Saw a picture of a quilt rack with curved sides that are not arcs of a circle. HOw can I create a fair curve about 36" long that isn't merely an arc of a circle. I'll post the picture on ABPW in a minute - subject line: Quilt rack.
dave
A large plastic French Curve works well,. Also, at a drafting supply store you can buy a various lengths of plastic strip that is flexible, but can be bent in many different positions and will hold its shape. I use one for non-radius, flowing curves like you mention.
That said, most folks can do a fair job of free handing a non-radiused curve on a piece of mdf, then using a bandsaw, a pattern maker's rasp, and finally, a flexible strip with sandpaper attached to fine tune and smooth out the curve ... the mdf pattern then becomes a template for a pattern bit and your router so that two or more pieces will have the same curve.
Most of the time it is well worth the effort to make a template with either of these methods.
For radiused curves, I use a thin strip of wood with a string attached at either end like an archer's bow, with a piece of wood on the string fastened in a manner to hold the tension at the desired curve.
thanks! [thinking out loud]I wonder if Office Depot carries any drafting supplies like the flexible strip you mentioned? (I'm about 5 blocks from OD) I remember using a French Curve in grammar school, but of course it wasn't near the size that I'd need. I'll definitely take your advice on making a template. I don't have a pattern maker's rasp, so I'll look that up to see if I've got anything similar. I DO have a Surform rasp which is about an inch and a half wide and maybe (going by memory) about 10 inches long.
For something this long I take it that it wouldn't be a good idea to use my new handy dandy OSS to smooth out such a gentle curve?
dave
Sw>>circle. HOw can I create a fair curve about 36" long that isn't merely
Bend a thin strip of wood.
Solid core electric wire works too. A short piece of 12-2 or 14-2 cable retains the shape well and lies flat for easy tracing.
-- Mark
A thin strip of wood would work well. If you go the Office Depot route, an inexpensive flexible ruler would probably work as well.
The spindle sander should make the job of smoothing the part easier. Just remember to take your time (or you'll be re-making the part.) Plan to do the final shaping by hand with a sanding block.
Woodcraft, Lee Valley, et al carry bendable curves that make this kind of layout fairly easy. I have one but am usually more comfortable with the wooden strip approach.
I get a spool of plumbers solder at the local HW store. That way I can unroll as much as I need and lay out the curve. It holds it's shape. Obviously, if you're going to make manyparts, cut a pattern.
HTH, Vic
I guess my "thin" strips of wood aren't thin enough! I just ran out to the shop and tried to bend a piece of oak that is about 1/4" thick. No go.
I ran it through the planer (stuck to a thicker piece with carpet tape) and promptly "blew" it up on the second pass. Took another strip and got myself a 1/16+" piece to play with.
I ran screws into a sacrificial assembly table top and played around with the strip. Seems like that will work. I suppose I can adopt the same method with the MDF template? Just run some screws in at strategic locations and bend the wood around them and trace? Am I on the right track?
dave
Morris Dovey wrote:
Very difficult to find tool these days ... and be prepared for sticker shock:
I find that I need to use a rasp for roughing out, then the OSS, then sandpaper on a thin strip of wood that can flex enough to really smooth the curve without the 'bumps' you tend to get with the OSS.
Just my experience ...
Why use the planer? That's what a table saw is for!
RIP some 1/8th" strips of oak about 36 - 48" long ... guaranteed to bend and be flexible enough for a curve, to a point.
I usually have a bucket full of such strips of various lengths left over after a batch ripping fest. They make great flexible sanding strips for the final part of the finishing of the curve.
I looked at the link. the price definitely choked me up! :)
here is a quote from lee valley's page: "These are the traditional rasps of last-makers"
What is a "last-maker"??
The have some cheaper items on page 215; Microplanes. Ever use those?
dave
Sw>>so I'll look that up to see if I've got anything similar.
I've seen that kind of stuff in Staples. I assume O.D. has the same assortment. It's usually with the art and presentation supplies.
You could certainly find it at any drafting supply place like Charrette
duh, sorry, I DID have an 1/8" piece of oak, but it didn't bend too well! I see I wrote "1/4". I meant 1/8. my bad.
dave
Sw>>I guess my "thin" strips of wood aren't thin enough! I just ran out to
probably it didn't bend well because it was too wide. I cut it down to a couple of inches before bringing it down to 1/16. that seems to work fine. but you are right; if I had realized a narrower piece would suffice, I could have shaved off a 1/16 piece from a board on the TS.
dave
Bay Area Dave wrote:
Wow. You're right about sticker shock. How are those any better than cheap rasps you can get for under $10? I find a very hand tool to be a
4-in-hand file:What's an OSS?
I believe a last is the wooden form used by a cobbler to build a shoe on.
Sounds like it. I don't think I'd run (any more) thin strips through the planer, though. I tend to favor the bandsaw for ripping thin strips like this because I feel a little more in control of what's going on. Usually I can rip a nice uniform strip. If you want one part of the strip to be more "bendy" than the rest, just plane or sand that part a tad thinner than the rest.
Your screw approach sounds workable. If you're going to do much of this kind of work, you might want to glue a block to each end of a strip so you can "freeze" the curve just by clamping the ends down.
A "last" is a form piece used by cobblers to make shoes i.e. a dummy foot. A "last-maker" therefore is the person who makes them.
Also, a while ago on abpw we discussed pilasters and fluting design. I promised to provide a link to a website of general interest when I found it again, go to:
Roy,
oscillating spindle sander. very cool. just got one a couple of weeks ago; the Ryobi. (Thanks again, Mike for the recommendation)
dave
Roy Smith wrote:
yeah, it was a bit of heart lurcher when I heard a chunk tear out. first time that's ever happened to me, so I was a bit nervous running the next piece through, but it came out clean and more importantly, uneventfully! :)
dave
Morris Dovey wrote:
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