Three-Legged Race

Here’s a little recap of what’s been going on in the shop.

Tapered Leg Indent

The Greene & Greene Adirondack Chair features a nice tapered indent on the front legs. This feature is much easier to make than it might first appear. A simple jig (inspired by Darrell Peart’s design) straddles the leg and when used with a router outfitted with a straight bit and guide bushing, its a no-brainer. A perfect indent every time!

Three Leg Options

Now because this is a Guild Build, I like to show alternative options whenever possible. So I decided to try my hand at carving a foot similar to one I saw on a Greene & Greene plant stand. I have absolutely no training in carving so I just did my best to replicate the design and the results were passable. Still needs some refinement and I can definitely use more practice. But you get the idea.

As a third option, I showed how to make a leg that is commonly found in Greene & Greene pieces and it features nothing more than a little slope at the foot on all four sides. Here’s a nice shot of all three leg options. I’m still going with the tapered leg indents, but it was nice to review a few different designs.

Angled Tenons

The next thing I worked on was the side legs of the chair. The trickiest part about these bad boys is the angled tenon. But my Incra 3000 was up to the task! Some careful attention to the miter angle along with a razor sharp dado blade results in perfect angled tenons.

A Close Shave

After a test fit, I noticed my tenons were just a little long. So I decided to shave a few thousandths off using my smoother. I just sharpened the iron last week so I was anxious to see what this puppy could do. After a couple passes I was pulling up .002″ shavings. Now that would put a smile on any woodworker’s face!

If you’re interested in joining us on this build, check out all the features and benefits of a Guild Membership!

The Dogs

And on a completely off-topic note, Jax and Lexi wanted to say hi. Don’t let Lexi’s smile fool you. She’ll rip your face off if you try to come into her yard. And Jax, well, let’s just say he has been working for years on his special trick: balancing a single blade of grass on the tip of his nose.