Carving Seat Contour

[woodshavings]

My current project is a trike made from Beech for my grandson.
I need to carve out the seat contour but have no experience of how or what to use.
I was thinking of using the flexcut drawknife from Axminster

http://www.axminster.co.uk/recno/4/prod ... -29742.htm

It seems suitable from the spec but would welcome any comments.
Thanks
John

 

[wizer]

i'm clearly no expert on this. But I saw Norm do his Windsor chair and he used an Adze to rough out the profile.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Ochs ... -29843.htm

 

[Philly]

John
I have one of these....It is made for hollowing out seats, exactly what you need. Used across the grain it will quickly and easily shape the seat.
A curved scraper will finish the job for you.
Hope this helps
Philly

 

[woodshavings]

Thanks Wizer & Philly.
I did consider the Adze but it seemed too brutal for the small amount of shaping I need to achieve.
The Inshave Philly suggested seems a more managable proposition - I think I may go for one of those.
Thanks again, John

 

[Nick W]

Veritas have recently released a Pullshave which may be just what you're looking for. You might have to import it yourself though, as I don't think Brimarc have caught up yet.

 

[engineer one]

check out some of the magazines for the way in which chair makers recommend doing the seats. good woodworking is a good source
especially the older articles by john brown.

paul :wink:

 

[Good Surname or what ?]

This travisher is a great tool for final shaping of seats. Not cheap but very efficient.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Veritas have recently released a Pullshave which may be just what you're looking for. You might have to import it yourself though, as I don't think Brimarc have caught up yet.

It's on the BriMarc website and I saw it at one of the shows http://www.brimarc.com/home.php3?page=p ... pc=05P5001

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Alf]

Given that I doubt this needs to be particularly shallow? I think even a scorp might be overkill. A travisher woud be my choice, but if you've got a bog standard spokeshave you don't mind sacrificing...

Or an abrasive disk in an angle grinder is perishing quick - but not easily controllable. 8-[

Cheers, Alf

 

[bugbear]

Given that I doubt this needs to be particularly shallow? I think even a scorp might be overkill. A travisher woud be my choice, but if you've got a bog standard spokeshave you don't mind sacrificing...

Or an abrasive disk in an angle grinder is perishing quick - but not easily controllable. 8-[

Cheers, Alf

Did you do the adaptation, Alf, or did you buy it? I've a dim memory of someone offering those.

Alternatively, a big curved gouge would be a good way, especially in the earlier stages, and (with care) later on.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Henr ... -20259.htm

Finishing off would still be an issue, although it's amazing what coarse, open coat modern abrasives can do.

I don't think the (curved) spokeshave would be a good tool to do the job "start to finish", but perhaps gouge + spokeshave would work well together.

But (disclaimer) I ain't never hollowed no seat.

BugBear

 

[Anonymous]

If your like me you wont want to spend money for the sake of it :lol: . Chair seat carving tools are not cheap, or easy to sharpen etc, not worth the investment for a one off job I'd say. I have carved quite a few seats with adze's and curved drawnife's &c It isnt easy to do if you havent had a lot of practce. Much as I dislike noise/dust/screaming motors I'd actually agree with alice on this one, get an arbortech type wood cutting disc and carve the seat with it. Mind to get back to what you originally asked, I'd be tempted to try the flexi drawknife thinking about it if a arbortech disk is more expensive. Whatever tool I got I'd make a pair of simple profile templates from a scrap of ply (I often use off cut's of lamminate flooring) to show your shape and depth of dishing front to back and side to side, and refer to them constantly believe me its easy to get carried away and go too deep, been there done that. Take a few cut's, check against your template, remove high spot's etc. I'd finish up with progessively finer mirka disks or similar. I understand those flexi knives take a good edge so that would need minimal finish sanding if any (depending on your finishing aestheticks :wink: ) Beech is an easier wood to carve any way.

Hope this help's, Cheers Mr S

 

[NickWelford]

I have an Arbortech TCT tipped cutting disk, a Clifton convex spokeshave, one of those wooden travishers (superb) and the flexicut drawknife and about 6 or 7 other drawknives, some convex.
For shallow I would use the travisher or the Clifton every time. For deep, I use the Arbortech followed by the travisher. The flexicut is far too straight. Great little drawknife though.
The Arbortech is wonderful for quickly getting through the wood, but is a real bu**er to control and occasionally goes its own way leaving a big trough where you don't want it. Needs a very light touch too, or you get little troughs in your seat!
I ought to have an adze, but I just can't get enamoured with the thought of bending over and swinging it at my feet.

 

[engineer one]

how about doing it the old fashioned way :lol:

by that i mean laminate the seat from strips which are cut to a pattern,
this way you could alternate colours, for instance, or grain direction.

you could draw the section required on each of the pieces up to the left hand edge from the centre, and then glue the opposite side on, and carve the shape on each together, then break them apart, and align them in the seat profile.

this would be simpler and more easy to do without extra tools :-k
and should give you more strength. you could join the laminates with biscuits. and finally smooth the seat once joined.

paul :wink:

 

[Alf]

Did you do the adaptation, Alf, or did you buy it? I've a dim memory of someone offering those.

Did the evil deed myself. Is it Ray Iles that offers one he's butchered for you? And I did indeed use the biggest gouge I had handy to do the initial rough stock removal, but found the (real) travisher extordinarily quick at removing quite a lot of material. I agree though, with the adapted shave it'd be slow work to do the whole thing.

Cheers, Alf

 

[bugbear]

Did you do the adaptation, Alf, or did you buy it? I've a dim memory of someone offering those.

Did the evil deed myself.

Did you blog or post it? I've done a little searching and come up empty.

BugBear

 

[Anonymous]

I ought to have an adze, but I just can't get enamoured with the thought of bending over and swinging it at my feet.

Why not fix it up vertical in the vice same way as John "welsh nationalist" Brown does? I do that way quite often and its easier to keep track of where your profile is. My vice is a beech post vice no bloody great lumps of record iron to crash into. It grips solidly enough that it doesnt sldie about. I can get to within 1mm accuracy by keeping a regular swing and moving closer or further away from the seat blank just leaning slightly one way or the other, feet apart. I keep my left arm sort of tucked in and holding the end of the handle. My right hand is moving the blade, and I have it closer to or further from the blade depending on the force of cut and level of finishing acuracy required. I rarely work horizontally, but if I do I have the blank holdfasted to the bench, and use the adze in a similar way, the handle end at a fixed point close to my body, the left hand controlling the cut. I find this prevents or at least minimises wild swings and gouging, with less risk of an acident. Table saws and jointers stress me out far more than axe's and adze's. I have a adze (Henery Taylor) which came with a brick hammer type handle. I struggled with it to get good control. When I removed the short handle and replaced it with one about 20 inch's it revolutionised it.
Cheers Mr S

 

[Alf]

Blooged - here, then here and finally the irony... this was on its way to me all along. #-o

Cheers, Alf

 

[Anonymous]

how about doing it the old fashioned way :lol:

by that i mean laminate the seat from strips which are cut to a pattern,
this way you could alternate colours, for instance, or grain direction.

you could draw the section required on each of the pieces up to the left hand edge from the centre, and then glue the opposite side on, and carve the shape on each together, then break them apart, and align them in the seat profile.

this would be simpler and more easy to do without extra tools :-k
and should give you more strength. you could join the laminates with biscuits. and finally smooth the seat once joined.

paul :wink:

It might or might not be old fashioned, but theres a **** of a lot of messing about with that method. You have to rip out all your strip's, then get face side/face edge, then thickness them. Mess about drawing however many template shapes one for each strip, then cut out each one seperately on a bandsaw etc. Biscuit slot's, glueing up, clamping etc etc. And you would still be left with a surface like a concrete shuttering that would still need to be finished with a spokeshave/scorp/inshave/travisher/mirka or whatever?? :wink:

 

[woodshavings]

Thanks for all your responses - really very helpful- there is a lot to consider. My tool budget is not very healthy at present so I need to spend carefully.

I will make decision within the next few days and hopefully post some pics of the WIP.

Thanks again

John

 

[NickWelford]

I ought to have an adze, but I just can't get enamoured with the thought of bending over and swinging it at my feet.

Why not fix it up vertical in the vice same way as John "welsh nationalist" Brown does?

Ah, but I don't have a decent bench and I don't do very many. I have been keeping my eyes open for an old adze though - I like old tools being brought back into use - so if I pick up a good one I might try something similar.