SHAVING and LEGGING UP SATISFACTION
Stool making has been a most pleasurable job these last few months - re-turning the tops of legs, deciding if the drilled holes will come all the way through so my feature oak wedges will be seen and positioning my trade mark Laburnum dot are all most satisfying. It's simple axe work to get those legs looking right, going with the grain, just going by eye until they look right, then out with the trusty drawknife to get the facets looking purposeful and a neat finish with a spokeshave to give them that wonderful silky thrill when you run your hands down them. This one has an Elm top, the Elm coming from Yorkshire, the Leeds neck of the woods. Legs are also Elm this time from Essex, Magdalen Laver, and from a tree that I felled due to Dutch Elm disease. The satisfaction of getting out all those shapely legs and pairing them up with a smashing lump of wood is excellent. I always prefer to use oak wedges it's a good contrast on the whole and so tough you can give it a good hefty wallop and it goes straight in to give that friction fit that means it's not going anywhere when the glue's dried.
Japanese saws are my go to tool for tidying up the top - great smooth cut on the pull cut and it really doesn't need any extra finishing - I loathe using sandpaper - if you're using the right tools and they're sharp it keeps everything simple clean and tidy.
My levelling up technique is the same as has probably been used since folks decided to have legs on their seats and works every time. I use the Japanese saw to cut the ends off - they make excellent kindling - I don't see the need to waste any of this wonderful commodity.
Some of my recently made and mostly sold stools....
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