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Mouldings don't have to be in a straight line.
Here is a project where the Waterleaf moulding passes along the outside of a curve (ie. convex). You'd see this on the edge of a table, for example. The Waterleaf could, of course, pass along the inside (concave); you might see this on a mirror frame. I've come up with a stand for glass salad containers as my project but you could change this to take a vase or a wine bottle coaster, wherever you need a more stable base, or protect your table surface. I turned the profile for the Waterleaf moulding into the stand. If you unable to do this yourself, take the template (from the working drawing PDF) to a turne; it's an easy job.
The main difficult in this carving is cutting the moulding into end grain and I'll show you here how I do it. There isn't an alternative unless you cooper the wood in 6 or 8 parts - and that's too much effort (though desirable for big mirror frames). This is a great exercise in working with the grain and you'll find the techniques very useful elsewhere in your carving!
| 22 March 2013 05:35
William - Absolutely, that would be a good use of the lathe. For many carvings (as in my book 'Carving on Turning') I take the chuck and off the lathe and grip it in a vice if this gives me better access; also the lathe bed can get in the way of chuck work, as opposed to working between centres.
| 21 March 2013 23:14
Chris - Can you use the indexing head of your lathe to layout the radial and eye lines? Also, can you leave the piece chucked up on the lathe to carve? I have carved spirals and ropes of several sorts this way on my lathe.
