One inch legs

[celyn]

Not a tortoise, the diameter I want for the tops of the legs for a rustic three legged stool.
Currently whittling the well seasoned branches and bashing with a 1" internal diameter sharpened steel pipe but it's not ideal, the wood's rock hard and getting the pipe off's a bit of a sod.
Any suggestions for a simple fix? Considering a hole saw with correct internal diameter but not too easy to track down.TIA.

 

[custard]

Just keep whittling, it's a rustic stool and it'll be plenty strong enough without 100% joint contact.

Furthermore, even if you spent £50 or £60 on a circular tenon cutter (http://www.axminster.co.uk/veritas-powe ... s-ax789004) and achieved 100% contact, then as soon as the moisture levels changed that circular tenon would become oval, so you'll never actually get a perfect joint.

You could drill a 1" hole in a heavy steel plate and whack the legs into that to clean up the shape, but frankly I wouldn't bother, with a bit of practise you can whittle to quite fine tolerances.

 

[profchris]

I think I'd cut a clean surface, mark my 1 inch circle, draw a hexagon round it, cut down those lines with a saw and then cut off the waste. From that point your pipe should work much more easily.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Bashing into a bit of pipe is rather like a common method of making rake tines - there the pipe is sharpened and fixed to a plate, and you have the advantage that each tine knocks the previous one through and out of the tube.

To shave things close to round and the right size, I'd make a gauge by drilling the right sized hole in a small piece of plywood or something. Then shave with a drawknife, checking if your template will go on and where it stops, then shaving some more where needed. If the grain is not amenable, a concave spokeshave might make the shaving tidier.

As mentioned above, make sure your legs are dry before shaving to final size. A day or two in a warm place e.g., on a radiator ought to do it. Key is to have the legs drier than the top, never vice versa or they will become loose as it dries.

 

[dunbarhamlin]

You have the appropriately sized hole saw in your hands - you're just bashing it with a hammer instead of twisting it.
File teeth into the end, drill a hole through both sides a little way up and insert a rod (screw driver) - rough and ready manual hole saw.

 

[celyn]

Thanks as ever for the suggestions and advice, I'm very grateful, have to say the Veritas tenon cutters look rather appealing. A house on the way into Cardigan has some rustic gates made from 2" fence posts and I'd wondered how the guy had managed to make a couple of bob, I'd always fancied copying them and I reckon the Veritas cutters would be ideal for some gates I'm planning to make for myself.

I gave up with the pipe in the end - turned out to be more like 27 mm diameter so just guessed the depth of the cut for the shoulder and chiseled down to it from a 1"circle scribed roughly central to the branches. It worked out fine but was pretty slow initially, very satisfying but fiddly, got up to speed in the end though. Bit of rush, the missus' birthday tomorrow.