Replies

1. 
   knuts | Dec 30, 2007 07:20pm | #1

   Make the legs first......everything else is easy!

   An old issue of Woodsmith has a nice plan with good tips. It may take me a while to find, if you need it.

   Joe

    

1. 
   dlb | Dec 31, 2007 10:46pm | #6

   Thanks for the offer. I have at my disposal 2 books which I think will help me - one by Vandal and the other by Greene.

   Thanks,

   dlb

   .

    The undisciplined life is not worth examining.

2. 
   chuckh | Dec 31, 2007 03:26am | #2

   I finished Vandal's tea table just before Thanksgiving.  I think he provides good background on all the projects in his book.  What more are you looking for?

   Sorry I don't have any photos of the finished project yet.  Here is one getting close to finished:

   http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff56/chuckh_2007/tea%20table/table-planes002.jpg

   Regards,

   -Chuck

1. 
   dlb | Dec 31, 2007 09:42pm | #3

   Thanks for the reply. I was most interested in any construction tips & history. I studied Vandal's chapter on leg construction and have just started reading Green's chapter on the same.

   What type of wood did you make your table from? It looks great! How many hours did construction take? Did you make full scale templates for the apron and leg cut outs?

   Thanks again,

   dlb

   .

    The undisciplined life is not worth examining.

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Dec 31, 2007 09:51pm | #4

   The legs are fairly easy using a template.  I really can't imagine not making one actually.  This will afford you the ability to get them all really close to being identical.  I would/will make a template for aprons as well.  I make mine out of 1/8" flat stock used for light drawer bottoms.

   I believe Mr. Vandal talks about that in the book or I may be thinking of another source I read.

   Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres

    

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

1. 
   dlb | Dec 31, 2007 10:44pm | #5

   Yesterday I drew on graph paper, to 1/2 scale, a cabriole leg and apron copied from Vandal's book. I now need to increase it to full scale and transfer that to 1/8" plywood. I will attempt to make a leg from pine, just to make on & to gain experience.

   The more I study the table and it's parts the more comfortable I get w/ the idea of making one and the more confidance I have that I can.

   Thanks again for the reply,

   dlb

   .

    The undisciplined life is not worth examining.

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Dec 31, 2007 11:07pm | #7

   When I made my template I started with a full size drawing on graph paper.  It was easier for me to break the leg down into sections, i.e. foot, ankle, calf, and the knee.  The hard part for me was getting them proportional to each other.  By doing the sections and connecting them together it was a lot easier.

   Once the freehand looked right, I then simply put carbon paper under it on the 1/8" template stock and traced onto the 1/8", then cut it on the BS.  Even then it required some smoothing with a 4 in hand file which is what I used to shape the resulting leg.

   I took the same approach you're going; I made one out of pine first.  Using Lonnir Birds article from this site to guide me through the whole process.  You will be amazed at how easy it turns out to be.  Getting them all to match is another challenge.

   Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres

    

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

2. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Dec 31, 2007 11:09pm | #8

   Ooops, forgot the pic!

   Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres

    

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

   
3. 
   chuckh | Jan 01, 2008 09:03pm | #11

   Bob,

   The leg looks real good, but, gee-wiz Bob, I don't know how to tell you this, you made it upside down! :-)

   -Chuck

    

4. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Jan 02, 2008 08:11pm | #12

   Chuck,

   Well I'll be.  You just solved my problem.  I was wondering why the case mortises and tenons didn't fit.  Guess I'll have to make the case upside down too!

   :-)

   Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres

    

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

5. 
   dlb | Dec 31, 2007 11:57pm | #9

   Thanks for the info. It is good to know that I am headed in the right direction. I will let you know how things progress. I am sure that I will have further questions.

   Thanks,

   dlb

   .

    The undisciplined life is not worth examining.

2. 
   chuckh | Jan 01, 2008 08:30pm | #10

   dlb,

   First of all, happy new year, and I'm sorry I couldn't reply sooner; busy day yesterday.

   My table is cherry and I built it over a seven week period - an hour here, 3 or 4 hours there, but I kept at it.  I couldn't say how many hours total.  I try to avoid power tools as much a possible (especially routers) without making myself crazy, so there is a learning curve to my projects.

   You definitely want to make full size templates, especially for the legs.  I have access to copy machines at work, so I just scale up the drawings that way.  It saves a lot of time, although redrawing by hand isn't that difficult.  If you have them scaled on a copier be sure to double check all the dimensions.  I found a couple of problems with the drawings in the book.  I use a spray adhesive to glue the paper pattern to a piece of 1/4" hardboard and cut it out on the bandsaw or with a saber saw.  Use a drum sander and files to get the template as perfect as possible.

   This was my second set of cabriole legs so I'm an expert at them ;-)  Really, they aren't as difficult as they first appear, but there are a few things to watch out for.

   Be sure your stock is perfectly square and slightly oversized.

   The two inside surfaces of the leg post are your reference surfaces.  Do not alter them in any way or you'll have a devil of a time getting your table square.

   When you saw out the shape of the legs, try to cut as close to the line as possible without crossing the line.  This will minimize the amount of final shaping and will help to keep the legs uniform.

   If you're wise you'll chop the mortises for your skirts before you saw out the legs - working from the inside edge of the post.  It will be much easier to support the blank on your bench.  By the way, I have yet to follow my own advice in this regard.

   I'm looking at your table as I write this and that is a beautiful project.  I love the deep sweep in those legs. 

   Good luck, have fun, and let me know if I can be of any more help.

   Regards,

   -Chuck 

   Okay, one other thing I forgot to mention:

   Here is a nice article about making cabriole legs, but he gives a real good explaination on the grain orientation of the stock when you layout the leg.  It's something you might not think about, but it makes a world of difference in appearance.  Whichever way you choose, keep them all the same.

   http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/fwnpdf/011191060.pdf       

   Edited 1/1/2008 12:46 pm ET by chuckh