Throwback: Making Ogee Bracket Toes One other Method

—This text is from FWW #21–Mar/April 1980.

Ogee bracket toes, broadly used in the course of the Chippendale interval of the early to center 18th century, type a good looking base for chests, tall clocks, desks, and plenty of different items. Nonetheless, to many starting woodworkers, they seem tough to assemble. The normal means entails shaping an extended board of the required thickness, utilizing molding planes. The directions I’ve discovered for making ogee bracket toes have the ogee molding reduce on the desk noticed. The ogee form is laid out on the top of the inventory to function a information for adjusting the sawblade to the proper depth of reduce.

Then repeated cuts at numerous heights tough out the form. After chopping on the noticed comes the laborious job of cleansing up the molding with carving gouges, gooseneck scrapers, and numerous grits of sandpaper (FWW #12). After cleanup, the molding is reduce to the specified size, mitered, dadoed throughout the miter for the spline, assembled, and at last reduce to form. For many house craftsmen or small retailers, that is the best way to make steady ogee molding bases. However there may be one other methodology, based mostly on the bandsaw, for making ogee bracket toes as much as 6 in. or 7 in. lengthy. It’s quicker, and I believe less complicated, than the standard strategies.

Start by chopping blocks 1-3/4 in. thick by 3 in. large by 6 in. lengthy, mitered at one finish. With the sawblade set at 45°, transfer the rip fence to the left of the blade and set the fence in order that the blade will reduce a slot for the spline near the heel of the miter. Set the blade to chop 1/2 in. deep throughout the miter. After making the reduce on all of the blocks, transfer the fence 1/8 in. farther to the left, increase the blade a fraction, and make the second reduce to offer a 1/4-in.-wide dado. The spline could also be manufactured from 1/4-in. hardwood plywood with the face and again veneer grain working lengthwise for optimum power, or from the identical materials used for the toes. The grain of a strong spline ought to cross the road of the miter, additionally for optimum power. Lower the spline 1/4 in. thick by 3 in. large by 1 in. lengthy.

In preparation for assembling the blocks, I glue-size the top grain first with a skinny coating of glue. It will preclude a starved joint by maintaining the glue from being pressured into the pores of the wooden below clamping stress. After the glue measurement has dried, apply extra glue and assemble, positioning clamps to deliver stress from each instructions.

Utilizing templates produced from a sample, lay out the ogee form on the ends and inside faces of the assembled bracket.

Drill a 1-1/4-in. gap on the tightest a part of the curve. This needs to be performed earlier than chopping the ogee form to stop any splintering on the face aspect of the foot. Then, to chop the ogee form, a pointy 1/4-in. or 3/8-in. bandsaw blade, correctly adjusted, will guarantee a straight reduce with no drifting. Set the higher information about 1/4 in. above the work. When you use a 3/8-in. blade, make one or two reduction cuts within the concave a part of the ogee form to stop the blade from binding. Lower the second aspect of the bracket in the identical method. Now reduce the outlined form.

Sand the convex a part of the ogee on a belt or disc sander or by hand utilizing 60-grit sandpaper. The concavity might be sanded simply with a shop-made spindle on the drill press, or on the lathe. Remaining sanding is completed by hand with 100-grit sandpaper, adopted by 220. Drill 3/16-in. holes, countersunk for flat-head screws, to mount the finished foot.

After the body has been assembled, a router with a 3/4-in. core field bit cuts the concave a part of the ogee. Watch out to not reduce too deep. Subsequent, rout the convex form with a 3/8-in. roundover bit. The ridge left by the core field bit might be eliminated with a block airplane. The toes are then reduce out on the bandsaw, sanded, and drilled for mounting.

 

Furnishings that can stand in opposition to a wall doesn’t require the ogee shaping on the again. In such instances, it’s essential to form solely the aspect of the foot. A plain picket brace, reduce on the diagonal and connected with glue and screws, will present the mandatory assist.

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