My examination of 200 year old antique Windsor chair spindles seems to reveal that they were handmade with a spokeshave. Some of the fancy spindles even had a bulb about 1/4 the way up. That works for me, too, but it is sure labor-intensive. Anyone successfully made these with machine tools? Typical spindle might be 5/8 or 11/16 inch on the big end, tapering uniformly to about 3/8 inch on the top end, and from 30 to 33 inches long. I've tried three different machine methods, but none have satisfied me so far. Start with 3/4 inch square white oak or hickory straight grained stock.
1) Turn in 16x54 inch wood lathe at 2000 rpm using a leather glove on one hand to provide a continuous steady rest while cutting with a gouge with the other hand. Finish with spokeshave.2) With either over-arm or portable router and quarter-round bit, make four passes to produce a round section; then change to a smaller bit and repeat part way; finish by hand spokeshave.
3) I've made several hollow mills with three-lips, rotating at high speed in the wood lathe headstock to make the first cut from the square stock. Then a second pass at a smaller diameter, etc. Mills are made from 1 inch OD drill rod, hardened to Rc60-62, ground to a sharp edge. Still a lot of work because it will still only cut a single constant diameter..4) Go back 200 years, and make with a spokeshave. That works, but it is expensive.
Any great ideas? Thanks, Dave