Easel 1
This is an easel design that was brought to me back in July. At the time I said that I couldn’t do it because of the intricate carving work necessary. The customer then came back to me about a month ago and asked again if I could do it. Since they really, really wanted it and didn’t have another source, I decided to find a way. After a bit of internet searching I found Josef’s Art Woodturning & Sons. I called them, e-mailed the picture below, and they gave me a quote for the turned central pole, three cabriolet feet, and the hand carved rest. I put together a quote and sent it off to the client, and a few days later we had ourselves a custom easel job.
The sketch above is what we needed to match. The overall height is 58″, the feet are approximately 8″ tall, and the rest is 24″ wide.
A few weeks after placing the order, the parts arrived! The feet, as you can see in the picture are mortised and will be connected to the turned leg using a loose tenon. The rest will be attached the same way.
Using my new mortising jig, I mortised them 1.25″ deep.
The turned leg was a bit more challenging. By clamping it to the table, and by using a modified mortising base for the plunger router, I made three mortises around the base.
The next task was to curve the side of the foot to match the round leg they would be butting into. It only took ten minutes to make a simple jig to hold the leg vertically in place, allowing me to slowly ease the foot into the oscillating drum sander.
See! That’s me working…don’t let my wife know about the McDonald’s cup!