SML Woodturners’ Demonstration
March 8, 2012
How to Turn a Cabriole Leg
By Richard McGann
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History. The cabriole leg has been known since ancient times. The
Egyptians used them thousands of years ago. For tables, chairs, and
stools, they used a hand-carved representation of an animal’s leg-usually a
lion or eagle. Sometimes they had the eagle’s talons clutching a ball. After
the invention of the powered lathe in the late 1800’s, a version of the
cabriole leg that could be turned found its way into production. A true
cabriole leg cannot be turned on the lathe. There is just no way to turn the
sweeping curves and hand-carve the elaborate claw and ball foot. Handcarved cabriole legs are very time consuming and expensive to produce.
The turned cabriole leg lends itself to production turning and is easily
performed by a skilled turner. This turned cabriole leg is the one being
demonstrated here.
Materials. The wood for this project will need to be the same as the rest of
the project you are building. Any good furniture grade lumber will be finecherry, walnut, mahogany, oak, etc. The wood will need to be dimensioned
as precisely as possible. Layout and set up are critical. Remember, any
layout and centering error is doubled in woodturning and everything must
be spot-on.
Equipment
1. Lathe-you will need a lathe capable of turning the leg. Usually, the
longest leg you will turn will be no longer than 30 inches. Stools and chairs
will be shorter. Run lathe about 1,800 to 2,000 for 2” square leg.
2. Turning tools
A.)Roughing gouge
B.)Bowl gouge
C.)Spindle gauge
D.)Skew
E.)Parting tool
F.)Center finder
G.)Awl
H.)Calipers
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3. Sanding and Finishing
A.)Sandpaper-180 grit, 220 grit, 320 grit
B.)Steel wool
C.)Sanding sealer
D.)Finishing supplies
1. Shellac, stain, wax, etc.
2. Can be finished off the lathe if you want to match the rest of
the project.
Layout
1. Layout is critical. Follow the directions exactly. Use only precisely
dimensioned lumber.
2. Find the centers on each end and draw diagonals on both the foot and
top of the leg.
3. The square section at the top of the leg will be about 4” to 6” long
depending on the project. Draw a line across at this point and mark the
exact center. This is the pommel or shoulder location.
4. There are 2 ways to turn the leg:
A.) One for the foot to come off the flat side of the leg (as in a circular
table).
B.) One for the foot to come off the corner. These are used for the
corners of chairs and tables.
Both are described below.
5. For a foot to come off the flat side:
A.) Mark on the foot of the leg ½ the distance from the center to the
edge, as in the diagram below. Carry this line with a square to the
face side. Be precise!
B.) Now, draw a line from the half-way mark at the foot up the face
side, and through the center mark at the shoulder to the top of the
leg. Continue this line across the top of the leg. This offset mark
should be slightly to the right of the center mark.
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C.)You now have the offset points for the foot and top. They should
look like this diagram-one to the left of center at the foot and on the
top to the right of center.
On a 1 ½” x 14” leg, the off center points will be approximately 3/8” on
the foot and 3/16” on the top.
D.) If you want a foot coming off the corner, the only difference is that
the bottom foot offset point must come off the diagonal line. See the
diagram below:
The top offset point remains the same layout as previously described
for the foot coming off the flat side.
Take a compass and swing an arc from the 1/2 way mark to the left
diagonal. Mark the point where it crosses the diagonal. It is not half of
the diagonal. This is important. The top offset point is marked the
same for both types of feet. Be careful and precise in the layout
because it will affect the shape of the leg.
The big advantage of this layout method is that it works for any size
blanks and any length leg. All layout points are set in proportions and
not in absolute dimensions. You can simply lay out any leg by
following these steps with no calculations or complicated measuring.
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Turning the Leg
1. Place the blank on the lathe using the center points first. We will offset
the points later.
2. Turn the lathe to approximately 1,800 to 2,000 rpm’s.
3. Use a skew on the shoulder first. This is properly called a pommel. Start
1/4” to the waste side and finish with a square or curved pommel. The skew
is the weapon of choice here. There is no better way to cut a pommel than
with a skew.
4. Use a roughing gouge to turn the leg below the pommel to round.
5. Sand well before the next step.
6. Using a skew, cut the pad below the foot. Make a V cut 1/4” to 3/8” from
the end. Round the V out from both directions slightly.
7. Now, change the center points on the lathe to the offset points. If you
have laid out properly, the 2 ends should be offset and a “ghosting” at each
end appears. The shoulder at the pommel should be in the round with no
“ghosting”. Turn down the leg with a roughing gauge and just cut the
“ghost” out. You must not go beyond the “ghost” or you will wreck the leg.
To get the sharp curve at the foot, use a spindle gauge. This is a highly
interrupted cut so go slow and be precise. Sand leg.
8. Change the leg back to the center points and turn the pad under the foot
to completion. You may need to also round the bottom of the foot slightly.
Sand this area.
Conclusion
A turned cabriole leg is a great way to add some character and attractive
design to your woodworking projects. Try it! And good luck!
Richard McGann