Here you can watch as the front profile is cut for the back legs of the current rocking chair build. The picture gallery will be posted tomorrow and follows the layout of the profile before cutting and the legs after they are cut. The legs will still need to be finish shaped before final assembly.
This is the video of the rocker front legs being turned on the lathe. Thanks to Phil Gautreau, resident turner at 3rd Ward, for filming and getting me set up on the lathe after a seven-year hiatus.
This rocker gallery update follows the process of putting the legs on the lathe to turn them. The legs are tapered from the joinery area to where they will eventually attach to the rocker and arm rest. This was the first time I have been on a lathe in about seven years. I forgot how much fun it is and what a relaxing experience it can be. A video update will be posted above.
Being able to have templates made already ensures that when it comes time to cut into your material, you don’t have to be wasteful. This was a particular point of interest for me dealing with 8/4 cherry. The back leg template enabled me to have proper grain layout throughout the piece and made it able to nest two legs very close together to conserve this expensive material. I was then able to band saw rough chunks out, run them over the jointer and thru the planer and then bandsaw close to be able to flush trim on the router table.
This album focuses on the construction of the front two legs of the rocking chair. As you can see there are many tools involved. My favorite part of this process was being able to break in my new tools I purchased from the Lie-Nielsen tool event that occurred at 3rd Ward. The spoke shave and router plane made it easy to create the tight joints at the leg to seat connection. The legs are not finished yet, they still need to be turned on the lathe for final shaping.
