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Thread: Lebus sideboard project - modifications

  1. #1
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    Lebus sideboard project - modifications

    I am excited to embark on the Lebus sideboard described by Nancy Hiller in PWW Nov. '17 and her English Arts and Crafts Furniture book. Lots of time with all these social distancing, and I've had some incredible QSWO just waiting for this piece. There is one detail however that I cannot produce. Every original and reproduction or adaptation piece I've seen has a turned foot on each leg. You can see them in the pic here. I do not have a lathe, do not have access to a lathe, and given the economic environment, I cannot buy a lathe. I was thinking about building a jig for the table saw and making a series of cuts on the leg blanks to generate an octagonal taper. I'm not sure that fits with the A&C design, but that is what I can achieve with what I have and what skillset I have. I am soliciting suggestions for a substitute leg design that fits the overall aesthetic and avoids the need for a lathe. Ideas?

    Nancys-Cabinet_02-copy.jpg

  2. #2
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    I can't see the leg detail clearly in that overall shot. Can you post a close-up?

  3. #3
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    Sure.

    Didn’t want to run afoul of copyright but this is from google.
    17E86AB9-7CB2-437C-BD91-49501D1B1E40.jpegIf

  4. #4
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    Without a lathe, what I'd do is to make the round button at the bottom as a separate piece. That would let me do the tapering with a handplane or a spokeshave. To do that, draw pencil lines at the top of the taper, and the circle you want on the bottom face of the post. Then use the hand plane to cut away what you don't need. This will take only a few minutes for each post. It may leave a slightly faceted appearance, which you can smooth out with the sander. Then I'd make the button. If you can get a white oak dowel of the correct diameter, saw a cookie off the end of the dowel. Actually, before you cut the cookie off the end, use a sander to round the edge, so you have half the rounding over complete. Then cut the cookie off. Drill a hole through the middle of the cookie. You're going to use that to screw the button to the end of the post. But before you do that, fasten the partially-rounded cookie to a stick, which will serve as a handle while you round over the other half of the button. If you can't find a pre-made dowel of the correct diameter, use your tablesaw to make an octagonal "dowel", and proceed as above.

  5. #5
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    I don't think the turned legs add that much to the over-all beauty of that piece. I personally think I would rather see small tapers on the inside of the legs. Keep us up-dated with pictures when you start this project. That will make a beautiful piece.
    Army Veteran 1968 - 1970
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  6. #6
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    I thought about a simple taper. That is a little too MCM to me (and we have many MCM pieces and they all tend to have the same sort of leg taper). I think the octagon is how I'll go, I was just curious what others thought.

    I appreciate Mr. Buxton's cookie idea. I am afraid I won't get consistent/identical legs with that strategy. With the jigs on the table saw, I have a better shot at that. It sucks, there's a community workshop not far from me and I know there are lathes, but with COVID, that's not an option I can use.



    Quote Originally Posted by Von Bickley View Post
    I don't think the turned legs add that much to the over-all beauty of that piece. I personally think I would rather see small tapers on the inside of the legs. Keep us up-dated with pictures when you start this project. That will make a beautiful piece.

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