Popular Woodworking 2008-06 № 169, страница 20

A graceful slipper-footed design enhanced with additional period details.

_l_n Colonial America, prior to Paul Revere's famous midnight ride, colonists adopted many of the lifestyles of English citizens. One such behavior was afternoon tea. Of course, you couldn't be of a wealthy class and partake in tea without having the necessary serving implements - including a tea table.

Tea tables came into vogue in the early 1700s and were built in many designs such as tray-topped, round-topped and porringer-topped tables with either carved cabriole legs or turned cabriole legs. A tray-topped design with carved legs was by far the most high-end table one could possess.

After the tea party in Boston, the idea of afternoon tea all but disappeared in the American colonies, but the furniture design survives to this day.

Cabrioles Without a Lathe

Queen Anne-style furniture makers focus on curves and achieving a light, graceful look. Cabriole legs are all about

curves, and to give a lighter look to the design, slipper feet were the choice for many tea tables.

Forget the lathe. A slipper foot is shaped by hand. To begin work on the legs, copy the pattern from the drawings on page 38. Next, transfer the shape to a piece of hardboard orthin plywood. Each leg requires you to trace the pattern onto two adjacent sides of each leg blank. Transferring from paper would be tedious. Mill the leg stock to size and trace the pattern to the stock.

At the band saw you'll need to cut to the lines. Freehand cutting is the only option, but there are a few tips to make the task easier. Starting with one face, begin cutting on

12 ■ Popular Woodworking June 2008