reamer

[Mark Hulette]

The advice about just following the taper on the blade is right on. But if you really want to geek out (and oh, do I), or if you are making a blade from scratch, you can use the formula length x 2tan(x/2), where x is the included angle, to find the difference in diameters on your cone. So, if you have a 10-inch blade, then 10 x 2(tan 3) = 1.048. Interestingly, these are not the numbers Jennie has in the article--she goes from 1 1/4 to 9/16, which is more like 4 degrees. Eli Bazarri's website says his reamers go from 1/14 to 5/16, which, assuming a 10-inch blade, would be about 5.4 degrees. That, or my math is wrong!
I corresponded with Tim Manney (on his blog) about a month ago, and he uses 1/16th thick blades for his reamers; he says the thicker blade helps a lot. They are also about 10 inches and go from 1 1/4 to 3/8.
Sorry for going all math nerd on everybody.

Geek away, Steve! Thanks for the info!

[Curtis Niedermier]

I'll probably use an old handsaw blade to make the blade for my reamer. So let's say I want to make a 6-degree taper. Does that mean there is a 6-degree difference from one edge to the other? Or does it mean that each side is 6 degrees from the center line? The second options looks more like the reamers I see sold on some of the chairmakers' websites.

[Sean Hughto]

I've made a few stools, and tried reaming, etc. For a shop stool, assuming you are making through tenons and wedging them, you don't need to mess with tapered mortises.

[Chris Vandiver]

Really nice stools Sean.

[Sean Hughto]

Thanks, Chris. Just a form explained well by Mr. Dunbar in a couple articles over the years - nothing original but my own minor turning or wood choices. I wasn't trying to show off the stools so much as show Curtis that I was speaking from experience and not just asserting something "I think."

[Curtis Niedermier]

Actually, that's really helpful Sean. I'm good at overcomplicating things and am still learning when and where to apply various types of joints.

Did you taper the stretcher tenons/mortises since they aren't through/wedged?

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Love those, Sean! As beautiful as the wood is, the red lacquer look really speaks to me. Did you turn the seat scoops on those?

[Sean Hughto]

The stretchers are under compression in this layout as the shoulder to shoulder length is a bit longer than the legs would dictate when dry fit, as per Dunbar. So, no, no taper there either.

[Sean Hughto]

Thanks, Joshua. The "red lacquer" is Salem Red "Old Fashioned" milk paint sanded and coated with BLO. I like it too. That was the first one I made, and I think the splay is a bit wide - interesting enough, though, it has held up very well. The design is forgiving, I guess.

Yeah, I turned everything, the seats, legs and stretchers.

[Steve Voigt]

I'll probably use an old handsaw blade to make the blade for my reamer. So let's say I want to make a 6-degree taper. Does that mean there is a 6-degree difference from one edge to the other? Or does it mean that each side is 6 degrees from the center line? The second options looks more like the reamers I see sold on some of the chairmakers' websites.

Six degrees total. 3 degrees each side from the center line. Draw it out and you'll see. Though, as I said above, I think most of these reamers are actually more like 5 degrees. I just had another look at Jennie's article; she states that "most compass blades have a taper between 1:10 and 1:12." Now, 1:10 is 5.7 degrees, 1:12 is 4.7 degrees. So, if those are the slopes she's going for, then she definitely prefers less than 6 degrees, regardless of what it says.

[Steve Voigt]

Beautiful work, Sean. I really like the milk paint. Have you ever tried the black and red thing, where the black wears through to expose the red?
I turned a bunch of green oak chair legs this fall; they are drying now. This experience confirmed to me that I suck at turning! Your turnings look really nice, on the other hand. You must have a good sized lathe to swing those seats!