davewyo Posted July 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2016 54 minutes ago, wdwerker said: They have been made on duplicating carving machines for a long time. Purely mechanical,operator traces a master template with a stylus and 6 blanks on either side are cut. The results desperately need cleaning up with sharp tools but the shape is there. Wow! I did not know that! After a little googling I see what you mean. One of the machines I saw advertises that it can duplicate a ball and claw leg in less than thirty minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted July 22, 2016 Report Share Posted July 22, 2016 Those are looking great. It's been fun watching these things emerge from those chunks of wood. And I wouldn't try to even them up too much. Their individuality is part of the beauty of them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted July 22, 2016 Report Share Posted July 22, 2016 I agree with drzaius, Dave, I think they look great as is. Nice work and thanks for journaling this. Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted July 22, 2016 Report Share Posted July 22, 2016 Yup..Great.as.is.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted July 23, 2016 Report Share Posted July 23, 2016 Yea buddy looking good. I have done a few legs myself. Not the ball and claw but the club foot type. I love the hand work involved. Ya done good! Someday I will nut-up and try the ball and claw! Great job!!! -Ace- 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 23, 2016 Report Share Posted July 23, 2016 Dave, what I meant was to deepen the cut all around the 'hand' to increase the shadow, and the illusion that the claw is gripping a (seperated) ball. This may require reducing the ball slightly, as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye Posted July 23, 2016 Report Share Posted July 23, 2016 Damn Dave! I'm just getting caught up on this thread, those look great. Lots of work and patience went into these legs, you should really be proud! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post davewyo Posted July 27, 2016 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 27, 2016 Okay so...I took a couple of days off and went back to refinements. I didn't take any photos of it but I raised the cuticle and elongated the claws on each finger. I marked two lines to work to; a "take it to here and see what you get" line, and a line that would go a little further. The same with raising the web between the front fingers which would give more of a shadow line of separation between the ball and the web (Thanks Ross!) as well as making the exposure of the upper part of the ball more pronounced. http:// You can't really see much but here's comparison taken after the claws had all been worked but when I had only worked on the web of the one leg. It's subtle, but I think it's better, and I can still work my way to the second line I marked if I like. It has really helped me along the way to go half way to where I ultimately think I'll be going. It leaves me some wiggle room and prevents me from going too far too soon. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 27, 2016 Report Share Posted July 27, 2016 Looking sweet, Dave! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted July 27, 2016 Report Share Posted July 27, 2016 These are looking killer! Every refinement is making a big difference. Great job. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted July 27, 2016 Report Share Posted July 27, 2016 You're doing hell of a job there, Dave! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post davewyo Posted August 1, 2016 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted August 1, 2016 On 7/26/2016 at 9:14 PM, wtnhighlander said: Looking sweet, Dave! On 7/26/2016 at 9:19 PM, Gary said: These are looking killer! Every refinement is making a big difference. Great job. On 7/27/2016 at 7:19 AM, Immortan D said: You're doing hell of a job there, Dave! Thanks guys! I appreciate the kindness. I sanded the B/Cs and moved on to the next step, which is a knee block to fill the transition from the knee to the apron. I'm pretty sure I should match the grain direction of the leg and ignore the grain on the apron, but I need to look over some Tube videos and confirm that. I cut up a trial piece and sketched out some lines: http:// And shaped it a bit: http:// I'm okay with how that came out so next I need to draw up the pattern I'll be using to carve the knee. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h3nry Posted August 1, 2016 Report Share Posted August 1, 2016 Looking fantastic there Dave. I think many knee blocks were made out of a piece sawn from the top of the leg stock they are attached to, to get the best possible grain match with the leg, ideally that join will be seamless. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted August 1, 2016 Report Share Posted August 1, 2016 I am really enjoying this build, Dave! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewyo Posted August 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2016 28 minutes ago, h3nry said: Looking fantastic there Dave. I think many knee blocks were made out of a piece sawn from the top of the leg stock they are attached to, to get the best possible grain match with the leg, ideally that join will be seamless. That's ingenious! I wish I had thought of it. I have more of the 8/4 stock that the legs came from and it should have a similar grain and color, but I don't know about seamless. I'm cutting the blocks out of side grain and face grain as the aspect of the leg requires to get the best match I can. That one pictured is a "throw-away" trial piece. When I settle on an acanthus leaf pattern for the knee it will likely require a slightly different shape for the knee block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted August 1, 2016 Report Share Posted August 1, 2016 Awesome, Dave! I'm proud of you buddy...this kind of thing takes mad patience. I ain't got it. You're doing a great job on this, keep it up! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted August 1, 2016 Report Share Posted August 1, 2016 great job on the legs Dave. You sure you haven't done this a couple of hundred times before. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewyo Posted August 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2016 On 7/31/2016 at 8:51 PM, Eric. said: Awesome, Dave! I'm proud of you buddy...this kind of thing takes mad patience. I ain't got it. You're doing a great job on this, keep it up! On 7/31/2016 at 10:50 PM, Chet K. said: great job on the legs Dave. You sure you haven't done this a couple of hundred times before. Thanks Eric. This kind of project, with a multitude of discrete steps is perfect for the schedule I get in the shop during the summer. It's painstaking work, but you definitely have the patience. You just have to dive in, post up a journal, and then there's no returning... Thanks Chet.No question, these my first B/Cs. There are numerous tell tale indications of my inexpert carving skills that are uite apparent in person which don't really show up in photos. The next ones I do will be more uniform, but that's just something you get after several repetitions( I hope). Overall I'm well satisfied with the results. These little legs are making things harder than if I had made a standard size ball and claw for something like a stool/chair/highboy/etc. So far, all told, this is the pile of off cuts and shavings I've taken off of the leg blanks: http:// My next step, which I have been avoiding finalizing for the longest time, is to design a pattern for the knee carving and make a template to use on all the legs. I went through several unsatisfactory iterations http:// before deciding to go with a more traditional acanthus theme: http:// I traced it out on a piece of disposable plastic cutting board (thanks Mary May!): http:// And cut out the pattern: http:// I found the drawing and settling on a pattern to be one of the most difficult parts of the process so far. The uncountable variations on the theme, and the myriad versions of actual historical carvings you could emulate are overwhelming. My brief study shows that there are certainly conventions in the carving of certain elements of an acanthus leaf or a Newport Shell, or what have you, but after that you can do pretty much whatever you want. For me, the incredible diversity of styles makes it harder than ever to decide on my final version. I would be better off having someone say: "This is how it's done. Do it like this." As it stands, I'll probably have to simplify my pattern slightly. It's still a little too detailed for the scale I'm carving. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted August 5, 2016 Report Share Posted August 5, 2016 That's pretty cool, Dave. I've often wondered why the leaf design was traditionally done on the knee above a claw. One would think a feathered knee to be a more logical choice. One of these days, I'm going to carve a set of B&C legs, with hairy monkey feet! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewyo Posted August 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2016 1 hour ago, wtnhighlander said: That's pretty cool, Dave. I've often wondered why the leaf design was traditionally done on the knee above a claw. One would think a feathered knee to be a more logical choice. One of these days, I'm going to carve a set of B&C legs, with hairy monkey feet! Strangely enough that is a "thing". Check out the hairy paws here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted August 5, 2016 Report Share Posted August 5, 2016 This is a great project, Dave. I have to say you are more patient than Kwai Chang Caine. I don't think I could deal with all those details. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted August 5, 2016 Report Share Posted August 5, 2016 Yup...This is a very cool build..Im looking forward to seeing more..Great work Dave. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wdwerker Posted August 5, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted August 5, 2016 I found the guy who made the reaching ball and claw chair that is in the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Museum . http://www.jakecress.com/#!an-irreverant-view/c6n8 His website has other animated & fanciful pieces as well as serious furniture. Incredibly talented craftsman ! There are some great stories behind his work as well . He made 10 of the "OOOPs " chairs ! One sold for $50,000 ! He also made a miniature one. Just thought I would share considering this threads topic. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewyo Posted August 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2016 Okay...so...I have been making some incremental progress which is not all that interesting, but I was asked for details, so here you go. I tried to match the grain for the knee blocks on some stock I have, and then cut out some blanks. I made some templates (seen in the upper right of the photo) for the band-saw cuts I would have to make and marked them on each blank. Each is numbered as to their position. http:// I put the aprons in each of their places and struck a knife line for the bottom edge. http:// I also put in a pencil line which coincides with the back side of the apron. http:// Then I made a little glue block which I will later use to position each of the knee blocks as I individually glue them into place in their prospective spots. http:// 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Coop Posted August 7, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted August 7, 2016 Soooooo glad I started out woodworking with decorative boxes and not b&c legs. I would have sold every tool within 2 weeks! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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