It can be a daunting task to make duplicates of any item. That’s especially true when it comes to spindle turning. So, today I’m going to walk you through my process of how to make table legs that are identical! If you’re interested in making this exact leg, well you’re in luck because I have a template available here!
To keep up with all of our latest projects and sneak peeks of what’s coming up, make sure to follow us on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook! Also, if you’d like to help support us and fund future projects you can sign up to be a Patron!
Here are the tools and items I used to make these legs:
Materials
- Lumber of choice
Tools
Affiliate links are used on this page. See my disclosure page for info on affiliate programs.
How to Make Table Legs
- Get the Template!
- Make a Story Stick
- Prepare Stock for Legs
- Turn Table Legs
- Completed Set of Legs!
Get the Template
If you want to make this same leg, go ahead and grab the template I have here!
Make a Story Stick
The first thing to do is make what’s called a story stick. This is basically a road map for all of the length and diameters needed to create the leg.
Simply put, you trace the leg profile onto a piece of material (cardboard, hardboard, or plywood) making sure the design is parallel to the edges of your story stick. Then using a square, draw lines from the feature transitions across the story stick.
Prepare Stock for Legs
Once the stock is to the proper width and thickness, make sure all of the legs are to the same length.
Then mark the center on each end, and set the spur drive into one end.
Turn Table Legs
With the piece mounted on the lathe, hold the story stick up to the stock, and transfer the marks. For this particular piece, I only transfer the marks for the pommel cut (transition from round to square) and turn all of the material in between each pommel to the largest diameter in my design.
With all of the transition lines marked it’s time to measure the diameter of each feature using a pair of outside calipers.
Once the feature is close to size, use the calipers to check the diameter. If you’re new to turning, turn the lathe off each time you check the diameter of a feature.
Continue using the template to reference different feature diameters until the leg is turned!
Completed Set of Legs
As you see, this post doesn’t go into the technique of turning, but rather covers my approach to making duplicate items by hand. If you’d be interested in me discussing the techniques behind turning the different elements of this table leg, just let me know!
If you have a go at this tag #woodshopmike on Instagram and let me know how it goes!
As always, if you have any questions, leave them in the comments. And until next time, have fun making something!
Leave a Reply