I'm making a chair and would like to create a depression in the wood
seat for my butt to rest comfortably. Working in oak and sanding is WAY
to slow. Suggestions as to how I might do this without purchasing
expensive equipment as I don't envisage making enough chairs to warrant
the expense.

On 1/9/2012 6:34 PM, Dennis Lougheed wrote:
I'm making a chair and would like to create a depression in the wood
seat for my butt to rest comfortably. Working in oak and sanding is WAY
to slow. Suggestions as to how I might do this without purchasing
expensive equipment as I don't envisage making enough chairs to warrant
the expense.

The usual hand tools (adze, scorp, travisherm compass plane) will
probably cost you more than an angle grinder.

If you already have an angle grinder, find a wheel that will hog out the
material and use a sander to finish up

http://www.chippingaway.com/woodcarv...dQuestions.htm

--
www.eWoodShop.com
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlCaillouet@ (the obvious)
http://gplus.to/eWoodShop

Dennis Lougheed wrote in news:4f0b877c$0$26948$c3e8da3
:

I'm making a chair and would like to create a depression in the wood
seat for my butt to rest comfortably. Working in oak and sanding is WAY
to slow. Suggestions as to how I might do this without purchasing
expensive equipment as I don't envisage making enough chairs to warrant
the expense.


If you've got a router, you could hog out the bulk of the material.
Finishing would then require sanding the rest of the way.

There's also carving accessories for angle grinders. I've never used
one, but have seen them on TV. They look like they work well.

A hand plane might also work, if you've got one where you can set the
blade way down below the sole. Like a router plane, the blade would
remove material from beneath the plane while it rides on the edges above.
This is just an idea, no idea how practical it is...

Puckdropper
--
Make it to fit, don't make it fit.

On 1/9/2012 6:34 PM, Dennis Lougheed wrote:
I'm making a chair and would like to create a depression in the wood seat for
my butt to rest comfortably. Working in oak and sanding is WAY to slow.
Suggestions as to how I might do this without purchasing expensive equipment as
I don't envisage making enough chairs to warrant the expense.

Others have mentioned various hand tools, then suggested instead various power
tools. I've made quite a few chairs (see the flickr link in my sig), and I
don't use any of the tools mentioned so far (angle grinder, scorp, inshave,
drawknife, etc.). I use:

1. A home-made mallet and a large (1") straight gouge (sort like one of these:
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/pag...24&cat=1,41504) to chop out
the majority of the waste;

2. A round-bottom spokeshave (like the Stanley 51R or 151R) and/or a convex
spokeshave (like this one:
http://www.angloamericantools.com/to...okeshaves.html) to clean
up the rough surface left by the gouge. I actually use the round-bottom
spokeshave (often sideways across the grain or on a skew) more often than the
convex model. Look for "raised handle" spokeshaves, like this:
http://peterrobinson.galootcentral.c...anley-51-shave rather
than this: http://peterrobinson.galootcentral.c...anley-52-shave

3. A sharp curved card scraper (like the third style in this set:
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/pag...310,41069&ap=1) for
final shaping, smoothing, and leveling of high spots.

Once you've reached this point, you can finish up with sandpaper without too
much trouble, probably just by hand or with a good rubber sanding block,
starting with 120 or 150 grit and working towards the smoother grits. Of
course, a good round bottom random orbital sander will make this final step a snap.

None of the hand tools I mentioned will set you back very much money
(especially if you snag good used ones on eBay), and you'd be surprised how
fast you can get the job done once you get the hang of them. It's also way
more satisfying (and less error-prone) than attacking the wood with an angle
grinder, and WAY less messy. I can't STAND using power tools for this purpose;
they're noisy, it's hard to "feel" your progress (when you have high and low
spots), and they throw dust everywhere!

--
Free bad advice available here.
To reply, eat the taco.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbqboyee/

Dennis Lougheed wrote:
I'm making a chair and would like to create a depression in the wood
seat for my butt to rest comfortably. Working in oak and sanding is
WAY to slow. Suggestions as to how I might do this without purchasing
expensive equipment as I don't envisage making enough chairs to
warrant the expense.

Radial or table saw, radial is easier. Instead of the blade cutting a
straight line, the blase and wood are arranged at an angle to each other and
shallow cuts are made with the blade teeth only. That will cut an arc, the
width being determined by the blade diameter and its angle to the wood.
Multiple passes - blade being extended slightly each time - are made to get
the depth you want.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Dennis Lougheed wrote:
I'm making a chair and would like to create a depression in the wood
seat for my butt to rest comfortably. Working in oak and sanding is
WAY to slow. Suggestions as to how I might do this without purchasing
expensive equipment as I don't envisage making enough chairs to
warrant the expense.

Think cushion.

Dennis Lougheed wrote:
I'm making a chair and would like to create a depression in the wood
seat for my butt to rest comfortably.

Inshave
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/pag...at=1,130,43332

On Jan 9, 6:34*pm, Dennis Lougheed wrote:
I'm making a chair and would like to create a depression in the wood
seat for my butt to rest comfortably. Working in oak and sanding is WAY
to slow. Suggestions as to how I might do this without purchasing
expensive equipment as I don't envisage making enough chairs to warrant
the expense.

Might check back with the last years issues of Fine Woodworking. They
have had one, maybe two articles on building fairly simple router
sleds that allow you to machine out contour to a pattern. Yeah, it
is a little laborious but doesn't appear to be that bad.

Ron

"HeyBub" wrote in news:9eydnXhf-
:

Dennis Lougheed wrote:
I'm making a chair and would like to create a depression in the wood
seat for my butt to rest comfortably. Working in oak and sanding is
WAY to slow. Suggestions as to how I might do this without purchasing
expensive equipment as I don't envisage making enough chairs to
warrant the expense.

Think cushion.



New from Lenovo, the ThinkCushion(TM). Our resourceful engineers have
reduced the weight a traditional notebook applies to your lap and placed
it under your seat. Now this powerful system is not only easier on your
body, but will turn a hard sidewalk into a nice comfortable computing
spot!



Puckdropper
--
Make it to fit, don't make it fit.

On 10 Jan 2012 14:43:28 GMT, Puckdropper
puckdropper(at)yahoo(dot)com wrote:

"HeyBub" wrote in news:9eydnXhf-
:

Dennis Lougheed wrote:
I'm making a chair and would like to create a depression in the wood
seat for my butt to rest comfortably. Working in oak and sanding is
WAY to slow. Suggestions as to how I might do this without purchasing
expensive equipment as I don't envisage making enough chairs to
warrant the expense.

Think cushion.



New from Lenovo, the ThinkCushion(TM). Our resourceful engineers have
reduced the weight a traditional notebook applies to your lap and placed
it under your seat. Now this powerful system is not only easier on your
body, but will turn a hard sidewalk into a nice comfortable computing
spot!

clap, clap, clap Well done, sir!

--
We are always the same age inside.
-- Gertrude Stein

"Dennis Lougheed" wrote in message
eb.com...

I'm making a chair and would like to create a depression in the wood
seat for my butt to rest comfortably. Working in oak and sanding is WAY
to slow. Suggestions as to how I might do this without purchasing
expensive equipment as I don't envisage making enough chairs to warrant
the expense.

I've used a flap disk on an angle grinder. 5 minute job.

On 1/9/2012 7:34 PM, Dennis Lougheed wrote:
I'm making a chair and would like to create a depression in the wood
seat for my butt to rest comfortably. Working in oak and sanding is WAY
to slow. Suggestions as to how I might do this without purchasing
expensive equipment as I don't envisage making enough chairs to warrant
the expense.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6DaDGE_FJI

--
Jack
Add Life to your Days not Days to your Life.
http://jbstein.com

In article om,
Puckdropper puckdropper(at)yahoo(dot)com wrote:
"HeyBub" wrote in news:9eydnXhf-
:

Dennis Lougheed wrote:
I'm making a chair and would like to create a depression in the wood
seat for my butt to rest comfortably. Working in oak and sanding is
WAY to slow. Suggestions as to how I might do this without purchasing
expensive equipment as I don't envisage making enough chairs to
warrant the expense.

Think cushion.



New from Lenovo, the ThinkCushion(TM). Our resourceful engineers have
reduced the weight a traditional notebook applies to your lap and placed
it under your seat. Now this powerful system is not only easier on your
body, but will turn a hard sidewalk into a nice comfortable computing
spot!

You forgot to mention that it's deccorated with rhinestones, gold chain,
and other faux gemstonens.

but, if you did so, that would make it a "bum bling" piece of humor.
And your joke is better than that. grin

On Monday, January 9, 2012 4:34:06 PM UTC-8, (unknown) wrote:
I'm making a chair and would like to create a depression in the wood
seat for my butt to rest comfortably. Working in oak and sanding is WAY
to slow.

It's easy to hog out oak if you can cut near-parallel to the grain;
I'd think in terms of plunge-cutting with a circular saw to make
semicircle stop cuts in the deepest part of the depression, then carve toward
those cuts with a gouge. It's quicker than you'd think.

The wood, though, has to be straight grained, you do NOT want to
cut a smooth curve near a knot.

Adzes, too, can be useful.

For finishing, go ahead and do the sanding-disk thing. Don't inhale
the sawdust, though.

On Jan 9, 11:01*pm, Puckdropper puckdropper(at)yahoo(dot)com wrote:
Dennis Lougheed wrote in news:4f0b877c$0$26948$c3e8da3
:

I'm making a chair and would like to create a depression in the wood
seat for my butt to rest comfortably. Working in oak and sanding is WAY
to slow. Suggestions as to how I might do this without purchasing
expensive equipment as I don't envisage making enough chairs to warrant
the expense.

If you've got a router, you could hog out the bulk of the material.
Finishing would then require sanding the rest of the way.

There's also carving accessories for angle grinders. *I've never used
one, but have seen them on TV. *They look like they work well.

A hand plane might also work, if you've got one where you can set the
blade way down below the sole. *Like a router plane, the blade would
remove material from beneath the plane while it rides on the edges above.
This is just an idea, no idea how practical it is...

Convex plane.