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Thread: How would you approach this table leg

  1. #1
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    How would you approach this table leg

    Hi All

    Im hoping to leverage the collective knowledge here on the creek for my upcoming project. First some background - I am starting to build a coffee table and two end tables, design originally developed by David Marks, the tables include AMAZING waterfall Bubinga veneer panels wrapped in a maple apron with maple legs. The leg profiles are what I am struggling to understand how to make, below are some pictures from the plan that I ordered from the Marks website, the pics show the top profile of the legs: (cropped to avoid any copyright issues)


    IMG_4020.jpgIMG_4019.jpg

    The specific thing I am struggling to figure out is "how" I can put the rounded profile on the outside of the legs? These legs have a curved taper (from top to bottom) on the outside edge as well. For the curved taper I plan to build a sled with the profile and register the legs on the inside square side with stop blocks and hold down clamps. But for the rounded portion on the two outside edges I am stumped on how to make this consistently for 12 legs... please note that I am simply incapable skill wise to use hand planes for these and not to mention I am 100% sure I could never do it consistently on all 12 legs. I have all major and minor power tools so dont let tool selection limit your suggestions.

    Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    TomD

  2. #2
    They don't have to be perfectly consistent, they just have to look good. Rough them out on the bandsaw, then finish with a rasp.

  3. #3
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    I agree with Doug...the final rounded/eased profile goes on the legs using hand-tool methods, such as rasps, spokeshaves, etc. If you don't have the latter, getting it close with the bandsaw and rasp first and then working with sanding will also get you there. It's not something you're going to do easily with machinery to final form unless you have a CNC and 3D modeling experience.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  4. #4
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    Make a scraper to match the out side curve.

  5. #5
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    You could remove limited amounts of material on your table saw and then shape further as others suggest above.
    Rustic? Well, no. That was not my intention!

  6. #6
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    Start by making a tapered leg with flat faces. Make the dimensions of leg a bit larger than the tips of those curves. On the top and bottom ends draw those rectangles-with-two-curved-edges. Clamp the leg from the ends, so you can freely run a handplane the length of the leg. Make a few strokes with the plane, and look at the ends to see how close to the line you've come. Repeat as necessary. Then rotate the leg and do the next curved face. When you're done with the planing, the curved faces will have facets on them. Smooth them out with a power planer.

    It really is that simple. I could make those curves in a couple of minutes, and I'm not a hand tool junky. I just use hand tools when they're the best tool for the job, and this is a good example.

    Yeah, yeah, you said in the original post that you're incompetent with a handplane. Well, learn. This is good task to add that skill set to your woodworking quiver.

  7. #7
    You would be surprised how much variance you can get away with as long as everything looks smooth. I would strike lines to show my limits, then go at it with a sander.

  8. #8
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    Come to the woodworkers' guild Feb. 6 & enlist one of the hand plane aficionados to help you get started on shaping the profiles. In the end, the legs won't be identical, but no one (not even you, after a while) will notice.
    -- Jim

    Use the right tool for the job.

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    I'd probably scribe the template onto the end grain of the leg, then trim to the line with a TS, plane and sander.

    ETA: Just saw you said you can't use a plane. What seems to be the problem?

  10. #10
    This video shows how it can be done

    https://youtu.be/F8JGmPW6o_k

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Jamie Buxton View Post
    Start by making a tapered leg with flat faces. Make the dimensions of leg a bit larger than the tips of those curves. On the top and bottom ends draw those rectangles-with-two-curved-edges. Clamp the leg from the ends, so you can freely run a handplane the length of the leg. Make a few strokes with the plane, and look at the ends to see how close to the line you've come. Repeat as necessary. Then rotate the leg and do the next curved face. When you're done with the planing, the curved faces will have facets on them. Smooth them out with a power planer.

    It really is that simple. I could make those curves in a couple of minutes, and I'm not a hand tool junky. I just use hand tools when they're the best tool for the job, and this is a good example.

    Yeah, yeah, you said in the original post that you're incompetent with a handplane. Well, learn. This is good task to add that skill set to your woodworking quiver.
    Lotsa ways to skin this cat. Don't sweat it.
    * Personally, I agree with Jamie on both approach and in his point about using this as a skillbuilder. (Though I would use a spokeshave, since the leg tapers too.) I "got into" hand tools because a cheap Little Victor type handplane let me fit a drawer in a bench that my machines didnt.
    * But you dont have to do that for this project, if you just don't want to. Do everything Jamie suggested, but when it comes time to use the handplane, use a rasp, a file and a sandpaper block to shape the leg. Same approach, different wood removal method.
    * Johnnie suggested a sander instead of a rasp - maybe that's what will suit you best. There isnt a right or wrong approach here Tom.

    Whichever approach you use, practice on some scrap wood to get it down pat before using your project wood. Any of the hand-based methods suggested here may take you longer than running the legs through a machine, because you dont yet have hand tool skills. But factor-in the time to design/fabricate/calibrate your jig too - the jig provides consistency (that no one but you will see), but it does take time and then storage space. Also, somehow, I get a lot of pleasure from shaping table legs with hand methods. Maybe you would too?

    Hope you'll post some pictures of your build as you go along!
    Fred
    Last edited by Frederick Skelly; 01-23-2019 at 7:23 AM.
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arne Fallen View Post
    This video shows how it can be done

    https://youtu.be/F8JGmPW6o_k

    That is essentially how I would do it - except I would use a longer hand plane (such as a #5): faster and more accurate. The block plane is going to tear out in anything but the straightest grain, and cannot plane as straight.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jamie Buxton View Post
    Smooth them out with a power planer.
    Wouldn't a power planer make the facets worse. A power sander or hand sanding is all you need.
    Lee Schierer
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  14. #14
    If I were too averse to a hand plane or the grain is worrisome, then I would tackle it by first, bulk material removal with a rasp or coarse sandpaper, finish using a custom profiled scraper.

  15. #15
    That's a gentle enough curve to handle with a good rasp.

    Rasps are easy to learn to use. Just buy a quality one.

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