Hello: I am starting a freestanding cabinet project and want to do something rounded in design, more or less. I want to make the sides out of 8/4 stock (white oak) 14″ wide and curve them inside and out as in a section of a circle. The stock I have is 7″ wide and I was thinking to put a bit of an angle on the edges to be joined to get started on the shape and then plane the outside to final shape. What to do on the concave inside to shape it? Would cutting a thin wedge out of each before joining the two help or one of the methods used to make large diameter coves on the table saw be better? I’m not looking for much of a curve to the thing but not sure how to describe it with numbers.
Thanks, KDM
Kenneth Duke Masters
The Bill of Rights December 15 1791 NRA Endowment Member
LEAA Life Member
CRPA Member
Replies
Are you sure you want to curve the inside? If the cabinet has drawers you want the inside wall straight. And even if it has only shelves the space gained is nothing compared to the problems involved. Joint with the top and bottom? Expansion issues?
DR
DR: I think you are correct about the inside curve. The plan calls for two open shelves and an enclosed area on the left side. I'm not sure what you meant by joint between top and bottom. The two pieces of 8/4 are going edge to edge to form the sides.
Thanks, KDM
Kenneth Duke Masters
The Bill of Rights December 15 1791 NRA Endowment Member
LEAA Life Member
CRPA Member
Edited 8/25/2006 9:31 am by dukeone
I was just wondering about the joints between the curved sides and the top and bottom of the cabinet. If, for instance, you were going to use half-blind dovetails, then curving the insides would be a lot more challenging than if the insides remained straight.
DR
duke,
I'd probably glue the two pieces together at a slight angle, like barrel staves, as you described. Then lay out the curve on the ends using a pattern. I think I'd rip a series of kerfs on the table saw, with blade height approaching the line from the pattern. If the curve is a segment of a circle, you can use the same fence setting to rip from both edges toward the center, and save some time. If it is a parabola, or ogee curve, then you'll just have to work your way across the width of the end. Then clean up the surface with a compass plane used crossgrain, and a curved scraper.
Regards,
Ray Pine
Ray: Thanks for the help. The series of kerfs sounds good but I don't have a compass plane and will not not not buy any more tools. Couldn't a bench plane start the shaping job followed by a r.o. sander or a spoke shave?
DukeKenneth Duke Masters
The Bill of Rights December 15 1791 NRA Endowment Member
LEAA Life Member
CRPA Member
duke,
C'mon, just one more tool?
I suppose a jackplane, scrub or foreplane, with a strongly convex ground blade set rank, and used longways with the grain, might do the job, depending on the curve of the ends. Random orbital sander might work, with a flexible disc, and coarse paper. Have you seen those overlapping sanding discs for angle grinders?
Ray
Ray: I just remembered I have an electric hand held planer. That should do that job, no? DukeKenneth Duke Masters
The Bill of Rights December 15 1791 NRA Endowment Member
LEAA Life Member
CRPA Member
duke,
Can't give you any input there, I'm not familiar with electric hand planes.
Good luck with your project, sounds interesting.
Ray
Thanks Ray, hopefully this will come out nice enough to post a picture or two. DukeKenneth Duke Masters
The Bill of Rights December 15 1791 NRA Endowment Member
LEAA Life Member
CRPA Member
A spokeshave will work just fine for shaping the outside. It'll even work on the inside. Why are you using 8/4 stock? Are you in a high wind area and you need the weight?
Sapwood: I was looking for a bold hefty kind of look to the piece and also after machining the curve into the 8/4 it should end up, I think, about 6/4 or so.
DukeKenneth Duke Masters
The Bill of Rights December 15 1791 NRA Endowment Member
LEAA Life Member
CRPA Member
"will not not not buy anymore tools" Sounds like a recovering toolaholic!
I've been struggling with the same problem. With the curved sides, not being a toolaholic! I doubt I will ever recover from that! With the curved sides though I decided after a couple of mock ups that the best approach was to shape the outside to a curve and leave the inside flat. As some have mentioned, the curved inside leads to problems that are not worth the effort! As for joining the top and bottom of the carcase to the sides, you could use dowels or if you have access to or willing to fabricate a horizontal router table you could cut a sliding dovetail on the top and bottom inside edges of each side that will allow you to slide the top and bottom pieces into place. Just remember to make the top and bottom long enough to account for the outside curve of the sides.
Don
Don: At this point I have given up on the curved inside, as you and others have said it won't be viable so not worth the effort. I'm planning through tenons on the top, just slightly above the surface and will have to incorporate some room for expansion. Project is still mostly on paper though I've bought some planks of white oak there is plenty of other lumber here for a bit of contrasting wood on, I'm thinking, the mating edges of the doors.
DukeKenneth Duke Masters
The Bill of Rights December 15 1791 NRA Endowment Member
LEAA Life Member
CRPA Member
Good luck with it, and as others have suggested, don't forget the pics when its completed!Don
Measure, cut, cuss
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