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Thread: How to make a round tenon on a curved stretcher

  1. #1
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    How to make a round tenon on a curved stretcher

    I need to make a curved stretcher for a stool that has one end terminating in a round 5/8" tenon, and another terminating in a 3/4" tenon. I don't have tenon formers this large. The curve prohibits me from turning these on the lathe. How would you do it?

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    Make an octagon, then keep knocking off the points, creating more-and-more-sided polygons until you get it round.

  3. #3
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    You can rig a jig that would allow you to turn it on the lathe, but it's probably easier to shape them by hand with chisels, rasps and files.
    ~ Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought.

  4. #4
    I do as Malcolm said, with an emphasis on making a perfect square first. That will enable you to make a nice octagon, which will make your chances of a getting a good circle higher.

    Here are some pics I took on a project. Lay out and cut the shoulder:

    Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 10.53.32 AM.jpg

    If you can, use a chisel to split the sides. Much faster and easier with small tenons.

    Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 10.53.47 AM.jpg

    Pare to make a square:

    Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 10.54.02 AM.jpg

    Then Octagon and finally a circle.

    Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 10.54.19 AM.jpg
    "For me, chairs and chairmaking are a means to an end. My real goal is to spend my days in a quiet, dustless shop doing hand work on an object that is beautiful, useful and fun to make." --Peter Galbert

  5. #5
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    Thanks for the suggestions. I decided to make the stretcher straight. That way I can turn both ends on the lathe. I was hoping for some kind of glue block solution to do a multi axis turning, but I just can't make the geometry work.

  6. #6
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    Making a square,then octagon,then 16 sides,etc. is the way the gunsmiths in Williamsburg make round barrels for fowling pieces. Round barrels are much harder to make than octagonals if you don't have a lathe.

    I made some special rounding tools for the wheelwright's shop years ago. They are called a Witchel. Google around to find it. Specify they are tools for making round tenons.
    Last edited by george wilson; 04-18-2016 at 4:52 PM.

  7. #7
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    I made some special rounding tools for the wheelwright's shop years ago. They are called a Witchel. Google around to find it. Specify they are tools for making round tenons.[/QUOTE]
    Rounder%20005_opt.jpg
    George,
    I have heard this called a widget, a rounder and now a witchel. Do you have any insight how this tool came to get its names?
    Bill Howes

  8. #8
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    I didn't know you hadn't made the curve yet. If that's the case, form the tenons first, and then shape the curve.
    ~ Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought.

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    Yea a chair, stool is close enough!

    Lee Valley makes a large reamer for chair making (3/16-1 3/16" diameter, 5 1/2" long, 5/16 hex shank, 12.8 angle, there is a smaller one too). It works well on a hand electric drill, drill press or brace. They also make matching Tapered Tenon Cutters in sizes:3/8,7/16, 1/2,9/16,5/8", also available in the 3 eights sizes as a set. The Tenon cutter works sort of like a pencil sharpener. Schwarz uses them in all his classes and for all his projects. He has been on a staked (tapered mortise & tenon legs) furniture mission for a year or two now. Galbert has a special design, much more expensive, but also uses the LV tools. They actually stay sharp fairly well. You will need to sharpen them though, a diamond paddle works well. These may not be what you need for chair stretches but they make round tenon cutters too. Elia Bizzarri also makes reamers and tenon cutters for legs and stretchers. You can turn a rough round tenon on the lathe and then make it a straight or tapered tenon with the hand tools above.

    The tapered tenon in a tapered hole, with a wedge in the top, is what gives legs so much strength. Pressure from above just tightens the joint, you should not even need stretchers. The round tapered & wedged joint using a soft wood for the chair seat and hard for the legs is what keeps the wood from splitting. These fairly simple tools make chair making much easier. I stand on my little saw bench with four staked legs and no stretchers frequently. Good luck!
    Last edited by Mike Holbrook; 04-19-2016 at 5:52 PM.

  10. #10
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    If I were doing it, I'd turn the stretcher tenons on a lathe, then steam heat and bend the stretcher.
    Life's too short to use old sandpaper.

  11. #11
    Or drill a hole and peg it with a dowel.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Glen Canaday View Post
    Or drill a hole and peg it with a dowel.
    Please. We call them "cylindrical floating tenons" (not to be confused with "ovular pointy-ended floating tenons")
    Last edited by Patrick Chase; 04-19-2016 at 10:19 PM.

  13. #13
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    Done

    Here's how it worked out. Let's call it a puttin-on-the-shoes bench.

    This was very (HUMBLY) inspired by a recent visit to Wharton Esherick's studio in Malvern, PA.

    I HIGHLY recommend it. He was so unconventional. His sculpted, fluid, yet cleverly functional furniture really speaks to me.

    This bench is made from cherry and sycamore scraps.

    Drilling the holes by eye was good practice. In the past I've spent so long thinking about jigs and set up, and more and more I'm trying to 'just do it'. I'm fascinated and eluded by the fact that one can saw, drill, and plane perfectly with nothing but your eye and hands. Despite being an engineer at heart, the math side of woodworking has never appealed to me. Ok, back on topic.

    This bench was cabinet scraped then sanded from 240 to 600; 2 coats poly/oil.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Prashun Patel; 04-25-2016 at 9:35 AM.

  14. #14
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    Very interesting, Prashun! beautiful piece of wood. I like the cured lines and how they explore the grain in the wood to great visual effect.

  15. #15
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    Very nice work Prashun.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

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