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  1. #1
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    Feb 2014
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    Default Hand Cut Cabriole Legs

    Hi All,

    I'm after some help to make some Cabriole Legs for a couple of tables that i am making.

    I don't have access to a bandsaw to cut them, so i was just after some suggestions/ideas about how to go about this.

    I have managed to make 4 of them using a jigsaw, but this was very hard (and unpleasant). The stock was quite thick (70mm) so the longer bade only just made it through and it really struggled to cut. Also because it was so hard to cut, the blade was flexing quite a bit and not making a straight/square cut.

    I did also try one with a coping saw, but again it didn't work out and i couldn't keep the blade straight/square.

    So i have four workable legs, but the aren't uniform, i got as close as i can with spokeshave and sandpaper(here is a photo of the first):

    IMG_20150222_192912266_HDR.jpgIMG_20150222_192918722_HDR.jpgIMG_20150222_194510505.jpg

    For the next table i would ideally like to improve the legs and have a better result. I do love working with hand tools, i'm just not sure how to accomplish this task with them.

    I have found a couple of ideas on the net:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m67JNG3rASg
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whOi...ature=youtu.be

    The second video is probably the next process i will try - but i wanted to through it out to you guys for ideas/experience first?

    Thanks in Advance

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  3. #2
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    Default

    If you can get your hands on a traditional bow saw, you can fit it with a length of the appropriate type of bandsaw blade to cut it. That is how they were cut traditionally.

    You could contact the Traditional Tools Group to help your search.
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  4. #3
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    Hi Marphlix,

    I'm no expert and cabriole legs are still on my to do list, but I watched half of that second link (it's pretty long) and it looks like a lot of fun.

    Good on you for having a go, and good luck with it.

    Peter
    The time we enjoy wasting is not wasted time.

  5. #4
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    perhaps an Arbotech attachment to remove the bulk of the waste and then finish with a rasps or sandpaper on a stick
    regards from Alberta, Canada

    ian

  6. #5
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    Cab legs without a bandsaw sounds horrible. You definitely get bonus points from me

  7. #6
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    Default

    This thread came up in the similar thread widget. Seems like a good idea, rough cut the parts, then clean em up on the router. Then finish off the usual way with a spokeshave.

    https://www.woodworkforums.com/f44/sled-cabriole-legs-159398

  8. #7
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    Are you marking out with templates ?
    I sometimes have to do back cab legs on chairs where its not possible to cut them on a bandsaw in the normal way you see it done .
    It's a bit hard to explain but here goes .
    Because of the slope of the back leg and the fact that all layout lines on these back legs are cut parallel with the floor, not 90 degree to the leg blank , a band saw cant do it in the normal way . with the leg kept at the correct angle its possible to sort of block cut it out , off the line , knock them off then chisel and shave from there .
    You dont have a band saw but what im getting at is Im sure in the old days it may have been done this way with individual hand saw cuts . I say this because when I have worked on these legs I cant see an easy way of holding them for bow sawing. Its pretty amazing how quick you can chisel down to a line after knocking off the waste with a razor sharp chisel . It would be possible with a normal leg I reckon . Like said above if you can get a bow saw go for it with that . throw away the sand paper for now . you should only need that five minutes before polishing and only after your sure no tools are going back to work on the leg.

    Cab legs are best done after sawing with chisels shaves and scrapers .

    Ive got some pictures of the sloped back leg cutting if you want to see it .

    Rob

    I just went and looked at your links , The first guy is doing what I am saying , he has done a lot of cuts, I don't think I went that fine. the second guy is holding the leg like a learner, If you have a sash clamp hold that in your vise and hold the leg in that, from its top to its end , If you don't have one and don't have a tail vise , you need one .

  9. #8
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    Hi Marphlix,
    I admire your perseverance and desire to do it with hand tools. I've pendulumed through the handtools vs machine cycle several times and I have finally landed on the practice that I am happy to use machines to do the job the apprentices did in the old days and use handtools for the jobs the craftsman saved for himself. The inescapable logic for this is that the apprentices work was never seen in the finished piece .....and I don't have an apprentice?
    I notice you live in Sydney and I am sure that there are many on the forum who would let you use their bandsaw, including myself, and then do the satisfying, zen-like and visible work with hand tools?
    I live in Camden if that's any help?
    fletty
    a rock is an obsolete tool ......... until you don’t have a hammer!

  10. #9
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    Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions. I'll let you know how i go when i get to my next ones.

    Cheers

  11. #10
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    What Rob says. I haven't used the many-cuts-to-a-line, & knock off the waste technique to cut out a cabriole leg, though I frequently use it in lots of other situations where I need to rough off a lot of wood in a hurry. It would be a pretty good way to do it if you don't have a bowsaw or bandsaw (my preferred method, these days! ). I'm trying to imagine how you do the second cut, Rob, where you've only got one reference line, how do you keep the cuts square? I've always taped the waste back on after the first cut, you need to do that for safe cutting with the bandsaw, but even with a bowsaw, it helps me to keep it on track....

    A slight difference from Rob's suggestion is that I think you might find it easier to use a rasp for the initial fairing after you get the basic shape cut out. Not being a pro like Rob, I wouldn't trust my skills with a paring chisel for a task like this, though I can see that in the right hands, a chisel or draw-knife could certainly get the job done quickly & well. In less skilled hands, cutting tools, even spokeshaves, are a bit hard to control on the ever-changing grain of a cabriole leg. Rasps (decent ones) are wonderful tools for the less highly skilled (like me), and if you want to blow a few lots of $$s on really good ones, it's actually money well-spent in my opinion. With a couple of good rasps, in different cuts, you can quickly & safely get the shaping done to a very high level, so that it should only take a bit of light scraping & a lick of sandpaper before proceeding to the polishing bench.

    Seductive things, cabriole legs, & fun to make. I always thought they were the epitome of cabinetmaking skill, til I found out they are actually quite easy if you follow a logical sequence...

    Cheers,
    IW

  12. #11
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    Just backing up what IanW says about rasps. with a good pattern maker's rasp you have amazing control over how much wood you take off. You can take of a huge amount in one stroke, and with a slight variation in pressure, have a surface ready for sanding. They aren't cheap, but they are worth the money.
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  13. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by IanW View Post

    It would be a pretty good way to do it if you don't have a bowsaw or bandsaw (my preferred method, these days! ). I'm trying to imagine how you do the second cut, Rob, where you've only got one reference line, how do you keep the cuts square? I've always taped the waste back on after the first cut, you need to do that for safe cutting with the bandsaw, but even with a bowsaw, it helps me to keep it on track....
    I did the cross cutting along the length with a band saw Ian .
    When I'm doing the normal leg type I practice the , {Dont cut it all the way off method } I go get the tape if I go to far and the cut side falls off . You know, just cut and leave 5mm so the template markings stay in position for cutting the next side. At the end of cutting they either get snapped off or trimmed off with the saw.

    What I do have to do sometimes , like with the more complex cut ones I was talking of , is re draw the second side cutting lines after the first have been cut , sometimes it's as easy as just laying the template on the work again and marking it again . but the work surface is now at different depths , so I have had to make sure the template is in the exact right spot and then sight through that down to the work and mark a line of dots , this is then joined up.

    That third picture is how the line was drawn onto the leg before it was cut , it was cut then I placed it back in position and I took a picture , but sometimes marking it out is that type of job , there is quite a distance that needs to be sighted . You can cross check it with calipers to make sure the thicknesses are staying right

    The reason its done this way is because the templates came off a life size plan , and that's drawn in the one dimension. All templates are taken from that .

    Rob
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  14. #13
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    Thanks, Rob, that's more or less as I imagined it. I have tried the method where you leave a bit square on each end so that it will stay flat on the saw table while you cut the adjacent profile, but it really only works for shorter legs. For me, cutting the pieces off, then re-attaching with masking tape seems to work best. The pieces sit in a bit, by the width of the saw kerf, but the 1/4" blade I prefer for this job has a fine kerf, so the slight amount it throws your line out is too little to worry about.

    And also, I tend to be pretty conservative in my cabriole leg tastes, and the ones I have made all lend themselves to the straightforward approach. This 'coffee table' leg is pretty much typical of any I've made: Cabriole leg.jpg

    I'll leave the really tricky stuff to you pros.

    And before anyone takes me to task for an anachronism, I'm well aware there was no such thing as a 'coffee table' in the early 18th C., but I can still pinch the leg designs, legs this size were used for stools.....

    Cheers,
    IW

  15. #14
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    why not just joins your local mens shed and use their bandsaw??

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