Thread: Tools to create a scoop in a chair?

I've used the holey galahad wheels (fine and course) on my angle grinder with good success. I've heard the kutzall wheels are pretty good also, but the galahad wheels have small holes which makes it easier if you are sculpting to a line.

Depending on the size of the seat you're making, you may have to glue boards together. This way you can use a bandsaw to remove some of the material before you glue up like I did below, making it easier when it comes to sculpt.

IMG_2795.JPG

IMG_2796.JPG

Originally Posted by derekcohen

......You get better control and flexibility with a travisher. When you lean it forward it will take a light shaving. Lean it back for a heavier shaving. The wing handles are not held (like a bike). The travisher is held on the body and the wings act as a visual guide......

Perhaps it all depends what you begin with, Derek. I bought a scorp 30 or so years ago & just could not get it to work for me, so instead I used a small home-made double-radiused plane, both for the hogging-out (coarse set & used mostly cross-grain like a scrub) & the refining (fine set & used either with or across the grain as the wood allows). I got pretty quick with it, & shaped a LOT of chair seats that way over the years. Then not all that long ago, I dragged out the scorp and gave it another go. Dunno what had happened to it or me in the intervening years, but all of a sudden, I was peeling out very controllable shavings with it. I haven't made all that many chair seats since, 1/2 dozen maybe, but I still find the little plane to be the bees' knees for cleaning up after the scorp. It's actually a bit too small & I've always intended to make a new one. I did start on one about 6 months ago, but I made it too big & clumsy & it was not at all suited to chair seats. I was trying to cut it down, but it developed a large split in a sensitive spot, so that one went to the firewood pile & I lost interest, temporarily. Been busy making one or two other planes instead. I think I ought to try making myself one of them-there travishers....

Cheers,

Hi Ian and all

Here is (as far as I am concerned) the current guru of travisher design, Peter Galbert ...



He also posted this video of "first time travisher users", which shows how easy it could be ..



Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by derekcohen

Hi Ian and all

Here is (as far as I am concerned) the current guru of travisher design, Peter Galbert ...

Damn! I thought I was finally coming to the end of my plane-building, but now I see I have to have a go at a travisher.

Or maybe I should just buy one from the guru - at least then I'll know it's me & not the tool if I can't get it to work properly....

Cheers,

Originally Posted by Arron

Have a google of the Holey Galahad. The disk has the same technology but has large holes in it so you can see through it as you work - less ‘oh no’ moments.

Thanks Arron. I can see the advantage of these discs. The wallet could be taking another hit

an option not mentioned so far is the Lee Valley pull shave Veritas® Pullshave - Lee Valley Tools


also, I don't recall if the ArborTech system was mentioned. https://www.arbortechtools.com/au/turbo-plane/


at the end of the day, I suspect Amanda's choice comes down to the number of chair seats she needs to form and the total cost of tooling, especially if she is buying an angle grinder and carving blade.

Scorp, travisher and spokeshave worked well for me, although I had never used any of these tools before taking a class to make a continuous arm Windsor rocker (in North Carolina).


IMG_2350.jpg

IMG_2365.jpg


Rundell and Rundell offer that same class in Kyneton. They may well be able to help you.
Also check Curtis Buchanan and Elia Bizzarri on Youtube.

Originally Posted by ian

an option not mentioned so far is the Lee Valley pull shave Veritas® Pullshave - Lee Valley Tools


also, I don't recall if the ArborTech system was mentioned. https://www.arbortechtools.com/au/turbo-plane/


at the end of the day, I suspect Amanda's choice comes down to the number of chair seats she needs to form and the total cost of tooling, especially if she is buying an angle grinder and carving blade.

Hi Ian, I have the veritas pullshave and had a play around with it, the Peter Galbert/Claire Minihan Travisher and HNT Gordon radius plane tonight after work. The pullshave is takes the coarsest cuts of the three and the roughest. I found it a little difficult to control, especially when taking deeper cuts. It has a far, far wider mouth opening than the other two and thus is capable of taking deeper shavings, however I clearly do not yet have the knack using it.

I retract my previous statement to some extent on the HNT radius plane; I do find it faster than the Travisher, not due to depth of cut but more due to the fact it is easier to use it with very quick back and forth strokes and it has a smaller radius than the travisher which makes it feel quite nimble. The finish is very smooth with no real tearout in tassie oak. I really like this plane.

The Travisher is very nice to use also, I just need a bit more practise with it to get a little faster.

At the moment i'd give up the pullshave well before the other two.

Having said that if speed and price are important the Holey Galahad grinding wheel is a far cheaper and quicker option; albeit not as enjoyable and far more messy / noisy.

Cheers, Dom

Interesting that Terry's little plane is very similar to the one I made: 2.jpg

My plane may appear bigger than it is because it's sitting on the seat of a child-sized chair. As I said, I find roughing out with the scorp, then refining with the plane works well to get the basic shape:
1.jpg

When I made several seats at once, for sets of chairs, I got pretty quick at it. You soon learn to "read" the grain & scoop out the wood along the lines of least resistance, without causing too much tear-out. Final clean-up with a bit of coarse cloth-backed paper & scrapers takes just a few minutes unless you are working with really wild wood (which isn't really suitable for chair seats, if structural strength is important).

I think the size of my plane was dictated by the blade I had on hand, as much as anything else, at least the width. I do find it a bit awkward to hold, now (especially as my hands are getting a bit arthritic with age ). I had always intended to make a new more flashy one that would have the same radiuses, but be larger & (I hoped) easier to hold. So a while ago, I started on one & got as far as roughing out the body and trying some test cuts. This pic will give you an idea of the relative size: 3.jpg

It was an absolute clunker, way too big & bulky, and anything but "nimble"! I was completely discouraged at that point and shoved it aside whil I had a major re-think. I don't make so many chairs now, so it isn't a pressing problem for me, but I still mean to revisit the project sometime, & try to sort it out. Seeing Terry's plane makes me think some co-evolution has occurred there. He would've tried & tested a few sizes & shapes before arriving at what he sells, and it looks like it's just a wee bit larger than mine, so maybe I should just copy his dimensions for my next try!

Cheers,

Such wonderful tools and so much fun to be had, but I revisited the original thread and I notice that AA's comments included that she is a Uni student and the solution should not be expensive.

I think I just ruled a big red line through most of our absolutely superb suggestions. Well not all of course, as she could traipse around the markets, garage sales, Ebay etc. and maybe pick up a treasure or two: However she would have to take a crash course in what to look for, how to refurbish and restore where required and possibly acquire some skills in tools that others have taken many years to perfect.

Now, just by the fact that Amanda has had the initiative to research the problem and in doing this has found the Forums is some indication that she is willing to to give it a good go.

However, Amanda you have not told us your time frame or your impoverished student budget. Neither have you told us quite how this fits in to your studies ( this last one is just me being nosey as it will not make you a better woodworker).

Having made these enormous assumptions I wondered what might be the cheapest way out of the problem. I am very similar to you ( ) Hold on a tick, in that I have never made a shaped wooden seat. So I found an old piece of scrap board that was not on the firewood pile, but this was only because I had been too lazy to put it there, and I cut it up into a couple of roughly sized seat blanks. Bear in mind this is a piece of real rubbish and not only that, it is Forest Red Gum, which is notoriously difficult to work. Hard, cranky and obstreperous: A little bit like me, but harder!

So what I did was take this wretched piece of timber, which was just rough sawn, and take to it with my smallest, cheapest angle grinder (100mm green Bosch) and a zirconia sanding disc. To use these discs, which are quite flexible you need to purchase a plastic backing pad too. I will link some details and costs further on.

The timber off the same slab:

P1020932.JPG

This is the grinder and timber with just a single pass . Incidentally the disc was not brand new. I had used it before, although only lightly and I don't remember what it was used for.

P1020928.JPG

It took about ten minutes to get to this point.

P1020930.JPG

I did no marking out. All I wanted to achieve was the semblance of a shape a human backside might fit into. The next two pix give an idea of how much of a depression was made. Remember only ten minutes whilst watching over my shoulder to see if SWMBO would spring me doing unscheduled work.


P1020929.JPGP1020933.JPG

This is what a brand new disc (40 grit) looks like

P1020935.JPG

This is a link to a Forum advertiser who supplies these products, but you will also be able to source them from your local hardware store.

Zirconia Fibre Sanding Discs - 4", 100mm (Angle Grinder)

That supplier is best if you want a large quantity. You should be able to buy in ones and twos at your hardware store. I would suggest that you only need one 40grit and one 120grit for your job (plus the backing disc) The discs individually I think would be a couple of dollars each and the backing disc around $10. Beg borrow or steal an angle grinder or as somebody else mentioned buy a cheapie for around $30. Oh, a dust mask would be a good idea and some hearing protection. Also make sure you have not run out of hair shampoo.

Whatever you decide, I hope we will see some results here in the future and all the best with your project.

Regards
Paul

What is all this talk of angle grinders doing in the unpowered hand tools forum? It’s blasphemy I tell you!

Colin

Thanks for getting us back on track. Digressions are a little failing of mine as you may recall. In my defence and to mitigate the fallout I would humbly mention that it was raised as a possibility in the OP.

Also I think the dark siders are more able to cope with a few electrons than the electron fraternity with a push and pull tool .

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Colin62

What is all this talk of angle grinders doing in the unpowered hand tools forum? It’s blasphemy I tell you!

Blasphemy indeed! Paul, go wash your typing finger with a strong solution of lye!!

However, you have very kindly given Amanda a practical solution to her crisis. I will admit to having done similar seat-forming when in a hurry, but don't tell anyone else, will you? As a moderator of this section I have to show good leadership....

Cheers,

Ian

I had to look up lye. I suspected it wasn't lumped in the skin care and beautification section.

Your awful secret is safe with me. What brand of angle...no,no forget I even asked.

My favourite phrase (make that one of my favourite phrases) I trot out at every available opportunity is that "A secret is only a secret if it is between two people........... and one of 'em's dead!"

Regards
Paul