Tip #113
How To Make Cabriole Legs On A Bandsaw
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Recently a MARK V owner wrote tell us that he had attended one of our woodworking demonstrations and observed our representative making a cabriole leg. When he tried to duplicate the procedure in his home shop, he had difficulty.

We talked with Bill Hoff, Academy Instructor about making these legs. The technique he uses can also be used to make sculptures, lamp bases, and patterned posts and rails -- or to remove excess stock before turning posts or spindles on the lathe.

Begin by tracing your pattern onto one side of your stock. Cut out the contour, but save the waste. Tape the waste back onto the stock in its original position. Masking tape works well. Turn the stock 90-degrees so another side faces up, then trace your pattern onto it. Make the second cut. When you remove the waste, you will have the beginnings of a piece that will look hand-carved, once you've finished shaping it.

To complete the job, we recommend that you use an Inflatable Contour Sanding Drum on your Shopsmith MARK V or wood lathe to round-over and "soften" the sharp edges left by the bandsawing process.

We recommend that you start with a coarse to medium grit sleeve and finish up with a fine or ultra-fine grit sleeve. These are great tools for this job since you have a full range of sleeve grits to choose from (80, 100, 120, and 150-grit) - Plus - the ability to increase or decrease the drum pressure to help it conform better to the shape you're sanding and to provide optimum control of its aggressiveness.

Fig. 1 Click image for larger view.

Plans - Click image for larger view.