Quadralinear leg construction .... Need HELP

[Bluefin]

I Recently purchased about 20 BF of gorgeous 4/4 highly figured quartersawn white oak that I am going to use to build a Stickley-inspired crib for my younger sister's first child. I have rendered my sketch-up models, have bona-fide plans printed and ready to go, but I am STUCK on how to construct the main structural 2"x2" legs. I have found multiple different methods explaining how Stickley "used to do it", but the more I look into it, They are all wrong! All of the methods I find involve 4 individual faces joined by older shaper profiles, or now, lock miters, glued up. However, Stickley's own history page says that the 4 figured faces are assembled around a center post, which is missing from all of the "modern" variations I have found. I also came across a Stickley page showing the "molder" creating the main portion of a Quadralinear leg, which was essentially running a square leg through opposing routers to remove the 2 flat sawn faces, leaving an hourglass shaped core to which the other two mating pieces of quarter-sawn oak would be fit and glued. This "hourglass" method is by far the most stable, easiest, and structurally sound, but It is not possible to find a 2"x2" with 2 quarter-sawn faces, much less 4 of them, 46" in length. I am worried that the prevailing lock-miter construction will not hold up, and if i am building an heirloom for my sister's child, I have to be 100 percent sure it will last and especially the main structural components. ANY THOUGHTS?

[Levi Rathje]

You can achieve this by ripping 4 boards with 45degree bevels on both sides then put all the corners together. The center of this will leave a hollow square that you cut a piece to fill in. If you are shooting for 2" square and have 3/4" stock the center piece is 1/2 square. Total width minus material thickness times 2. When all glued together it will render a 2" solid with 4 quarter sawn faces. The other option is laminate and the put as veneer over the glue joint faces. The quadralinerar legs are challenging to make with the long meters but can be done if you cut very accurate miters, & have some patience.

[Vic]

All of the variations you site will be long grain to long grain glue joints. They will outlast many generations as well as the surrounding wood.

[dwacker]

You are right and wrong. Stickley used both designs. The original design was the hourglass but during the depression they were forced to go with their custom lock miter of sorts (not the same as we use today) Modern stickley went back to the hourglass design for ease of processing netting the same results. Either way both are semi accurate and will out live many generations.

[Barron]

As noted above, the lock miter will make very solid joints. Plus, as noted on Wood Talk last week, the safety guidelines for cribs change every week or two, so it's unlikely to be used for another generation.

[CessnaPilotBarry]

The last time I did quadralinear legs, I built a pair of sleds for lock mitering. 

 

They're simply two 4-5" wide x the leg length + 2" x 3/4" MDF strips, laminated to 1 1/2" thick.  Each end has a 1 1/2" x 8" x 3/4" hardwood cap that is installed one end flush with the face to be cut on the workpiece.  Each end cap accepts screws thread into the end grain of the blank, located in an area that will not be cut.  

 

There is an "A" sled and "B" sled, to cover both cuts the bit will make.  The "A" jig holds the stock inside face down, outside face up, the uncut edge against the MDF plates of the jig, and the edge to be cut against the router table fence. The "B" sled holds the inside face against the router table fence, and the outside against the inside of the jig, the completed "A" cut up, and the edge to be cut down.  The bit is not moved between operations. 

 

The sleds support the stock, prevent flex, absorb vibration, and eliminate the need to reference or ride on any knife edges, providing a much better and cleaner result than without.  It took not more than 10-15 minutes to make up the pair, out of scrap material.

 

I'm not near my shop, if anyone is interested in this and can't picture it, I'd be glad to post photos in a day or two.

[Tpt life]

I would love pictures. I have not had an easy time researching the concepts being discussed here and would love to understand even the OP initial question.

[dwacker]

I would love pictures. I have not had an easy time researching the concepts being discussed here and would love to understand even the OP initial question.

This guys web page as some photo's of a post.

http://combraystudio.blogspot.com/2011/09/more-quadrilinear-boffinry.html

[dwacker]

They are kind of a pain on a router table I think they were really designed for shapers. I alternate the cuts around the leg so that each board will be run each way one side laying and the other standing. The biggest part of making these perfect and the reason I think the shaper is easier is that when you do the cuts laying down with a back fence climb cutting your sizing the material width perfectly using the cutter so that all four sides are exact the same and 100% straight.

[TerryMcK]

Patrick Nelson did an article on this very thing in FWW back in 1996 issue 121 using lock miter router bit and a couple of jigs. If you can get hold of the PDF for that issue it may be a good read.

[CessnaPilotBarry]

Here's the pair of jigs.  They were built for 41" x 1-3/4 square sideboard legs.  Sorry about the dust.   You can become familiar with the operation using MDF blanks, cut the same size as your leg parts.  The strip of banding on the "A" jig is not really necessary.