either the 49 or the 50, not both. You also need a cabinet file. You can buy it at Highland Hardware and other places. You should also get a draw knife. Get the thinnest blade you can. I prefer the handles to be in line with the back. You'll need a spoke shave. I have old wooden shaves. I've never seen a metal shave that I liked, but there may be some good ones out there. Lastly, a really sharp 1" chisel, and a few shallow gouges are all that is required.

I would learn on bass wood. Don't waste your time shaping fir or pine. It's just not similar enough to the walnut or mahogany. Of all of the woods I've practiced on, mahogany is by far the easiest to work.

The Feb issue of PW will have an article on carving ball and claw legs that you shouldn't miss. The carver featured is the guy the Philadelphia Museum of Art uses to duplicate and repair 18th c furniture.

Adam