More Seat Talk

I thought I'd touch on a few more seat carving notions. The first image shows how far I carve the seat with the adze, using the technique that I describe in the earlier posting. You'll probably notice that the holes for the legs are already drilled, and reamed for that matter. I know this is a minor chairmaking controversy but I can say that I've never dropped my adze down the holes, not once! I do actually have my reasons for proceeding in this order. When in the whole of woodworking, do we ever eradicate our reference face, and then measure off of it. By drilling into a flat surface, I ensure that my drilling is accurate and simple. The idea that the holes will interfere with the carving has never been my experience. The only time that I could see this happening is if you are using a travisher or inshave that has such an extreme sweep (far more than needed and regrettably what is most often manufactured) that it can actually be affected by the holes. This is another of my reasons for using a flatter radius on my seat carving implements.
The second photo is proof in the pudding. It shows the seat after using the inshave and travisher. I wait to scrape the seat until after the legs are in it. The whole arguement of drilling first or not is really quite unimportant, either way, four legs WILL hit the floor! Much more important is to push yourself to ask the tool in your hand to leave a better shape and surface. It is the key to gaining speed in the process. Just remember, learn to do it right, then learn to do it fast.