| Carved Oak Barstool -- Stock Cuts for Tapered and Angled Legs |
From "Wood Works"
episode WWK-112 |
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In this episode of DIY Wood Works Host David Marks builds a solid-oak barstool that's handcrafted for durability and style. Made from quarter-sawn white oak, the barstool appears simple in design but actually represents some interesting woodworking challenges in its construction. The barstool features laminated mortise-and-tenon joinery that's integrated into the seat. The tenons are cut flush with the top surface of the seat and reveal a color contrast with the seat's grain. The assembled seat is sculpted to add visual interest and comfort. The legs are accented by brass pins that hold the shaped stretchers in place, and they sit at a pleasing angle with a taper that narrows near the top. Materials: Quarter-sawn white oak stock
Table saw; tapering jig
Band saw
Chalk or carpenter's pencil
Saftety glasses or goggles
Note: Cut sizes may vary. For exact measurements, please contact David Marks through his website -- information below under Resources. Safety Alert: Always wear safety goggles or safety glasses when working with wood, saws, drills, routers, etc. The Seat and Leg Assembly To create the barstool, laminated tenons are combined with other oak components to make up the seat -- something like the pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. The legs are arranged in a tapered design and are thicker at the foot, to give the barstool a strong stance (figure A). Toward the top, the legs are tapered to a thinner dimension for an eye-pleasing effect. To create the tapers for the legs, a tapering jig is used on the table saw (figure B). The jig has two stop-blocks -- one at the top and one at the bottom. The one at the bottom has a rabbet cut out for holding the leg-stock at the proper tapering angle as the stock is cut. Steps: - To cut the tapers in the legs, a taper-cut is made on one side of the leg stock (figure C).
- The stock is then rotated 90 degrees, and a second taper-cut is made on the adjacent side.
- With the tapers cut in all four pieces of leg stock, the legs are essentially complete. Work can now begin on the construction of the seat. In our demonstration, David Marks displays an "exploded view" of the seat elements (figure D) to show how the pieces fit together. To create the mortise-and-tenon effect in the seat, the top of the leg serves as a tenon as the various pieces of the seat are assembled and glued around it (figure E). The process is repeated for each of the four legs. Working out all of the angle-cuts in a seat like this can be a fairly complex process, but for this particular barstool the angles are already figured and provided in this demonstration.
- To mill the stock for the seat, the rough stock is first jointed flat on the jointer (figure F), then passed through the power planer to create flat and parallel surfaces (figure G).
- The stock is then cut to size on the table saw.
- To get the desired footprint for the barstool, the legs will be inset at a 6-degree angle. To attach the legs to the bottom of the seat, that angle must be matched on the cuts for the seat stock. Therefore, each of the long sides of the center section of the seat is cut with a 6-degree angle. One edge of the center section is angle-cut with the top of the seat face-up (figure H). The stock is then flipped lengthwise, and a 6-degree angle is cut along the second edge.
- For the side sections of the seat, the stock is placed face-down on the table saw, resulting in angled cuts that will match up with the center section of the seat.
- With the angle-cuts made on the center and side pieces, the elements are checked to ensure a matching fit.
- Next, spaces must be created into which the top end of each leg will fit. To do that, a strip is cut off each side. Each strip is cut at a 6-degree angle, so that the legs (once installed) will cant back at the proper angle in the direction of the corners. The strip is then cut into sections -- also cutting at a 6-degree angle -- to accommodate the placement of the legs (figure I) and the proper angling.
- It's a good idea first to draw a center line across the three sections of the seat (figure J) so that they can be accurately lined up later.
- Once the line is drawn, the strips are cut from the side sections.
- To cut the strips into sections, the table saw is used with the miter-gauge set at a 6-degree angle (figure K). When cutting, it's important to ensure that the length of the center section of the strip matches the width of the seat's center section. In that way, the tops of the legs will be equally spaced apart in the finished barstool (figure L). Additionally, it's critical to make certain that the bottom of the strip matches up with the miter gauge. That will create the correct reference and ensure that the legs will be splayed at the correct angle.
- With the proper angles set up, the stock is cut on the table saw (figure M ).
Tip: To help ensure an accurate angle-cut, the stock is attached to the table saw's moving fence using doublestick tape. Once all of the angled cuts are made, the stock is essentially ready for the assembly process. The segment that follows includes assembly of the leg assemblies and the seat. Sponsored Resource
> Click here to order your tools and materials for this project from Woodcraft!
RESOURCES :
Fine Woodworking
A magazine devoted to high-quality craftsmanship in woodworking.
The Taunton Press Inc.
Website: www.taunton.com
The Small Wood Shop (The Best of Fine Woodworking)
Author: Helen Albert (Editor)
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 1561580619
Woodworking Techniques: Best Methods for Building Furniture from Fine Woodworking
Author: Editors of Fine Woodworking magazine
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 1561583456
Mastering Woodworking Machines (Fine Woodworking Book)
Author: Mark Duginske
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 0942391985
David Marks Website
David Marks, DIY's Wood Works host, is a master woodworker. For more information on cut sizes and project details, please contact him via his Website at www.djmarks.com
The Complete Woodworker's Companion
Author: Roger Holmes
Publisher: Watson-Guptill
ISBN: 0823008665
The Complete Book of Wood Joinery
Author: Robert J. Decristoforo
Publisher: Sterling Publishing Co.
ISBN: 0806999500
Advanced Woodworking
Model: 0783539126
Author: Editors of Time Life Books
1998
Time-Life Books Inc.
Website: www.timelife.com
Popular Woodworking
F & W Publications, Inc.
Website: www.popularwoodworking.com
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