thanks! [thinking out loud]I wonder if Office Depot carries any
drafting supplies like the flexible strip you mentioned? (I'm about 5
blocks from OD) I remember using a French Curve in grammar school, but
of course it wasn't near the size that I'd need. I'll definitely take
your advice on making a template. I don't have a pattern maker's rasp,
so I'll look that up to see if I've got anything similar. I DO have a
Surform rasp which is about an inch and a half wide and maybe (going by
memory) about 10 inches long.

For something this long I take it that it wouldn't be a good idea to use
my new handy dandy OSS to smooth out such a gentle curve?

dave

Swingman wrote:

"Bay Area Dave" wrote in message

Saw a picture of a quilt rack with curved sides that are not arcs of a
circle. HOw can I create a fair curve about 36" long that isn't merely
an arc of a circle. I'll post the picture on ABPW in a minute - subject
line: Quilt rack.


A large plastic French Curve works well,. Also, at a drafting supply store
you can buy a various lengths of plastic strip that is flexible, but can be
bent in many different positions and will hold its shape. I use one for
non-radius, flowing curves like you mention.

That said, most folks can do a fair job of free handing a non-radiused curve
on a piece of mdf, then using a bandsaw, a pattern maker's rasp, and
finally, a flexible strip with sandpaper attached to fine tune and smooth
out the curve ... the mdf pattern then becomes a template for a pattern bit
and your router so that two or more pieces will have the same curve.

Most of the time it is well worth the effort to make a template with either
of these methods.

For radiused curves, I use a thin strip of wood with a string attached at
either end like an archer's bow, with a piece of wood on the string fastened
in a manner to hold the tension at the desired curve.