Joe, I've basically been in the same boat as you. Wanting to get into making chairs with round tapered legs but don't own a lathe and probably won't for some time. I had some split ash from a tree that was cut down behind our apartment that had dried beautifully and used this for some legs on a perch stool. I decided to make some round legs with nothing more than drawknives and spokeshaves. This ended up taking some time but was so much fun. Basically just make the tapered shape you're after, make an octagon, hexagon, etc until it is basically round. I left the legs slightly faceted but the only way you can tell is by running your hands on the piece. Visually they look perfectly round.
Chair Stretcher.jpg Ash legs finished.jpg Boggs Shave.jpg Perch Stool Legs.jpg Stool.jpg