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I'm planning to build a bed-side table and wish to build it with gently curved legs. I'm planning to recycle wood some old hardwood doors by cutting the blocks out with a circular saw, then cutting the curve in with a jigsaw.

Now the questions: Do I need a planer with a curved base to get a nice finish on the curve? Will a manual planer work best in this case? Power planers with a curved base seem pretty rare.

In order to keep the legs strong, do I need to ensure that the centre part of the leg runs from the top to the bottom of the leg without being cut?

BTW: my chippie skills are so-so. I've build simple furniture-like things before, but pretty simple ones.

Brad Mace
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dave
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2 Answers2

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User is right saying you should cut the rough shape with a band saw. If you don't have one, you can use a jig saw but use the most rigid blade that will follow the form. The next step will be to use a table mounted rotary sander/ drum sander to work the piece to the scribed line. It will be next to impossible to make a well shaped piece without this step. Check out a few episodes of "New Yankee Workshop" online (PBS) to see the techniques. Keeping a full length of grain top to bottom is extremely important,(as mentioned) otherwise the piece will split in time. Good luck with your project.

shirlock homes
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Use a bandsaw to get the rough shape (jigsaw blades tend to deflect when cutting thick stock). In order to keep the leg strong, make sure that you have at least a small section of wood that runs undisturbed from the floor to the table top. I have a very old buffet that was made with curved legs, and it has a weak spot in the leg that tends to shear off and time it gets bumped.

electricsauce
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