Uploaded August 2018 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
In this next part of the "Building a Walnut Side Board" series, I'm starting with the legs.
I got this 8/4 (2") thick slab that is 36" long, and I wanted to start with the legs to give them time to acclimate to my shop after cutting and planing them.
I started by planing the slab with my scrub plane (which is a Stanley 4c with a cambered iron in it), just to reveal the grain and to start to bring it into flat and square. I'm not too concerned with making perfectly square/flat surfaces yet, however, since each leg with be taken down to 1 3/4" thick, a full 1/4" less that what it currently is. I just want to make sure I get close because it is easier to work accurately when things are square/flat.
Anyway, I also made a template stick that is 2 1/8" wide, and the length of the slab (36" or so), and after I planed the slab to what I wanted flatness wise, I started picking out the grain for the legs.
I use the template to get an idea of what the grain will be in that area, kind of like when a painter or photographer uses their thumbs/fingers to create a box to "frame" their image before actually painting or snapping a photo.
Anyway, I wanted to use diagonal grain as much as possible, since that shows straight lines on all sides. For that, I used sections close to the middle, but not exactly from the middle, and I stayed away from defects.
Then, I used the template to mark out the pieces, and from there, I left about 1/8" room for my saw kerf, and I laid out another piece right next to it. I repeated this on the other side to get 4 legs.
From there, I just sharpened my Disston rip saw, and I got to sawing using my saw bench.
Take it nice and slow; no rush!
Finally, I planed the pieces to square, flat, and true: no twist! Use winding sticks, a speed square, etc. to do this. I was sure to leave extra material so I could plane it away later, once the wood movement does whatever it's going to do.
That's about it! Soon, I will have a video where I take the legs down to final thickness, cut a groove in them, and get them ready for accepting tenons for the various case components.
If you'd like to stay up to date on the real-time progress for the sideboard, check my instagram account, below. There, you'll see that I'm actually moving along at quite the pace, considering I'm not using any electricity except for lighting and heat (ha!) and since I've got a family and a full-time job!
Thanks for watching!
---
I really do hope you have enjoyed this video. Please feel free to check out my other social profiles.
Instagram: instagram.com/thehandtoolery
Facebook: facebook.com/TheHandToolery
My Etsy Shop: etsy.com/shop/TheHandToolery
Thanks!
Andrew
In this next part of the "Building a Walnut Side Board" series, I'm starting with the legs.
I got this 8/4 (2") thick slab that is 36" long, and I wanted to start with the legs to give them time to acclimate to my shop after cutting and planing them.
I started by planing the slab with my scrub plane (which is a Stanley 4c with a cambered iron in it), just to reveal the grain and to start to bring it into flat and square. I'm not too concerned with making perfectly square/flat surfaces yet, however, since each leg with be taken down to 1 3/4" thick, a full 1/4" less that what it currently is. I just want to make sure I get close because it is easier to work accurately when things are square/flat.
Anyway, I also made a template stick that is 2 1/8" wide, and the length of the slab (36" or so), and after I planed the slab to what I wanted flatness wise, I started picking out the grain for the legs.
I use the template to get an idea of what the grain will be in that area, kind of like when a painter or photographer uses their thumbs/fingers to create a box to "frame" their image before actually painting or snapping a photo.
Anyway, I wanted to use diagonal grain as much as possible, since that shows straight lines on all sides. For that, I used sections close to the middle, but not exactly from the middle, and I stayed away from defects.
Then, I used the template to mark out the pieces, and from there, I left about 1/8" room for my saw kerf, and I laid out another piece right next to it. I repeated this on the other side to get 4 legs.
From there, I just sharpened my Disston rip saw, and I got to sawing using my saw bench.
Take it nice and slow; no rush!
Finally, I planed the pieces to square, flat, and true: no twist! Use winding sticks, a speed square, etc. to do this. I was sure to leave extra material so I could plane it away later, once the wood movement does whatever it's going to do.
That's about it! Soon, I will have a video where I take the legs down to final thickness, cut a groove in them, and get them ready for accepting tenons for the various case components.
If you'd like to stay up to date on the real-time progress for the sideboard, check my instagram account, below. There, you'll see that I'm actually moving along at quite the pace, considering I'm not using any electricity except for lighting and heat (ha!) and since I've got a family and a full-time job!
Thanks for watching!
---
I really do hope you have enjoyed this video. Please feel free to check out my other social profiles.
Instagram: instagram.com/thehandtoolery
Facebook: facebook.com/TheHandToolery
My Etsy Shop: etsy.com/shop/TheHandToolery
Thanks!
Andrew
