The Complete
Illustrated Guide to Shaping Wood
Comprehensive
Graphic Reference to Shaping Wood
By Lonnie Bird
A
Comprehensive and Graphic Wood Shaping Reference
Shape is critical to the ultimate success or
failure of a piece of furniture. Knowing this, custom-furniture
maker Lonnie Bird has taken the complex subject of shaping wood and
made it accessible to every woodworker.
In Shaping Wood, Bird shows you how to dress up your
furniture, personalize your work and create period details. Learn to
turn, carve, bend, cut and shape with hand tools or machines. All
the techniques are in this accessible guide -- from cutting a simple
circle to carving a ball-and-claw foot. He leads you through
visualizing, drawing a shape and then choosing the appropriate tool
for creating it.
- Graphic, step-by-step presentation of key
techniques and methods
- Visual maps, cross-references and indexes
make information easy to find
- Covers the many woodworking methods and
tools available
- Modern, up-to-date coverage of tools and
techniques
- Part of a three-volume encyclopedia of
woodworking
The Complete Illustrated Guides Introducing a new series of
books in the tradition of Tage Frid. All the techniques and
processes you need to craft beautiful things from wood are compiled
into three comprehensive volumes: The Complete Illustrated
Guides. Highly visual and written by woodworking's finest
craftsmen, these three titles --
Furniture and Cabinet Construction, Shaping Wood and
Joinery establish a new standard for
shop reference books.
Excerpt:
Shaping Wood: Edge Treatments
Learn to shape table edges, lipped
doors, and more using a router, block plane, shaper, and hand
tools
by Lonnie Bird
All furniture
styles, even seemingly simple designs such as Shaker, use
shape to enhance, increase function, and define style. For
example, the sensuous curve of a chair back adds comfort as
well as visual appeal, and the slender taper of a table leg
creates lightness without sacrificing strength. Shape is
critical to the ultimate success or failure of a piece of
furniture. It simply can't be ignored.
The choices available for shaping wood are numerous. And it's
not necessary to have access to a shop full of power tools,
either. Many woodworkers are rediscovering hand tools along
with the pleasure and satisfaction that comes with their use.
Planes, saws, chisels, and other edge tools all require
patience and a degree of skill; but they yield a handmade look
and texture as well as a deep sense of accomplishment.
In this excerpt, custom furniture maker Lonnie Bird offers
edge profiles for your tables and doors, along with
step-by-step instruction on how to create them using power and
hand tools.
Lonnie Bird teaches furniture making at the University of Rio
Grande in Ohio. He is the author of The Complete Guide to
Shaping Wood and The Bandsaw Book. |
Introduction:
Shape is a fundamental element of design. All furniture styles,
even seemingly simple designs such as Shaker, use shape to enhance,
increase function, and define style. For example, the sensuous curve
of a chair back adds comfort as well as visual appeal, and the
slender taper of a table leg creates lightness without sacrificing
strength. Shape is critical to the ultimate success or failure of a
piece of furniture. It simply can't be ignored.
Before shapes can be created, they must first be visualized and
then drawn. There are tools and templates available for drawing
geometric shapes; but organic, freeform curves are often best
sketched freehand. Fortunately, the natural movements of the wrist
and elbow make it possible for anyone to draw flowing curves with a
bit of practice.
As I've illustrated in this book, the choices available for
shaping are numerous. And it's not necessary to have access to a
shop full of power tools, either. Many woodworkers are rediscovering
hand tools along with the pleasure and satisfaction that comes with
their use. Planes, saws, chisels, and other edge tools all require
patience and a degree of skill; but they yield a handmade look and
texture as well as a deep sense of accomplishment.
Learning to tune and effectively use power tools can be
satisfying, too. And many power tool techniques, such as template
shaping, yield efficiency that is unmatched with hand tools.
Machines are also a good choice for many labor-intensive tasks, such
as planing and sawing stock to size, providing more time for
creating details by hand that machines simply can't duplicate. For
example, a bandsaw is an efficient choice for sawing a curve in
preparation for refining and sculpting the same curve with a
spokeshave and a rasp. As a long-time woodworker who seeks pleasure
from the craft, I've learned to enjoy both hand and power tools for
what each has to offer.
As you explore the pages of this book, it's my hope that you'll
be inspired by the creativity and challenge that comes with adding
shapes to your next woodworking project.
Contents:
Introduction
How to Use This Book
Part One Tools and Materials
SECTION 1 Tools
Layout Tools
Basic Shaping Tools
Tools for Edge Treatments and Moldings
Tools for Carving
Tools for Turning
Tools for Bending
SECTION 2 Materials
Dry Lumber
Stock for Sawn Curves
Stock for Bending
Stock for Panels
Part Two Cutting Shapes
SECTION 3 Straight-Edged Shapes
Milling
Tapers
Octagons
Chamfers
SECTION 4 Curved Shapes
Arcs, Circles, & Ellipses
Exterior Curves
Interior Curves
SECTION 5 Complex Shapes
Raised Panels
Door Frames
Coopered Panels
Compound Curves
SECTION 6 Template Shaping
Cutting with Templates
Flush Trimming
Profile/Trim
Shaping Inside Corners
Part Three Edge Treatments and
Moldings
SECTION 7 Edge Treatments
Simple Shaped Edge
Shaping an Entire Edge
Lipped Door Edge
Shaping a Board's Face
Dished Tabletop
SECTION 8 Beads
Quirk Bead
Beaded Backboard
Cock Bead
SECTION 9 Simple Moldings
Machine-Cut Molding
Hand-Cut Molding
SECTION 10 Complex and Built-Up Moldings
Solid Complex Molding
Built-Up Molding
Dentil Molding
SECTION 11 Curved Moldings
Arched Molding
Gooseneck Molding
Part Four Other Decorative Shapes
SECTION 12 Coves
Machine-Cut Coves
Hand-Cut Coves
SECTION 13 Flutes and Reeds
Flutes
Reeds
Part Five Special Techniques
SECTION 14 Turning
Turning Basic Shapes
Furniture Legs and Feet
Pedestal
Decorative Details
Complex Turnings
SECTION 15 Carving
Lamb's Tongue
Shell
Volute
Rosette
Flame Finial
Carved Feet
SECTION 16 Bending
Steam Bending
Bent Lamination
Kerf Bending
Appendix: Shaping Small Parts
List of Suppliers
Further Reading
Index
Hardcover, 9-1/4 X 10-7/8 in., 304 pages,
with color photos and drawings.
Published 2005
ISBN 978-1-56158-400-0
Other
Books in the Series:
Furniture and Cabinet Construction
Joinery
|
Order online: Add your item to your shopping cart and
submit your order online for fast delivery.
