Legs that is (are).

My current project is a set of dining side chairs to complement the round, staked leg tables that I currently have for sale.  These chairs are from Christopher Schwarz, “Anarchist Design Book” and are the same design as “le chaise d’enfer”, which I made as a practice/prototype.  I am making five chairs and so I need twenty legs, plus a couple for insurance.

After the legs are roughed out square and cut to length, they are tapered on the jointer.  Then comes the fun part, planing the squares into octagons.

This part is done by hand and takes a bit of time and some muscle, …muscles that I haven’t used for awhile, or so my body reminds me.  The wood is black ash and planes well but does create a good deal of friction.  Fortunately, a quick rub down with a wad of waxed paper makes things go surprisingly smoother.

BTW- that pile of shavings is from two legs and each one represents a single stroke with the plane.