Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 27

Thread: A unique style of Ball and Claw feet for a chair. PIX

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Pueblo West, CO
    Posts
    177

    A unique style of Ball and Claw feet for a chair. PIX

    Well I haven’t posted anything in a while and I’m still not ready to post my latest project. It is a heavily carved wing back chair for a very petite lady. It will be another upholstered piece so even after I get it ebonized and gilded, it will need to go to the upholsterer.

    So for fun, I though I would post one of the carving elements because this was almost a “project” of its own.

    This chair has ball and claw feet on the front legs, and the clients liked the undercut talons that John Townsend and John Goddard made famous. But for a chair, I didn’t like the undercutting they would sometimes do at the top of the ball. I felt it removed too much wood for the forces that chair legs must endure. The clients allowed me to use my input and go with a webbed upper ball and I wanted to do the tapered ball, rather than the stubby round balls.

    Here is what I came up with.



    I started by milling the cabriole leg blanks from 12/4 black walnut, and finished them to 2-3/4” square. The pattern was made out of 1/4 “ ply and was drawn on two faces of the rift sawn blank.



    The mortises were cut on the FMT, then both faces were cut on the band saw. I made one extra leg just in case I messed up and needed a “do-over”.



    The “cabriole” shape of the leg was sculpted and the block for the ball and claw remains. Note that there is extra “meat” on the knee for the upper leg, relief carvings later.



    The first step is to lay out the guide lines on the base of the foot. These will be used at each step of the carving. I shaved off about 3/32” from each side of the block to make the ball and claw a little more petite.



    I start by carving the front two faces and using the outer circle as a guide to form a cylinder. This outer circle is the widest circumference of the ball. By leaving the corners, you can see the claws start to form.



    The leg on the right shows the front two faces, and the one on the left shows the back two faces which are done a little bit differently. I can’t carve a vertical cylinder because the location of the “ankle” forces the creation of the top of the ball and the back webs.



    Now I return to the front of the ball and start to shape the cylinder into the desired shape of ball. This design is a “tapered” ball, so the apex is set high and the top is rounded in to form the front webs and the bottom is more of a straight taper down the smaller circle on the bottom layout lines.



    After the balls are shaped, the claws are rounded to match the shape of the ball. I used a compass to mark the height and location of the knuckles.
    Last edited by John Fry; 04-13-2007 at 8:33 PM.
    John

    Chisel And Bit
    Custom Crafted Furniture


  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Pueblo West, CO
    Posts
    177


    After a lot more work, the knuckles are sculpted, the cuticles are cut, the talons are carved down, and the tendons and webs are refined at the top of the ball.



    Undercutting the talons…….. Now this is where things get scary! I made a popsicle stick template to draw the cut zone on both sides of each talon. Using a 3/8”, #4 gouge and a ¼” bench chisel, I carefully carved a way the wood under each talon.



    After some riffler filing and some sanding, I sprayed some mineral spirits on the foot and this is what it looks like.



    And yes! I did carve two of them.

    I have carved ball and claw feet before, but never any this intricate.

    I refer to them as;

    Townsend/Fry – Newport/Acton Style

    As always your comments AND critiques are welcome.

    Thanks for looking,
    Last edited by John Fry; 04-13-2007 at 8:33 PM.
    John

    Chisel And Bit
    Custom Crafted Furniture


  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Binghamton, NY
    Posts
    467
    One word - BEAUTIFUL!

    Chuck

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,688
    Umm...are they alive??? Wow! Nice work!
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  5. #5
    Stunning. You bring art to life.

    Jack

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Mt. Pleasant, MI
    Posts
    2,924
    BAH! Artists.

    I can draw a stickman, usually.

    Very nice indeed, I am impressed. I can't wait to see the finished product.

    Joe
    JC Custom WoodWorks

    For best results, try not to do anything stupid.

    "So this is how liberty dies...with thunderous applause." - Padmé Amidala "Star Wars III: The Revenge of the Sith"

  7. #7
    Very nice, and detailed work John. I am afraid what you are accomplishing is a quickly dying art in this country. It is good to see you are keeping the artistic and highly skilled aspect of custom woodworking alive and well. Simply beautiful work. Your customer is a lucky lady!

  8. #8

    I just wish I had the skills....

    That is really beautiful and very different then I have seen before and I like the design.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    British columbia
    Posts
    78

    Your Ball & Claw Foot

    Fantastic - love the pierced talon! Cabriole legs are on my mind today cause I just bought my shinto rasp for embarking on my first set of cabrioles.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Lewiston, Idaho
    Posts
    28,504
    John............Pure artistry! Stunning work! I can't wait to see the final project!
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  11. #11
    I always appreciate seeing your projects! Thanks for providing the details. Your detailed processes have provided me with a lot of inspiration!

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Wimberley, Texas
    Posts
    307
    Thanks for sharing this astonishing work! And the step-by-step photos are a rare glimpse into the intricacies of doing a detailed carving like this. Yes, your client is lucky, indeed. Keep the photos coming!

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Harrisburg, PA
    Posts
    71
    Man...

    Please post pictures of this when it's finished.

    This is very inspiring.

    Thanks for posting this.

    Totally Awesome.

  14. #14
    You are going above and beyond the state of the art. It's exciting to watch.
    Please consider becoming a contributing member of Sawmill Creek.
    The cost is minimal and the benefits are real. Donate

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Webster Groves, MO
    Posts
    655
    Blog Entries
    10
    Very nice and life-like. You won't find anything that nice that is sold to the mass market in the furniture stores. Seeing this type of work makes one really appreciate hand crafted furniture.

Similar Threads

  1. First Ball and Claw Legs
    By Ralph Dobbertin in forum Neanderthal Haven
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 03-12-2007, 9:10 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •