Thread: How do they do it???

Tell them it'll cost them $350 to $450 a leg and see what they say. Then you can make them . (edit. If they recover from that ) Without the big machinery to do them it can be easy but time consuming. You have to draw the pattern on ply and mark out the blank and band saw and shape them in with chisels and spoke shave . I use band saw then chisels then moulding planes and carving chisels doing square table columns which are 4 times the size of that leg.
There are big old tennoners that could be set up for running stuff like that but they would take a few head changes to do that length of leg which is impractical. CNC would be the way these days .
A jig and different router cutters could also get some of it done.
Just charge well for it .

There's a big trestle table in US cherry I did some years back . Square cut columns. They took some doing with the hand work I mentioned above.

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Some other images I have of one of the younger guys at work doing a smaller pair in Oak.
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Originally Posted by auscab

Tell them it'll cost them $350 to $450 a leg and see what they say. Then you can make them . (edit. If they recover from that ) .

That's usually why they come looking for hobbyist wood workers. after they picked up their jaw from the floor.

Auscab, Love seeing your work, thank you for sharing the images, your experience and wealth of knowledge.

TTIT with smaller square newels and balusters some were made on the lathe using massive cages (6' plus diameter) and thermed turning techniques. Impractical for small batches of large spindles. Look up Mike Darlow's "Woodturning Methods" - therming lathe -pages 111-112. iirc there are a few historic texts (Holtzapffel etc) that reference therming techniques.

Thank's Mobyturns.

This is square related . Just interesting.
I saved it the other day off instagram. Its a guy machining a square spiral into a post. Very dangerous looking but a machining technique Id never seen. Sliding the square post into a round sleeve , holding it with a wedge. And then nothing safety related from there. For some reason Instagram reels don't always run perfect on computer where I am. Phone is ok.


https://www.instagram.com/p/CvMCWykI9cd/


And here's another interesting "How its done" carving with cnc. Pretty amazing.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CmJzwlYPw9T/


https://www.instagram.com/stavros_ltd/


Rob.

Not really an issue these days with modern CNC routers - set up all four in a row - complete one face - rotate 90° - repeat.

Look up Hammersmith DIY Balustrade, Handrails, Staircase Parts & More to see commercial offerings.

If I was tasked to make them I would use a similar technique with a powerful hand plunge router with a series of router bits and the use of a support frame that also guides the router for each pass. A lot of rotating work pieces for each router setup - not fun but possible. Make a full size template for the profile to simplify router setup.

Originally Posted by auscab

Tell them it'll cost them $350 to $450 a leg and see what they say. Then you can make them . (edit. If they recover from that ) Without the big machinery to do them it can be easy but time consuming. You have to draw the pattern on ply and mark out the blank and band saw and shape them in with chisels and spoke shave . I use band saw then chisels then moulding planes and carving chisels doing square table columns which are 4 times the size of that leg.
There are big old tennoners that could be set up for running stuff like that but they would take a few head changes to do that length of leg which is impractical. CNC would be the way these days .
A jig and different router cutters could also get some of it done.
Just charge well for it .

Thanks for all the info and pics . I was actually thinking of $500 per leg just to make sure they don't persist . . . and they only want 2 anyway so I'm not about to build some form of elaborate router jig just for that. I'll just tell them to pick something off the shelf at Bunnings or find somebody with a CNC - we don't have the time or interest to carve them by hand.

Originally Posted by TTIT

Thanks for all the info and pics . I was actually thinking of $500 per leg just to make sure they don't persist . . . and they only want 2 anyway so I'm not about to build some form of elaborate router jig just for that. I'll just tell them to pick something off the shelf at Bunnings or find somebody with a CNC - we don't have the time or interest to carve them by hand.

I reckon its one of those match the customer to the maker conundrums. There probably are a number of hobby woodworkers about that have the skills and the passion to make these. Finding the right match is the trick.

I've found that there are a lot of "tyre kickers" about - they come up with an idea but aren't serious enough to stump up a deposit or to pay the agreed sum for the items. If they pay the deposit it then becomes a series of changes, excuses, or the project stalls their end they walk away and leave you with it. I've been caught before, not the first and won't be the last, though I've had some come good after a long wait.

I also had a great relationship with one custom furniture maker who was fantastic to work with. I did some interesting pieces for him, and repeat stuff. He paid me up front and wore the risk himself. Plenty of work came his way and I declined quite a bit of work because I still was full time employed and travelling. Most of the stuff we both declined was simply not viable for us as the customer could purchase a "commercial" newel or baluster cheaper than we could purchase the material. We did one trial small job to "customize" commercial spindles - not fun at all as they would not run true. It's amazing how much a turned spindle moves after being turned.

i've seen legs made using mouldings from Bunnings. Obviously if your clients are after a single piece made from the same species this method won't work, but the process is:
- Get a square blank and essentially cut the moulding and glue them to the blank ie additive manufacturing rather than subtractive.
- Any large coves/bevels are then done by hand.

Any voids/gaps were then filled and legs primed and painted.

Originally Posted by Mobyturns

I've found that there are a lot of "tyre kickers" about - they come up with an idea but aren't serious enough to stump up a deposit or to pay the agreed sum for the items.

Or they're serious and take your drawing and shop it around to as many other shops as they can. I found out a twat did that to me. Got word back from a shop that they just had my drawing come through for a quote... I wasn't concerned, I knew I would be the cheapest, but kicked her. She came back about 3 weeks later and said, all gleefully, when can I start. I said: Sorry, I thought you'd gone with someone else and that time I allocated to you has been filled with other projects. Good luck, bye! Found out from the builder she was PO'd! And another that played the friendly neighbour card only to take my plan view of her new kitchen to bunnings. From that time on I've told perspective clients it's $1000, to be applied to the cost of the job, for a copy of the drawings. Keeps the time wasters away...

Back in the day I did camshafts and crankshafts in a very agricultural setup.
Essentially a cam profiled for the swing on one end would move the steady the appropriate amount and the grinder would follow this. The cam would be swung between centers.

So if you had a square cam, with rounded corners on one end, and a cutter that followed a pattern on a cross slide, I think you could produce these without cnc. With a little more tolerance then a camshaft, you could jerry rig something up quite easily.

Originally Posted by Ardep

Back in the day I did camshafts and crankshafts in a very agricultural setup.
Essentially a cam profiled for the swing on one end would move the steady the appropriate amount and the grinder would follow this. The cam would be swung between centers.

So if you had a square cam, with rounded corners on one end, and a cutter that followed a pattern on a cross slide, I think you could produce these without cnc. With a little more tolerance than a camshaft, you could jerry rig something up quite easily.

Like this .
Goldie Woodworking Machine 2 . Made in NSW Australia - YouTube





L