Thanks for all the comments...a 3" bit seemed like a scary idea to me,
also...

I recently built 4 red oak hi-chairs for the kitchen island, and the
hardest part was the curved chair backs. I cut them from oversized
blanks on the band saw, and cleaned them up with an oscillating spindle
sander, and sandpaper on a curved block of wood. They turned out OK,
but not perfect,and took a LONG time.

I just finished a cherry dining table (48" diam expands to 10 ft) and
want to make 6 cherry chairs to go with it. Have considered steam
bending (never done it) but the tenoning process seems like a problem to
me (among the other imagined problems)...the bandsaw/oversized blank
idea is pretty wasteful of wood, but is probably how I will
go...Considering getting a compass plane to help smooth things out. Any
ideas on that, or any of the above?

I have since installed the Carter style BS guides on my saw, so
hopefully I can get closer and smoother with the bandsaw.

advice much appreciated!

david

david blumberg wrote:
Hi,

anyone know of a company making a 3 inch or larger pattern bit for a
router? i was hoping to use it to make curved chair backs. I know it
would put a lot of pressure on the shaft, but I would take small bites
at a time.

thanks,

david