I just finished my drafting/desk and finally brought it into the house this evening. This was a great project to make and there were two new techniques I used on this project, so I learned a lot. As part of the design for this desk I decided that I wanted a slight taper and curve to the legs and I wanted a deep red Mahogany color.
After making a template for the legs I contemplated how to cut each leg out, the fastest way would have been to either use a flush trim bit with a router against my template or just freehand with a band saw. However, with only 1/2” difference from the top of the leg to the bottom and a 3/8” arch for the curve, I decided to just mark each leg and use my block plane. I had just purchased a new block plane and was looking forward to trying it out, cutting the legs out was a great opportunity for me to spend some time seeing how I liked the plane. The block plane I purchased was the Stanley Sweetheart number 9 1/2 block plane, I have been a little reluctant about these planes as I tend to lean towards the Veritas or Lie Nielsen but decided to give it a try and was very pleased with how the plane handled. The blade is pretty heavy and the plane has an adjustable mouth although it does not adjust as close to the blade as I would like. At any rate the plane handled well and I really enjoyed cutting out the legs by hand. There is just something that is very peaceful about working by hand.
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-- Chris Adkins, http://highrockwoodworking.com/
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