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Rocking Chair- Part 4 |
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Chance for another gloat and to tell you how easily the LN Boggs spokeshave cuts end grain.
I am shaping the front of the seat here, to match the template which I used to roughly cut out these front scoops. I followed the bandsaw with the bobbin sander but I was not completely happy with the smoothness of the curve and in short order this spokeshave - it's the one with the curved bottom (5 inch radius) - had smoothed off all the imperfections. I only needed a very light sanding thereafter to make it like the proverbial baby's bum.
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Now the fun starts! I have to carve out the shape of the seat. My initial weapon of choice is this Clifton spokeshave with a curved sole (side to side, as opposed to front to back like the Boggs). This one has a curved blade - a bit like a scrub plane only more so, so it needs sharpening with care to preserve the correct curve. Using this spokeshave is actually pretty slow going and I soon discover that whilst it can be set for a rank cut, it is at its best as a delicate tool and that Hal's method of using an angle grinder to take out the bulk of the wood to be removed is easily the most efficient and surprisingly accurate and delicate.
I also use a couple of carving chisels and lots of coarse sandpaper. |
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Sitting here on our dining room table is the seat roughly carved and waiting a "bottom-test" from my daughter |
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Another view of the seat. At it's deepest it is some 3/4 inch deeper than the original wood surface. I am pretty pleased with how it looks and the symmetry I have managed to achieve/maintain in the carving.
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