Thursday, April 30, 2009
And the Lathe Turns On
Well, it doesn't turn on for long in this video about the skew, but now that the basics are covered, we'll get to the action next!
On the teaching front, it looks like I only have a couple of more slots for teaching at the shop this year, so anyone interested should get in touch with me to secure a slot. Thanks
Monday, April 27, 2009
Nice Grouping
Ahhh Spring!!
Here is Chris Durbin putting the wedges in the continuous arm settee that he made last week. It came out great. The alignment of the legs was especially impressive. Even more than a chair, the legs on a settee need to align closely, otherwise they draw the eye, especially the center legs which have no splay.
Below is a photo of the center leg. The string that you see passing by is taped to the same spot on the outer legs. As you can see, he really stuck the landing on this one.
Here is the same idea with the stretchers that pass from the front legs to the back. The picture shows the center stretcher with a string that passes from one outer stretcher to the other!
In order to keep the diameter of all of the back to front stretchers the same, Chris cut this lapping tenon that met in the center of a hole drilled clear through the stretcher. I'd never done it this way, but had been meaning to try it. It looks nice that the diameters stay constant and I don't think there is any loss of strength.
Sometimes I find myself explaining to a student why I am so fastidious in choosing and executing my methods for reaming in the legs. They just need to hit the floor, right?! The settees present the perfect example of a reason to be so focused. Granted, some folks may not be bothered if a leg is out of whack, and some variance is acceptable, but what I try to avoid is using and teaching methods that can't live up to new challenges.
A couple of quick tips about settee reaming. Start with the outer legs, then use a string connecting them at similar details while reaming the center legs.
Because the center legs have no splay, they only need to be perpendicular to the seat and barely touching the string. Also, take few turns of the reamer before checking the angle. This is necessary because the center legs are canted less than the outer ones (once again because of the lack of splay) and will ream deeply more quickly!
And finally, when you trim the legs, let the center legs hang in the air 1/32" or so to help prevent rocking on the center on uneven floors (like mine).
With a week to myself, I'll be shooting the next video about the skew.
Here is Chris Durbin putting the wedges in the continuous arm settee that he made last week. It came out great. The alignment of the legs was especially impressive. Even more than a chair, the legs on a settee need to align closely, otherwise they draw the eye, especially the center legs which have no splay.
Below is a photo of the center leg. The string that you see passing by is taped to the same spot on the outer legs. As you can see, he really stuck the landing on this one.
Here is the same idea with the stretchers that pass from the front legs to the back. The picture shows the center stretcher with a string that passes from one outer stretcher to the other!
In order to keep the diameter of all of the back to front stretchers the same, Chris cut this lapping tenon that met in the center of a hole drilled clear through the stretcher. I'd never done it this way, but had been meaning to try it. It looks nice that the diameters stay constant and I don't think there is any loss of strength.
Sometimes I find myself explaining to a student why I am so fastidious in choosing and executing my methods for reaming in the legs. They just need to hit the floor, right?! The settees present the perfect example of a reason to be so focused. Granted, some folks may not be bothered if a leg is out of whack, and some variance is acceptable, but what I try to avoid is using and teaching methods that can't live up to new challenges.
A couple of quick tips about settee reaming. Start with the outer legs, then use a string connecting them at similar details while reaming the center legs.
Because the center legs have no splay, they only need to be perpendicular to the seat and barely touching the string. Also, take few turns of the reamer before checking the angle. This is necessary because the center legs are canted less than the outer ones (once again because of the lack of splay) and will ream deeply more quickly!
And finally, when you trim the legs, let the center legs hang in the air 1/32" or so to help prevent rocking on the center on uneven floors (like mine).
With a week to myself, I'll be shooting the next video about the skew.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
More Legs
Here is Chris Durbin working on the seat for the settee that he is making this week. Chris has come a long ways as a craftsman since I met him a few years ago, it's a joy to see his progress.
One of the elements of a settee that is missing from chairs(or at least less noticable) is the alignment of the three legs in the front and back. It's important that the legs are all raked to the same degree. Another important aspect of the legs is that the various elements line up between the side legs and the center one. Because the center leg has no splay (meaning it doesn't tilt to the side when viewed from the front), it is a slightly compressed version of its neighbors. To achieve the correct proportions for the turning, I draw a leg at the splay angle of the outer legs and then draw horizontal lines from each element to a leg without splay to arrive at the template for the center leg. You can see the drawing below.
Although the compression is minor, you can see the results in the photo below. When all of the legs are reamed into the seat, the elements of all three turnings align. Subtle, but it's there.
For those of you keeping up on the farm developments, we have 8 new chicks. These are "meat" birds and will be with us for about 2 months. I'm dedicated to giving these little guys the highest quality of life possible, so they moved into the insulated coop while my layers got new housing.
Here are the summer digs for my layers. A bit more open and airy. As you can see, they are confined to the area defined by the electric netting, our perennial gardens could not longer take the abuse! In winter they'll get their other coop back, but as of tonight, they were all happily perched inside their new home, ready for bed.
Another example of crappy construction that fits the bill, and all with materials that I had laying around! (forgive the pun)
One of the elements of a settee that is missing from chairs(or at least less noticable) is the alignment of the three legs in the front and back. It's important that the legs are all raked to the same degree. Another important aspect of the legs is that the various elements line up between the side legs and the center one. Because the center leg has no splay (meaning it doesn't tilt to the side when viewed from the front), it is a slightly compressed version of its neighbors. To achieve the correct proportions for the turning, I draw a leg at the splay angle of the outer legs and then draw horizontal lines from each element to a leg without splay to arrive at the template for the center leg. You can see the drawing below.
Although the compression is minor, you can see the results in the photo below. When all of the legs are reamed into the seat, the elements of all three turnings align. Subtle, but it's there.
For those of you keeping up on the farm developments, we have 8 new chicks. These are "meat" birds and will be with us for about 2 months. I'm dedicated to giving these little guys the highest quality of life possible, so they moved into the insulated coop while my layers got new housing.
Here are the summer digs for my layers. A bit more open and airy. As you can see, they are confined to the area defined by the electric netting, our perennial gardens could not longer take the abuse! In winter they'll get their other coop back, but as of tonight, they were all happily perched inside their new home, ready for bed.
Another example of crappy construction that fits the bill, and all with materials that I had laying around! (forgive the pun)
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