Cabriole Legs Session 6: Make the Transition Block

I went ahead and glued an apron to the practice leg in order to show adding the transition block. And you can see this awkward transition here from the knee to the apron. And it's been traditionally handled by adding a transition block. And this is where we use the cutoff from the top of the leg. It's already the right thickness and it's guaranteed to have a good color and grain match.

So to outline the transition block, simply hold the block in position and make sure that the block is in the same grain orientation as the leg. And then we just scribe for the apron and scribe here for the shape of that knee. And also make one more distinct mark right where the back of the leg arch begins on the block. And now to add the shape, the ogee shape we want to put on the block, I use a template and it's just a simple old ogee shape and it's made in the same manner, or from the same stock as the leg template was. And we just line that up on the corner, trace out our profile, and now we can proceed to cut the block on the bandsaw and you do this in the same way as you did the leg, just cut the ogee shape first and then tape it back into place, and then cut the waist off from the knee area.

And then we'll glue and clamp the block in place. So we've left the transition block clamped overnight so it's a well cured and ready to be worked. And all we really have to do at this point is rasp and chisel this transition block so it blends in with the leg and up to the apron. And it's really essentially the same kind of procedure as you did with the leg itself. And even when I'm prototyping, I'll go ahead and do the transition block and so it's just an important element, it's really a part of the leg, so I'll go ahead and make a practice transition block just to make sure everything works together well.

So I'm just using the back of the chisel here as a guide. It's just riding right on the curved surface of the knee here, and I'm holding that flat and just giving it a little tap on the back of the heel of my hand, just so I establish that nice parallel line with the knee itself and I won't take it right to the edge 'cause that'll probably blow out the grain. Get what I can with the chisel first, and then I'll go back with the rasp. So you can see it's all starting to pull together. And we also have a pretty nice grain match here which is the beauty of using the top of the leg of the knee blocks.

And there we have our transition. Let's summarize this class. It's very important that you prototype any cabriole leg before you make one for a project, and two by fours worked great for this. Prototyping will give you the practice and let you see the leg in three dimensions so you can make any required design changes. It's also important to have a good quality rasp.

You don't need a lot of specialized tools for cabriole legs, so don't skimp on the one tool that you really need. Remember that cabriole legs have a fluid shape, so as you're rasping, make sure that your motion flows over the leg, moving in multiple directions at once to keep the curves fluid. And if you complete your prototype leg and aren't happy with it, you'll need to go back and tweak your pattern a bit and you can generally see design problems before the leg is complete. Remember to include the transition block between the leg and the rail as part of your prototyping. It really completes the shape.

And if you want to just concentrate on the woodworking aspect first and not worry about the design, take advantage of the three proven templates that we've provided as part of this class. I encourage you to give cabriole legs a try. With a little practice, I think you'll be surprised at how easy it is to make a stunning leg of your own.