Rounding plane for windsor chair leg - query

[disco_monkey79]

Hi

Having read Jack Hill's Country Chair Making, I'm keen to have a go at some of the simpler projects.

Jack referenced using a rounding plane to get the end of the leg precisely cut, to ensure a very snug fit in the seat (I'm talking about for windsor-style, with round legs).

I don;t want to (i.e. can;t afford to!) by umpteen rounding planes, so was wondering if 1" would be a sensible size to go for.

Also, I note Jack's book was written some 25 years ago - are there any alternatives to a rounding plane now available? I've seen Veritas shavers, like giant pencil sharpeners, but these don;t seem to go as big as 1".

Many thanks

 

[nev]

You could always make your own of varying sizes from an old frog, a lump of wood and some sticky backed plastic
http://timmanneychairmaker.blogspot.co. ... anley.html

 

[AndyT]

You can get the trad pattern of rounder quite cheaply from Ray Iles here:

http://www.oldtools.free-online.co.uk/index.htm

There is a well-established commercial alternative to the Veritas, made in England and still going strong, from Ashem Crafts - see here:

http://www.ashemcrafts.com/products_rotary_planes.aspx

Another option if you want to have a go at making one - and simpler than some - is the design I noted in this thread

 

[disco_monkey79]

Thanks all. Would 1" be a sensible size for chairs?

 

[AndyT]

It does sound a bit big to me - maybe it's easier to think about how big a hole you will tolerate in the seat. The nearest similar chair to me at the moment (a commercially made Ercol chair) goes down to 3/4" at the tips for a through-the-seat fixing and it's plenty strong enough without looking clumsy.

 

[custard]

If you've got a lathe then just turn the leg tenon, you can size a tenon pretty accurately using an open ended spanner.

If you haven't got a lathe, and you're making "Welsh Stick Chair" type windsors and "staked stools", then you can whittle the tenon using a hole in a bit of plywood as a checker/template.

But if you're determined to buy a rounder then 3/4" would be a good size to go for. I used to use either 3/4" or 7/8" for windsor chair leg tenons, I think James Mursell uses 7/8", and I seem to recall that Mike Dunbar went thinner on his very elegant American windsors, something like 5/8" or 11/16". So 3/4" would be a good average size that'll see you right in almost all circumstances.

Good luck!

 

[Jacob]

I wouldn't bother with a special plane unless you are going into production. Probably not even then.
I think it's important to be able to whittle a la Custard above. It's empowering; it's really useful to be able to do simple things without special bits of kit. Or make your own bits of kit e.g. in this case sharpen the edge of a bit of steel tube and use it like a punch to trim the rough shaped round tenon

 

[disco_monkey79]

Thanks all. I'll have a crack at a stool with hand made 3/4 through dowels. Nice idea.using spanners as size guides!

Follow-up question - does the slot for the wedge need.to be tapered, or should it be straight cut? The diagram in the book is hand drawn, so isn't clear on that.

 

[custard]

Straight cut, and use a saw with a decent size kerf (so not a Japanese saw for example). The reason is that if the kerf's too fine then the wedge will start sticking almost immediately and in a very thin section, tap it off-centre and it'll just snap. For the same reason make sure your wedges are in something hard, say Oak or harder.

Most important thing of all, the saw cut/wedge needs to be at 90 degrees to the grain direction in the seat, get that wrong and you split the seat.

Try and orientate your legs so that the radial or the tangential faces all face to the front, doesn't matter which just make them all uniform. On some timbers, like Ash or Oak, there's a big visual difference between the radial and tangential faces, nothing spoils the harmony of a chair like having a hodge podge of different grain patterns on the legs.

Good luck!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Be wary of making it too light in an attempt to ensure its not looking clumsy. This may sound stupid, but I had an exquisite fruitwood rocking chair that was very beautifully and finely turned - my brother in law came in one day tired, slumped in it and went straight through it smashing it to smithereens. For a first chair, probably better to have it a little chunky and usable.