| Sitting Bench -- Sculpting the Legs and Seat |
From "Wood Works"
episode WWK-108 |
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With the legs and seat pieces cut out, the joinery made and the purpleheart accents created, the next phase in the construction of the sitting bench is to sculpt the curved surfaces of the seat and legs. The distinctively curved profiles of the seat and legs are what give the bench its sense of elegance and charm. Achieving those curves requires several steps. Materials: Maple seat and leg pieces
Curved templates
Band saw
Power angle-grinder; power-sculpting blade
Disc sander
Carpenter's pencil
Saftety glasses or goggles
Note: Cut sizes may vary. For exact measurements, please contact David Marks through his website -- information below under Resources. Safety Alert: Always wear safety goggles or safety glasses when working with wood, saws, drills, routers, etc. Steps: - The curved seat template is used to make some layout lines on the bench seat (figure A).
- With the curved marks laid out, the seat is taken to the band saw, where the curved top portion is rough-cut away (figure B).
- Similarly, bottom pieces are cut away using the band saw -- stopping short of the mortises to leave the joinery intact.
- Next, work begins on sculpting curves into the legs. As with the seat, curved templates are used to make marks for the curved profile of the legs. The templates are used to mark cut lines on the top and bottom of the leg pieces. The end marks are then connected with pencil lines along the edges of the leg piece to indicate the areas of the wood that will be carved away during the sculpting process (figure C).
- Once the pieces have been marked up according to the templates, work can begin sculpting the wood. Although this could be done with hand tools, power tools were used in our demonstration to make the process go more quickly.
- An angle-grinder, with a power-sculpting blade mounted in it, is used to carve the curved shape into the leg. With the angle-grinder, it's a good idea to make even strokes. The inside surface is shaped first. Then the leg is flipped over to shape the outside surface (figure D).
- The same process is used to rough out a contour in the seat.
- Once the curved shapes have been roughed out, the next step is to smooth out the curves using a disc sander with a coarse-grade disc. The sander is used to grind away the rough ridges left by the sculpting tool, to blend the surface and to round out the shape of the curve. The disc sander is used to feather and shape all of the surfaces that were sculpted with the grinder -- including the insides and outsides of the legs, as well as the seat (figure E).
- Once the pieces have been shaped and smoothed using the power tools, hand tools can be used to finish up the job. A straightedge can be used to find and identify uneven spots on the surface, and tools such as a gooseneck scraper (figure F), block plane, pattern-maker's rasp and shaping tool can be used to clean up the form and finesse the shape a bit.
In the next phase of the project, the surfaces will be brought to a fine finish, and the piece will be assembled and treated with a wood finish. Sponsored Resource
> Click here to order your tools and materials for this project from Woodcraft!
RESOURCES :
Fine Woodworking
A magazine devoted to high-quality craftsmanship in woodworking.
The Taunton Press Inc.
Website: www.taunton.com
The Small Wood Shop (The Best of Fine Woodworking)
Author: Helen Albert (Editor)
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 1561580619
Woodworking Techniques: Best Methods for Building Furniture from Fine Woodworking
Author: Editors of Fine Woodworking magazine
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 1561583456
Mastering Woodworking Machines (Fine Woodworking Book)
Author: Mark Duginske
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 0942391985
David Marks Website
David Marks, DIY's Wood Works host, is a master woodworker. For more information on cut sizes and project details, please contact him via his Website at www.djmarks.com
The Complete Book of Wood Joinery
Author: Robert J. Decristoforo
Publisher: Sterling Publishing Co.
ISBN: 0806999500
Advanced Woodworking
Model: 0783539126
Author: Editors of Time Life Books
1998
Time-Life Books Inc.
Website: www.timelife.com
Popular Woodworking
F & W Publications, Inc.
Website: www.popularwoodworking.com
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