I've started on a stereo cabinet in a southwestern style with rope carved
sections on each of the four legs, about 12-13 inches worth. Can anyone
offer some advice or sources of information? I've googled and checked my
personal and local libraries, but there's not a lot available. I've done a
little carving and have about 5 chisels, but this will need to look well
finished, closer to machine-turned than hand carved. Thanks in advance,
Bob
--
Failure is not an option
But it is a possibility
check out legacywoodworking.com
I got their DVD demo while at the WW show in CA 2 weeks ago. Awesome.
It will do roping and lots of other cool stuff, if your wallet can
handle the price of admission. There are about 5 models. From almost
affordable to about $5k IIRC.
dave
Bob Schmall wrote:
> I've started on a stereo cabinet in a southwestern style with rope carved
> sections on each of the four legs, about 12-13 inches worth. Can anyone
> offer some advice or sources of information? I've googled and checked my
> personal and local libraries, but there's not a lot available. I've done a
> little carving and have about 5 chisels, but this will need to look well
> finished, closer to machine-turned than hand carved. Thanks in advance,
> Bob
>
"@sbc(nospam)global.net" <""Nobody\"@sbc(nospam)global.net"> wrote in
message news:[email protected]...
> Try here
> http://www.rockler.com/ecom7/product_details.cfm?sku=1196&filter=23929
Thanks, but these legs are 2" wide x 12-13" long.
> Bob Schmall wrote:
> > I've started on a stereo cabinet in a southwestern style with rope
carved
> > sections on each of the four legs, about 12-13 inches worth. Can anyone
> > offer some advice or sources of information? I've googled and checked my
> > personal and local libraries, but there's not a lot available. I've done
a
> > little carving and have about 5 chisels, but this will need to look well
> > finished, closer to machine-turned than hand carved. Thanks in advance,
> > Bob
> >
>
But, Bob, after the next project, the amortized cost per leg will be a
mere $625! two projects after that; a paltry $312.50/leg. And think how
much fun it will be to have one of those bad boys in your shop. You
most likely will be the first on your block to own one! sigh...if only
I were made of money...
dave
Bob Schmall wrote:
> "Bay Area Dave" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:%[email protected]...
>
>>check out legacywoodworking.com
>>
>>I got their DVD demo while at the WW show in CA 2 weeks ago. Awesome.
>>It will do roping and lots of other cool stuff, if your wallet can
>>handle the price of admission. There are about 5 models. From almost
>>affordable to about $5k IIRC.
>
>
> Let's see....
> Hmmm, that works out to at least $1,250 per leg. It's real nice wood, but...
>
> Bob
>
>
"Bob Schmall" <[email protected]> writes:
>David, I AM made of money, but it's all pennies.
hey... don't knock it... I'd be worth $65,317.30.
;)
--
be safe.
flip
Verso l'esterno! Verso l'esterno! Deamons di ignoranza.
Remove origin of the word spam from address to reply
"Bob Schmall" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Thanks, Mike. I printed it out. Actually I was fooling around last night
> after posting the message and tried something like what you suggest. My
> neandersawing technique needs work, but carving the half rounds produced
> something almost decent.
I did some rope carving for a SW hall table, and the source I found
invaluable is the book _Spanish Colonial Furniture_ by A.D. Williams.
He gives an illustrated description of layout and cutting by hand.
I haven't looked at Mike's site yet, but Williams' technique
involves dividing the legs into equal sections, laying out diagonals,
connecting those diagonals so they "candycane" up the leg, sawing to
depth at the diagonals, and then using chisels, rasps and whatever you
have on hand to smooth out and soften the curves.
It is very time/labor-intensive, but was quite a bit of fun.
You can see pics on my website:
http://www.swt.edu/~cv01/swtable3.jpg
Chuck Vance
"Bob Schmall" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> I've started on a stereo cabinet in a southwestern style with rope carved
> sections on each of the four legs, about 12-13 inches worth. Can anyone
> offer some advice or sources of information? I've googled and checked my
> personal and local libraries, but there's not a lot available. I've done a
> little carving and have about 5 chisels, but this will need to look well
> finished, closer to machine-turned than hand carved. Thanks in advance,
> Bob
Mike dunbar's book woodturnig for cabinetmakers has a good bit on
this. It seemed like a challenge so I gave it a try just for kicks. It
turned out to be much easier than it looked. You would be surprised
how uniform hand work of this kind can look. Give it a try on some
scrap before you go investing a ton of money on something you might
not really need.
Bob Schmall wrote:
> I've started on a stereo cabinet in a southwestern style with rope carved
> sections on each of the four legs, about 12-13 inches worth. Can anyone
> offer some advice or sources of information? I've googled and checked my
> personal and local libraries, but there's not a lot available. I've done a
> little carving and have about 5 chisels, but this will need to look well
> finished, closer to machine-turned than hand carved. Thanks in advance,
> Bob
>
Guy that I know that does rope carving does it by using a jig mounted
to the lath. The jig holds a router and he turns the lathe slowly while
moving the router down the length of the piece
"Conan the Librarian" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Bob Schmall" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
>
> > Thanks, Mike. I printed it out. Actually I was fooling around last night
> > after posting the message and tried something like what you suggest. My
> > neandersawing technique needs work, but carving the half rounds produced
> > something almost decent.
>
> I did some rope carving for a SW hall table, and the source I found
> invaluable is the book _Spanish Colonial Furniture_ by A.D. Williams.
> He gives an illustrated description of layout and cutting by hand.
>
> I haven't looked at Mike's site yet, but Williams' technique
> involves dividing the legs into equal sections, laying out diagonals,
> connecting those diagonals so they "candycane" up the leg, sawing to
> depth at the diagonals, and then using chisels, rasps and whatever you
> have on hand to smooth out and soften the curves.
>
> It is very time/labor-intensive, but was quite a bit of fun.
>
> You can see pics on my website:
> http://www.swt.edu/~cv01/swtable3.jpg
>
>
> Chuck Vance
Whoa! You been peekin' at my plans, Vance? The base of the stereo cabinet
will have legs very similar to those. Thanks for the input. Now all I need
to decide is whether to use a half-round or just a standard curved chisel.
Bob
"Bay Area Dave" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:%[email protected]...
> check out legacywoodworking.com
>
> I got their DVD demo while at the WW show in CA 2 weeks ago. Awesome.
> It will do roping and lots of other cool stuff, if your wallet can
> handle the price of admission. There are about 5 models. From almost
> affordable to about $5k IIRC.
Let's see....
Hmmm, that works out to at least $1,250 per leg. It's real nice wood, but...
Bob
I have put a sketch on ABPW showing how I would do it . It can be done using
a saw and rasps if necessary ,carving tools would be preferred but
certainly not necessary...mjh
--
mike hide
"Bob Schmall" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've started on a stereo cabinet in a southwestern style with rope carved
> sections on each of the four legs, about 12-13 inches worth. Can anyone
> offer some advice or sources of information? I've googled and checked my
> personal and local libraries, but there's not a lot available. I've done a
> little carving and have about 5 chisels, but this will need to look well
> finished, closer to machine-turned than hand carved. Thanks in advance,
> Bob
>
> --
> Failure is not an option
> But it is a possibility
>
>
"Mike Hide" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:nUtub.39861$Dw6.181930@attbi_s02...
> I would suggest a curved one instead of the half round . If you use a half
> round remember one part of the cut will be with the grain the other
against
> it .However sharp the gouge there will inevitably be some tearout.
>
> Using the curved gouge you can alternate the cutting direction so you
always
> cut with the grain . Sometimes for final accurate cleanup I make a scraper
> out of scrap metal . I this case I would a scraper with the shape of the
> intersection of two half rounds [like a vee but with curved sides if you
get
> my drift ] with this type of scraper you can do both sides of the rope
> carving and manipulate it so you are always scraping with the grain
....just
> a thought.
>
> --
> mike hide
And another set of thank yous goes out to Mr. Hide, with oak leaf clusters.
Bob
Bob Schmall wrote:
> Whoa! You been peekin' at my plans, Vance? The base of the stereo cabinet
> will have legs very similar to those. Thanks for the input. Now all I need
> to decide is whether to use a half-round or just a standard curved chisel.
You're welcome, Bahb. Mike has already given you good info on the
tools of choice (especially the idea of using a custom scraper; I wish I
had done that early on in the process). I'll just mention how I went
about it. I used left and right skew chisels (I re-shaped them from
standard yellow-handled Stanleys) to create the V shapes/meet up with
the saw cuts on the faces. As Mike said, you *will* wind up going
against the grain, but the skews helped minimize chipout (a *real*
problem on pine, btw).
Once you get the face grooves cut, you need to make the transitions
around the corners. I played around with various chisels and gouges,
and had the best success with matched left/right skew spoon gouges. But
even that left some rough areas. What I did after that was take some
small needle-files to clean up those areas. (In retrospect, a scraper
would have been even better.)
This is hard to put into words, but, in general, I found that you
will not have much luck at all if you try to approach those wraparounds
by going down the center of the groove (unless you are using a scraper,
and even then it might be a bit iffy). You will want to approach
everything from the face of the work towards the center of the groove;
always skewed and alternating working from either side towards the corner.
It's tedious work, but well worth it, IMHO (assuming that's the look
you're after). It also taught me more about grain direction change than
all of my previous flat projects combined. :-}
BTW, do try to get your hands on that book I mentioned before (A.D.
Williams' book). It's got a bunch of nice SW-style projects with pretty
detailed drawings, plus some photos, and some excellent descriptions of
carving techniques. Sadly, I don't expect it is still in print, but you
might be able to get it via ILL.
Chuck Vance
Bob Schmall wrote:
> Thankee, Chuck. I peeked into the book section at Woodcraft yesterday and
> found nothing on rope carving except a brief mention that duplicated what
> has been said here. The Williams book wasn't there, of course, but I'll
> google it. Anything on southwest furniture is welcome here. BTW, if you want
> some inspiration, get the catalog of Earnest Thompson Furniture out of
> Albuquerque.Gorgeous stuff, and the finishes are amazing. We stopped there
> last month while on vacation.
I checked out their website, and it does look like great stuff.
Certainly a lot more refined than the stuff we find around here
advertised as SW-style. (A lot of which looks like someone built the
project and then took an ice-pick and chains to it and then dragged it
behind their pickup to make it look "distressed". Oh wait ... they
probably did.)
I also checked on the book by Williams, and unfortunately, it is
out-of-print, and it looks like used copies are going for roughly $70.
Yikes, I dunno if it's *that* good. Anyhow, if you need more info on
the technique he describes, let me know. I might be able to get you a
"personal-use copy". (But it will probably be after Thanksgiving, as
we're heading down to Mexico (San Miguel de Allende) for a week. *neener*)
Chuck Vance
Bay Area Dave wrote:
> check out legacywoodworking.com
>
> I got their DVD demo while at the WW show in CA 2 weeks ago. Awesome.
> It will do roping and lots of other cool stuff, if your wallet can
> handle the price of admission. There are about 5 models. From almost
> affordable to about $5k IIRC.
>
> dave
>
> Bob Schmall wrote:
>
>> I've started on a stereo cabinet in a southwestern style with rope carved
>> sections on each of the four legs, about 12-13 inches worth. Can anyone
>> offer some advice or sources of information? I've googled and checked my
>> personal and local libraries, but there's not a lot available. I've
>> done a
>> little carving and have about 5 chisels, but this will need to look well
>> finished, closer to machine-turned than hand carved. Thanks in advance,
>> Bob
>>
>
I ordered that CD online. It is truly impressive what can be done with
that system. After getting over a little sticker shock at the price of
the unit I really liked (Porsches and Corvettes give me sticker shock as
well...), I had a minor sticker shock relapse when I realized the cost
of all the router bits which would be required to fully support the
machine's capabilities.
Now it is time for some hard choices...do I get a new upscale wood lathe
, or one of those Legacywoodworking machines....so many toys...so little
time!
Tim
"Conan The Librarian" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Bob Schmall wrote:
>
> > Whoa! You been peekin' at my plans, Vance? The base of the stereo
cabinet
> > will have legs very similar to those. Thanks for the input. Now all I
need
> > to decide is whether to use a half-round or just a standard curved
chisel.
>
> You're welcome, Bahb. Mike has already given you good info on the
> tools of choice (especially the idea of using a custom scraper; I wish I
> had done that early on in the process). I'll just mention how I went
> about it. I used left and right skew chisels (I re-shaped them from
> standard yellow-handled Stanleys) to create the V shapes/meet up with
> the saw cuts on the faces. As Mike said, you *will* wind up going
> against the grain, but the skews helped minimize chipout (a *real*
> problem on pine, btw).
>
> Once you get the face grooves cut, you need to make the transitions
> around the corners. I played around with various chisels and gouges,
> and had the best success with matched left/right skew spoon gouges. But
> even that left some rough areas. What I did after that was take some
> small needle-files to clean up those areas. (In retrospect, a scraper
> would have been even better.)
>
> This is hard to put into words, but, in general, I found that you
> will not have much luck at all if you try to approach those wraparounds
> by going down the center of the groove (unless you are using a scraper,
> and even then it might be a bit iffy). You will want to approach
> everything from the face of the work towards the center of the groove;
> always skewed and alternating working from either side towards the corner.
>
> It's tedious work, but well worth it, IMHO (assuming that's the look
> you're after). It also taught me more about grain direction change than
> all of my previous flat projects combined. :-}
>
> BTW, do try to get your hands on that book I mentioned before (A.D.
> Williams' book). It's got a bunch of nice SW-style projects with pretty
> detailed drawings, plus some photos, and some excellent descriptions of
> carving techniques. Sadly, I don't expect it is still in print, but you
> might be able to get it via ILL.
>
>
> Chuck Vance
Thankee, Chuck. I peeked into the book section at Woodcraft yesterday and
found nothing on rope carving except a brief mention that duplicated what
has been said here. The Williams book wasn't there, of course, but I'll
google it. Anything on southwest furniture is welcome here. BTW, if you want
some inspiration, get the catalog of Earnest Thompson Furniture out of
Albuquerque.Gorgeous stuff, and the finishes are amazing. We stopped there
last month while on vacation.
Bob
>
I would suggest a curved one instead of the half round . If you use a half
round remember one part of the cut will be with the grain the other against
it .However sharp the gouge there will inevitably be some tearout.
Using the curved gouge you can alternate the cutting direction so you always
cut with the grain . Sometimes for final accurate cleanup I make a scraper
out of scrap metal . I this case I would a scraper with the shape of the
intersection of two half rounds [like a vee but with curved sides if you get
my drift ] with this type of scraper you can do both sides of the rope
carving and manipulate it so you are always scraping with the grain ....just
a thought.
--
mike hide
"Bob Schmall" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Conan the Librarian" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > "Bob Schmall" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:<[email protected]>...
> >
> > > Thanks, Mike. I printed it out. Actually I was fooling around last
night
> > > after posting the message and tried something like what you suggest.
My
> > > neandersawing technique needs work, but carving the half rounds
produced
> > > something almost decent.
> >
> > I did some rope carving for a SW hall table, and the source I found
> > invaluable is the book _Spanish Colonial Furniture_ by A.D. Williams.
> > He gives an illustrated description of layout and cutting by hand.
> >
> > I haven't looked at Mike's site yet, but Williams' technique
> > involves dividing the legs into equal sections, laying out diagonals,
> > connecting those diagonals so they "candycane" up the leg, sawing to
> > depth at the diagonals, and then using chisels, rasps and whatever you
> > have on hand to smooth out and soften the curves.
> >
> > It is very time/labor-intensive, but was quite a bit of fun.
> >
> > You can see pics on my website:
> > http://www.swt.edu/~cv01/swtable3.jpg
> >
> >
> > Chuck Vance
>
> Whoa! You been peekin' at my plans, Vance? The base of the stereo cabinet
> will have legs very similar to those. Thanks for the input. Now all I need
> to decide is whether to use a half-round or just a standard curved chisel.
>
> Bob
>
>
Try here
http://www.rockler.com/ecom7/product_details.cfm?sku=1196&filter=23929
Bob Schmall wrote:
> I've started on a stereo cabinet in a southwestern style with rope carved
> sections on each of the four legs, about 12-13 inches worth. Can anyone
> offer some advice or sources of information? I've googled and checked my
> personal and local libraries, but there's not a lot available. I've done a
> little carving and have about 5 chisels, but this will need to look well
> finished, closer to machine-turned than hand carved. Thanks in advance,
> Bob
>
Thanks, Mike. I printed it out. Actually I was fooling around last night
after posting the message and tried something like what you suggest. My
neandersawing technique needs work, but carving the half rounds produced
something almost decent.
Bob
"Mike Hide" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:avNtb.162883$mZ5.1117297@attbi_s54...
> I have put a sketch on ABPW showing how I would do it . It can be done
using
> a saw and rasps if necessary ,carving tools would be preferred but
> certainly not necessary...mjh
>
> --
> mike hide
>
>
>
> "Bob Schmall" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I've started on a stereo cabinet in a southwestern style with rope
carved
> > sections on each of the four legs, about 12-13 inches worth. Can anyone
> > offer some advice or sources of information? I've googled and checked my
> > personal and local libraries, but there's not a lot available. I've done
a
> > little carving and have about 5 chisels, but this will need to look well
> > finished, closer to machine-turned than hand carved. Thanks in advance,
> > Bob
> >
> > --
> > Failure is not an option
> > But it is a possibility
> >
> >
>
David, I AM made of money, but it's all pennies.
Bob
"Bay Area Dave" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> But, Bob, after the next project, the amortized cost per leg will be a
> mere $625! two projects after that; a paltry $312.50/leg. And think how
> much fun it will be to have one of those bad boys in your shop. You
> most likely will be the first on your block to own one! sigh...if only
> I were made of money...
>
> dave
>
> Bob Schmall wrote:
>
> > "Bay Area Dave" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:%[email protected]...
> >
> >>check out legacywoodworking.com
> >>
> >>I got their DVD demo while at the WW show in CA 2 weeks ago. Awesome.
> >>It will do roping and lots of other cool stuff, if your wallet can
> >>handle the price of admission. There are about 5 models. From almost
> >>affordable to about $5k IIRC.
> >
> >
> > Let's see....
> > Hmmm, that works out to at least $1,250 per leg. It's real nice wood,
but...
> >
> > Bob
> >
> >
>
On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 23:13:47 GMT, "Bobby Schmally" brought forth from
the murky depths:
>I've started on a stereo cabinet in a southwestern style with rope carved
>sections on each of the four legs, about 12-13 inches worth. Can anyone
>offer some advice or sources of information? I've googled and checked my
>personal and local libraries, but there's not a lot available. I've done a
>little carving and have about 5 chisels, but this will need to look well
>finished, closer to machine-turned than hand carved. Thanks in advance,
Get thee to a Leebrary and find Mike Burton's "Architectural Carving:
Techniques for Power & Hand Tools" and/or anything by Onians or Pye.
You need to double grind your chisel or use an incannel for rope.
Sanding will help it achieve(?) that lovely "canned" look.
----------------------------------------------------------------
* OPERA: A Latin word * Wondrous Website Design
* meaning * Save your Heirloom Photos
* "death by music" * http://www.diversify.com
----------------------------------------------------------------
"Larry Jaques" <jake@di\/ersify.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 23:13:47 GMT, "Bobby Schmally" brought forth from
> the murky depths:
>
> >I've started on a stereo cabinet in a southwestern style with rope carved
> >sections on each of the four legs, about 12-13 inches worth. Can anyone
> >offer some advice or sources of information? I've googled and checked my
> >personal and local libraries, but there's not a lot available. I've done
a
> >little carving and have about 5 chisels, but this will need to look well
> >finished, closer to machine-turned than hand carved. Thanks in advance,
>
> Get thee to a Leebrary and find Mike Burton's "Architectural Carving:
> Techniques for Power & Hand Tools" and/or anything by Onians or Pye.
> You need to double grind your chisel or use an incannel for rope.
> Sanding will help it achieve(?) that lovely "canned" look.
Thanks, Larry. I found www.mountainwoodcarvers.com where there is a boatload
of books. I'll also check the library.
Bob