I’m cutting some gooseneck mouldings for an 18th century highboy. The mouldings are basically S shaped. (see image) As you might be able to tell things went OK until I got to the 3rd section. Gouges are not a good thing. I’m not sure why I did not think about this before I started the cut. I guess I was so absorbed with doing this safely and keeping my hands away from the cutter that I didn’t even think about the grain. Big mistake. The shaper attempted to throw the piece down table…but I had a tight grip on the handles. (see image)
Anyway…I’m not sure what the solution to this is. I read Lonnie Bird’s book on making period furniture where he describes how to do exactly what I’m doing. He makes no mention of the obvious grain problem. Specifically…the problem is that (see 1st image) I can cut 2 sections of the moulding w/o incident…but in the 3rd section the cutterhead is cutting directly into the teeth of the grain.(not good)
So how do I layout the S shaped moulding to avoid this problem. See 2nd diagram. It doesn’t make any difference which way I rotate the cutterhead…in one of the moulding sections the head will always be cutting into the grain.
Any ideas? (Please…please…please don’t tell me I have to hand carve it)
Jim
Replies
This is one of the issues when doing curved work. Having a variety of different size rub collars can help you reduce the depth of cut and take incremental cuts. A starting pin on the shaper can aid in controlling the work piece. You can dampen the stock to help with tearout. In some cases, you may have to climb cut but climb cutting is not just going with the rotation, you have to nibble from one end so there is no material left behind the cutter, which will grab and shoot the piece across the room. Shaper technique is also important, knowing where to start and stop. There are also times when the cutter gets turned up side down and the rotation is reversed. Its a good idea to use a guard on all operations.
All of the above
Hammer mentioned just about everything that can be done in this situation. What I fall back on is to do it in tiny increments. Start with the shaper blade raised very high, and come down 1/8" on each pass until you get there. Alternatively, if the bearing isn't in position to handle that, then you'll need a set of very incremental rub collars. You can improvise them from PVC tubing, or anything else you've got around; only the last one needs to be a perfect bearing surface.
stock sizing
Ditto everything Hammer and Ring suggested ! But when I have something like this I extend the length of the stock by a good 4"-5" or more on both ends so that I'm not cutting directly into the Butt end of a board, and then trim to size. Sure reduces the chance of a very nasty kick-back.
Nature of the Beast
The presence of gooseneck moldings on a piece of furniture indicates the skill level of the maker. They are hard to do, and should be. If they were easy, Ikea would have them everywhere.
But, they still need to be made. I use an offset fixed bearing point in place of a rub bearing under the cutter. Lets say your ball bearing collar is 3" in diameter. Make your offset fence 5" in diameter, 180 degrees, on the end of a 5" wide by 18" long 3/4" plywood. Bore the hole for the cutter spindle off center, towards the curved end of the bearing point . Clamp and fasten to the shaper table.
At its closest, this fixed bearing point is just where you want it - depth of cut wise. This should be in the center of your 180 degree arc. At 90 degrees away from the center/closest point, your cutter will be 1" away from the final depth. The first passes will be at just less than an inch - or whatever is acually needed for your parts, and a light cut is mande, keeping (by trusty eye) the part on the same part of the fixed bearing point.
Next pass is a bit further along the curve - closer to the final placement. This allows you to nibble away at the profile in the trouble spots and go more aggressively in the easy bits. By adjusting where you run your part, you control the cut and the depth and the risk of blowing out grain. After a few dry runs, you can easily visualize a smooth, secure path and how you flow your template on the offset fence for maximum ease and control.
Another thing the long bearing point surface does is allow you to get on the bearing point with the template before the cutter engages any wood, so the part is not , er, rejected. A starting pin is also recommended to get the jig - any jig - onto the bearing point.
Dave Sochar
acornwoodworks.com
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled