Carving a Ball and Claw Foot

Well, now that you show me how I could do that, in my dreams. Those are nice and thats why I continue to practice, you do make it look easy.

Thanks Ron

-- Ron Central, CA

Great blog. Reminds me of one I saw in FWW a long time ago. I have 4 that I started after reading that article
but never finished them. I will get back to them one of these days.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Very nicely done. I’m sure the customer is well pleased.

always,
J.C.

-- "Imagination is more important than knowledge" -- Albert Einstein

Extraordinary!!! PLEASE KEEP US POSTED on your progress?

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

Thanks for the blog and pictures, that was very interesting. Great carving talent.

-- Tom D

John,

Thanks for the tutorial. I have often wondered how these were done. And you have explained it in a clear concise manner with your commentary and pictures.

Thanks for the blog.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Excellent Presentation John.
Every time I see a Ball and Claw chair I cringe at it intricacy but then I think of Jake Cress and his ‘Oops’ and ‘Self Portrait’. The Townsend Claw has been one of my favorites and although my carving leaves somewhat to be desired, with your tutorial I feel a little more confident in tackling this.
Thanks again,
Smitty

-- Smitty, Alabama, http://www.firstdesignwoodworking.com/

Very nice, thanks for the post! Added to my favorites for when I get around to trying this. Or maybe I’ll just give GaryK a hand with his! :)

-- I'm a wood magician... I can turn fine lumber into firewood before your very eyes! - http://www.woodworkersguide.com

Excellent post and tutorial. Thank You!

-- Chris

My hat is off to you and the incredible skills you possess.
Great work!

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Thanks for the post John. I have been wanting to try a Ball and Claw. This tutorial will surely help. Great work!

-- Dan, West Virginia, http://www.danpleskaCreations.com

John – thanks for the tutorial which is now in my favorites file – I like the undercut talon and the shape of the ball

-- Phil in British Columbia

John, I am always amazed when I see your work. It must be great to have the foresight to come up with your design ideas.
But where is the rest of the chair??? LOL
Thanks for posting the blog.

-- MISSION FURNITURE-My mission is to build furniture

Thanks for the kind words everyone,

Dave,

The “rest of the chair” post is coming, maybe next week…..But I think you’ve already seen it. ;-)

-- John, Chisel and Bit Custom Crafted Furniture, www.chiselandbit.com

About how long does it take for you to carve an incredible piece like this. More precisely do you do this in one or two sessions or is it spread over several…many sessions? I would think detailed work like this must be fairly intense to do and was wondering how you paced yourself on the work.

-- cough...cough....next big purchase is wood for the next project, Mark

Mark,

I’m not sure how much time I actually have in the carving. These B&C feet were the front legs on a wing back chair. I carved both feet at the same time, meaning that I completed each phase on both feet before moving on to the next phase. Each “phase” of the carving was pretty much when I’d stop, take pix, and then take a break.

The problem I had was not the intensity of the carving detail, but the ache in my ol’ back that would get to me from being bent over while carving, so I would quite for a while and go on to making other parts for the chair.

I will post pix of the entire chair project soon, and you will see there was a lot more carving done on the cabriole knees, chair aprons, arms, and stretchers as well.

-- John, Chisel and Bit Custom Crafted Furniture, www.chiselandbit.com

Yeah, I wasn’t looking for a XX minutes for this and yy minutes for that I was wondering what the limiting factors were. I can see how there would be logical ‘breaks’ in the action that would allow you/your back to recover and to record the activities. Many of my breaks don’t derive from logical breaks in the task but the demands of the pesky outside world…my boss insists I show up every day :-)

I look forward to pictures of the entire project. I am still amazed at the ‘realness’ of these B&C feet.

-- cough...cough....next big purchase is wood for the next project, Mark

Very Nice!

Fiona :)

-- Airborne Goddess, Fayetteville, NC "It's Up to You!" -Marcus Aurelius