Re: Final touches on ball and claw *LINK*
Todd from San Jose
>Hi Alan,
I probably did some things right, and winged it in other areas, so take what I tell you with a grain of salt. I took me about 20 to 25 hours total over the long weekend, I was going really slow because I was a bit cautious about taking this on. I found that if I carefully paid attention to how he held his tools and every word he said, it went very well. Phil Lowe's video was really great. I bought 7 gouges, a spokeshave, a rasp and file that he recommended. I basically watched a little of the video, paused it while I did what he said, then continued. Here's roughly the process:
1. I sketched a pattern for my leg, based on general proportions given by the video.
2. I created a template, and bandsawed to it. My biggest mistake was cutting over the line in a couple of spots- it took a lot of time to get this fixed during leg shaping.
3. I spokeshaved the leg smooth, where the spokeshave would reach, then sketched onto the wood the curve where the ball meets the claws and webbing.
4. I carved a cylinder the diameter of the ball, using a gouge that has a sweep the same diameter of the ball. Then, you chamfer the ends of the cylinder into large cones, then shape the ball.
5. Rough out the webbing. Without a model to refer to, I was winging this, but it turned out okay.
6. You then form each claw into cylinders, knuckle-to-knuckle. Then make each cylinder slightly concave, leaving the knuckles sharp.
7. Then form the talons into cones, and then shape them to final shape.
8. At this point, it's roughly in it's correct shape. You then clean it up, and try to make it proportional and aesthetic everywhere.
9. Now, round the corners on the leg with a rasp, then a file, from the ankle up. The video walks you through it. Then use a card scraper to clean up the file marks.
10. Then sand. The sanding very effectively removed all of the tool marks, to my surprise. I started at 80 grit, and worked through every grit to 220. I was careful not to sand the knuckles, trying to leave them sharp. They get slightly rounded from the occasional touching of sandpaper, which ends up just right.
That's it- it really wasn't that hard. I would encourage anyone to try it without hesitation. This is a practice piece, so I wasn't worried about making a mistake- that takes a lot of the stress off. I now can take on the real legs for the furniture with a bit more confidence.
Phil Lowe's video
