Ways to texture the edge of shelving/corbels?

[Alan DuBoff]

I need to get some shelving up in my office, which shares it's space with my hand tool area.

I don't want to add cabinets on the walls, but would rather use shelving, and trying to think of ways I could texture the edge using hand tools. I have a few molding planes, and could do something simple like that to cut a profile for the edge, but have been thinking that it might be possible to use either a drawknife or shaves to help assist in this effort.

Anybody have any good ideas on how to change the profile of the edge so the shelving has some attractive quality, or a way to use other tools to accomplish this task?

I am planning to use hard maple for the shelving, with some type of corbels to hold the shelves up. I'm open to ideas where a simple profile is cut to the bottom of the shelving edge, and some decorative touch put on the corbel itself, but have not done much carving and don't want to get too bogged down with that in a new project.

Something as simple as a profile on the shelving edge and profile along the side of the corbels might work, but I'm looking for something to break up the sharp edges, or ease them for the eye...I may try to do some scrolls on the corbels, that might be a way to carve something simple that would add a nice touch.

I don't find too much when searching for shelving...

Ideas welcome!

[Johnny Kleso]

I think Flutes or Beads would liik nice...

[Bill Houghton]

you need to think mostly about the effect you want. You mentioned the use of a drawknife - if you decide on the "hayrake" chamfering of some of the Cotswolds furniture (Barnsley? Gimson? can't remember, and I'm at work), then a drawknife would be ideal. This would work only with heavy stock - 2x shelves and corbels - and bold, simple shapes on the corbels, like you'd find in a barn.

If you're after simplicity, then maybe a mild chamfer on top and bottom of the shelves done with a plane and a matching chamfering on the corbels with a spokeshave. This lets you mess around with a spokeshave, always fun.

I agree with Johnny K. that flutes or beads on the shelves would be nice; harder on corbels, if they've got any curves, but a scratch stock (if hardwood) should get you there. I'm not altogether convinced that you should aim for exactly the same effect on both - after all, they're different shapes, an edge with thickness for the shelves vs. an arris (meeting of two planes) for the corbels, unless your corbels are the same thickness as the shelves. If the corbels have thickness, like 2x or thicker, then a complementary corner detail to the edge detail of the shelves.

You could, of course, just go crazy and do random carving on each...but it sounds like that's not what you're after.

[Alan DuBoff]

Johnny,

Yes, those have been under consideration, but was wanting to do something a bit different. But whatever I do, flutes and beads on the corbels could work, and even beading across the front of the shelving.

Bill,

I was looking for suggestions, and don't have anything specific in mind. Although I must admit to looking at designing a corbel that was shaped like a C Clef (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clef#The_alto_clef), with the shelf in the center. It might work to have corbels like that, and just do some type of beading to the front of the shelf.

I didn't have any real solid ideas for the drawknife or shaves, but was thinking they might work to scallop the edge somehow. I'm not sure I am looking for a scalloped effect, but was interested in using shaves, I enjoy they way they work. I used a shave to chamfer my saw handle recently on the bottom of the cheeks, and it worked surprisingly well for that. I didn't even sand it after shaving, as it gave such a nice cut.

[Jim Koepke]

If you run a bead the same size as a gouge, it is easy to turn the bead in to little half balls.

Make a cut on the bead with the gouge one way, turn it around and make a cut the other way. Remove the cut material and repeat. It is fast to do the cuts all one way, then come back and do them the other. Also, they can be spaced out to make balloons. I have done this on a tool box to put my initials on it in morse code.

jim

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[Alan DuBoff]

Jim,

You don't have a pic of that, do you? I'm not sure I understand what your describing. Do you mean to finish off the half ball with the gouge?

[David Keller NC]

"Do you mean to finish off the half ball with the gouge?"

Alan - There's a pretty good pictorial description of how to do this in Frederick Wilbur's "Carving Architectural Detail in Wood". If you think you'd like to do any carving at all, it's worth buying this book (it's cheap - it's still in print).

Regarding producing profiles on the edges of your shelving and corbels - this might be an excellent excuse to buy the L-N #66 beading tool, which of course will do considerably more than just beads, and will work on shallow curves.

[Alan DuBoff]

"Do you mean to finish off the half ball with the gouge?"

Alan - There's a pretty good pictorial description of how to do this in Frederick Wilbur's "Carving Architectural Detail in Wood". If you think you'd like to do any carving at all, it's worth buying this book (it's cheap - it's still in print).

Regarding producing profiles on the edges of your shelving and corbels - this might be an excellent excuse to buy the L-N #66 beading tool, which of course will do considerably more than just beads, and will work on shallow curves.Thatś not a bad idea, both the book and beading tool...although I might try making my own scratch stock, not sure. I have a week or two to decide, will be doing this over the holiday break I´ll get.

That beading tool does look nice, I´ve been eyeing it for a while, just haven´t been able to justify it yet.

[Danny Thompson]

Scrub plane; uneven concave tracks, lengthwise.

[Jim Paulson]

Hi,

Many good ideas have been offered. I haven't been on this site in awhile. Alan, you might want to check out chip carving techniques published by Wayne Barton. I have several of his books and I made some corbels with approximately 2" stock where I added facets and diamond shaped cuts on the edges. Mine were not curved like a C clef, but angled straight like a brace. I don't have a picture handy, but suffice it to say it made a nice shelf unit on our wall. You do it all with a sharp knife. I'd recommend using basswood or pine for the corbels if you wanted to try this technique. On the angled faces, I carved tulips which is a traditional motif for chip carvers.

Food for thought.
Regards,
Jim

[Alan DuBoff]

Jim,

I will check Barton's techniques.

I will be using maple for the corbels, mainly because I have a lot of hard maple...:rolleyes:

I have a few gouges, not a huge selection, but a few that I could do some carving with. I will try at this C Clef idea with some maple to see how it goes.

I was thinking of laminating 3 layers of 4/4, which has been drum sanded on 2 sides to 13/16". That's how I bought it. That will give me about 2.5" thick corbels. I'll use a sheet of 4/4 for the shelf. I don't know if I can prototype one this weekend or not, but may try. I plan to do most of the work when I'm off on break between Xmas and New Years.

[Jim Koepke]

Sorry it took so long to get the pics up.
I have been spending more time in the shop and taking care of many other things.

These are of one of my tool totes. The bead was made using a Stanley 45, but a scratch stock could do the same. Then a gouge the same size as the bead was used to create valleys between what became half balls. This was in an old FWW mag.

This was the first or second time I tried doing this. The wood is a recycled piece of pine.

jim

[Alan DuBoff]

Jim,

I like the effect! I understand what you mean now, and that could lend itself to this project, most certainly. Looks like if I do that, I would use a router plan to remove the stock between the raised portions (i.e., half balls as you refer to).

This could work on the front edge of the shelf possibly, or even on the corbels. Thanks for posting the pics Jim!

[Jim Koepke]

I just picked the plane area off with a chisel.

A router plane would also work.

One could knock down the sides or even make a double row.

A sharp gouge is important.

Endless possibilities.

Having fun making something that will be enjoyed for a long time is priceless.

jim

[David Keller NC]

"Looks like if I do that, I would use a router plan to remove the stock between the raised portions (i.e., half balls as you refer to)."

Alan - I think you'd find that to be a lot more trouble than it's worth. What's typically done in bead work is to use a molding plane to profile the edge into an astragal (the half-round profile of the uncarved edge), then you cut the beads with a gouge. Usually the gouge is about a number 8 or so sweep (Swiss system), with the width of the gouge selected to match the diameter of the beads.

There's a very good book that's cheap and describes this pictorially - Fredrick Wilbur's "Carving Architectural Detail in Wood: The Classical Tradition". I believe that Dick Onian's book has a similar pictorial description, but I can't find it at the moment so I can't confirm.