In the past when making chairs I’ve carved the seats, drilled the holes for the legs, and assembled, in that order. I’m now making a three legged stool and I’m wondering if there is a downside to glueing up the assembly then carving the seat. What do you think?
FYI-I run the legs through the seat, glue a wedge in the top end, then pare and sand flush.
There are more old drunkards than old doctors. Ben Franklin
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I guess just trying to hold the whole assembly still while you carve. Especially if you have to move the blank to take advantage of grain direction. I would rather carve the seat at the bench rather than try to clamp the whole stool without banging up the legs or having to rig up some sort of special clamping jig. Just seems easier to work the parts rather than the whole.
J.P.
The points you make are all good ones. I guess I'm at the point in the project where I need to make myself slow down. As I mentioned, I've always carved the seat before assembling. Usually I carve before I drill out the leg holes. This time, building a stool, I've already drilled for the legs. I'll have to be careful I don't gauge out too much material near the holes.
Nice web site. Here's mine. http://www.LeBleuFurniture.com There are more old drunkards than old doctors. Ben Franklin
Very nice web site. I like the table with the birch top. Looks like flame birch, one of my favorites.I would be a little concerned with tearout around the holes but it is probably not that big of a deal. If you are concerned with getting too deep near the holes why not stick a temporary tenon in the hole and then you can scribe the depth on the tenon or cut it and no worries for tearout. J.P.http://www.jpkfinefurniture.com
I guess you can do it that way but in not being able to hold the seat blank firmly flat and have at it with a compass plane and travisher at a desireable height seems a lot to give up. Secondly I would say that the fact that you are carving hard wood ( maple, oak and in my case cherry) across the grain with those same tools makes the task more difficult. I completely form my seats and sand them before I drill for my legs. The legs come through the seat by about a half inch or so. I split and wedge and wait for the glue to set up. Then I saw off most of the protruding tennon with a coping saw or a flush cut saw being carefull not to cut into the seat. I flush it up with a carving chisle. Then I sand again. I would gess that is the way the vast majority of chair makers do it.Wicked Decent Woodworks
Rochester NH
" If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy........yessa!"
That's the way I've always done chair seats. I already drilled this stool seat so I could see how the shape would look with the legs attached. The top is sort of a rounded triangle shape. Kind of like a revolutionary war hat shape. With the seat temporarily attached it'll help me to figure out where to carve to soften the look and especially the feel.There are more old drunkards than old doctors. Ben Franklin
With a small seat like that, the symetry of the leg tennos would be very obvious even if the seat was painted.Wicked Decent Woodworks
Rochester NH
" If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy........yessa!"
The couple of stools I've made I first turned the bottom flat, drilled for the legs, then turned for the seat, legs turned and then assembled.
Legs were fox-wedged after dry-fitting.
My lathe allows me to turn a sixteen inch disc over the gap in the ways.
Mind, there are screw holes in the bottom of the seat from the lathe, as these were made for me, I don't care about them. I suppose if I were turning them for sale I'd plug them. One of these days I'll get a device that will hold things so you can turn them without screwing them down.
Stools were done in the Windsor fashion. Still holding up after about seven years or so.
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