Great question Scott, I must admit I have no idea. Although I was set on marble, this slab is actually a granite. It blew away all the other selections I saw at the bone yard at Carthage marble in KC. I will check my sources on the sealing, thanks for bringing it up. CH

Gentlemen,

Thought I would show the table that I am basing my table on. Of course, mine is different in many ways, dimensionally, wood species, etc. I have no drawing but definitely am using this as "inspiration."

Cal,

Your table is looking awesome. I love the stone top.

Rat

Thanks you guys for commenting.

Quick update. Broke out the sketch pad last night and drew out the knee blocks. Made a pattern and marked the blanks. If you look closely there is a little flat on the outside of the block that will hopefully help in fitting the gadrooned molding underneath the rail.

Cut them out in two directions, just like a cabriole leg. It was kind of nasty muggy in my garage so I didn't last very long.

Did get two of them cut out and glued up to the leg. It is important to make these fit really well because any crack or glue line will show in the final piece. The knee blocks are glued only to the leg, not to the apron.

Have a great weekend everybody. Cal

Awesome job on the legs. I have tried to carve a b&C on some basswood abut a year ago. Tough, very tough. Especially when you have nothing to reference off of except for Landon's article.

Looking very good. Us boys from NC gotta keep the furniture flame burning.

Thanks Barry. Definitely trying to keep it going since my Dad instilled it in me. I hope I can get my son i nto woodworking when he is a little older.

Couldn't believe how nice it was in Hertford the week of the 4th. Hard to believe it was July. Hated to leave the area - but it is always nice to get back to your own house and sleep in your own bed. Cal

All,

Not much shop time this week, but I did get out the sketch pad and drew my carving patterns. A tricky part is to make the pattern so that the curvature of the leg is taken into account. I find that marking the centerline on the leg and folding the paper helps to get a pretty good starting line. Maybe there are those out there that have a better method. Oh yeah, make plenty of photocopies because after they are used, the paper on the knee, the volute and leafage on the knee block, and a C-scroll going down the outside of the leg below the knee block.

Here is a picture of the patterns:

So after the centers I use a dark pen to mark the legs. I have had to finesse the pattern into the areas because each leg is slightly different. It actually takes a bit of time to get the patterns on the leg. I have a couple of legs marked:

Can't put it off any more, I'm nervous but hopeful that these will turn out well, gotta start choppin' on these legs!!!

Later, Cal

Wow Cal, that's going to be an awesome table. Watching you progress on the rest of these carvings will be a treat. Just remember, the more pics the better!

Rick

Cal,
your right it was beatiful 2 weeks ago. The humidity has been low for a couple weeks now. Picked back up today. We are having one of those early evening thunderstorms right now, the usual tornado watch, warning, high winds yada, yada, yada.

The carvings are gonna look great. Now before your next post, get a webcam installed in the shop so we can watch you work those carvings. I really want to see how someone carves.

Getting going on the carving. First thing I am starting with is the center C-scroll element. With the pattern marked on the knee, first I chase all the lines with a carving gouge of a similar pattern. Whenever I need a specific curve I usually find something close, at this point I have a decent selection of carving chisels. Here is the chased outline...

And here is progress, the outline has been relieved and the ground lowered...

Next, I have started outlining the leafage going down the leg...

Let me know if there are any questions, comments, or criticisms....Cal

Cal, as is probably obvious from my questions I know nothing of the type of carving you're doing here, but I'll ask anyway.

Now the area that your showing, where it's being recessed, is curved on the bottom, what type of chisel do you need to use in that case?

Rick

Rick,

For the most part when I level the ground I will use a shallow gouge like a #3 or a #4. The one I use the most is a Stubai #3, about 3/8" wide. I use the narrow one because of the tight areas that I have to get into. A regular bench chisel or a flat carving chisel can work also, but you have to watch out for the corners digging in. Thanks for commenting. CH

Cal,

All that craving...your the man. You make it look so easy...that is what great artisan do isn't it. Thanks for all your insight on the B&C feet.

Thanks for the compliments Chuck - BUT - I think from documenting the process it should be encouraging to anyone wanting to try some carving that is just a series of steps and most any woodworker can do it. The only thing that separates me from those who don't carve is that I have tried it. And believe me I learn more with each step and with each time I set up. I am anxious to see how the knees turn out, but at the same time need to take my time, which I'm not very good at....Thanks again, Cal

Cal, Keep on keeping on man. That looks awesome. A couple questions:
1. do you put an inside bevel on your chisels?
2. In reference to Cherinubi's article in PW. I assume you took the ground down to approx. 1/8"?
3. When you plan out your drawings do you take into account of the sweeps of our gouges for your initial cuts or do you pick out the gouge with the closest sweep?

Thanks for the pictures and step-by-step instructions. Keep them coming.

Barry,

Thanks for the comments. To answer your questions:

1. I don't put an inside bevel. I actually like what you get from an inside bevel, but I have never had much patience for sharpening, so I do it with a light touch on the belt sander/buffing wheel. 45 secs and back to work. Learned from my Dad, the fastest woodworker you would ever meet. So there is no way to get at the inside bevel unfortunately. I probably should hone inside bevels at least every few sharpenings, I might give that a try.

2. The ground is probably not a full eighth on this one, it is not quite as robust as the PW chair - but it is closer to 3/32". I don't really measure it, though. I stop when it looks ok.

3. I draw it to look the way I want it, then use my chisels to approximate. I am just not that into planning to make sure I use the same chisel at each location like a paint by numbers, sounds too slow- I would rather work it as it goes....

Let me know if these answers created more confusion....Thanks again, Cal

Got 45 mins in the shop last night, and took a quick pic this morning before leaving for work. Progress....

There is a lot left to do, but you can start to see the effect that the interplay of light and shadows have on the new texture of the leg. So far, so good. Comments/critiques? CH

Hey Cal,
Do you have some 'action' shots of you relieving the background? What did you end up using to smooth the background?

Thanks,
Dave

Dave,

I don't have any 'action' shots, but there is a lot of background left to relieve. I'll try to snap some photos in the next couple of days.

As far as smoothing the background, I haven't really done it yet. Most of the surface has just been cut with that narrow #3 chisel. I plan to make some scrapers when all the legs are ready and smooth that way. So far I have been able to cut with the grain (changing directions when needed) and it has kept things relatively smooth.

Thanks for commenting. What are you working on these days? Cal

Thanks Cal...I'll keep an eye out. I have a couple federal candlestands that are about ready for finish. Work has really cramped my shop time!

Thanks again,
Dave

That is awesome work, Cal. I'm fascinated just following along and seeing the details emerge. There must be something in the NC water that promotes fine woodworking.

All,

I have been trying to work these legs a little at a time. Here are a few pictures of the process.

First, I start by setting in, or punching down along the perimeter of the carving design. I find a chisel with the correct profile:

Then I strike it with the mallett. How hard this is done depends on a few things. The walnut is harder than mahogany (with a few exceptions Philadelphia furniture was built of mahogany or walnut) so I usually give it a couple of hard taps.

Once this is done for an area I come back laterally and relieve the material next to the line. When the material is excavated next to the carving, then the ground can be leveled. Note: in this picture I only had a small amount of the line defined, usually I would do a large area before I moved to the relief, to keep from chipout and to increase efficiency.

Sometimes you have to relieve against the grain, and many times the area to relieve is just too tiny to reach with a chisel. I find a carving knife is useful for this and the wood can be sliced sideways or in the case of small points can be picked away. Most of the time the chip will come out pretty clean.

So there has been some progress. Three legs are done setting in and relieving. You can see that the legs facing the wall are not going to be carved, to save work and time.

And finally, here is a gratuitous shot of some gray-haired bald guy working the top of the legs. It can't be me, I look much younger than this!!!

As always, feel free to comment or criticize. I'm learning with each little bit...Cal

Cal, looking good! How far are you 'setting' in when you hit the chisel with the mallet? Thanks, Dave

I would say it varies, sometimes I have to go back and score the bottom to remove the chip. I try not to set in too deep or the line will show in the final carving. Ultimately in this table I want to see around 3/32", but I'm not really measuring.

Hey you and Ernie should drive in to St. Louis for the first sapfm meeting in September to share your wisdom after being a part of a group for a while. Interested? CH

Dang Cal, that's a lot of work. But it looks great thus far, that's going to be an incredible table when it's completed. You mentioned you're relieving the recessed areas around 3/32". That's a lot of material to remove considering you have 4 legs and each have a substantial amount of carving.

Rick