New Project - Building a Curved Blockfront Lowboy - Step 1

I am starting a new project, I made this piece 3 years ago in mahogany but this time I am going to make it in cherry.  I have a friend who would like to have it so I am building it for him.

First thing that I did was look for the plans and templates that I used the last time.  I was able to locate them.  I also watched my videos from the last time I built this piece to see if there are any improvements to the process that I used.

I started with one large 12/4 cherry board.  I should be able to get the 4 legs and the apron from this board.
I cut it to 32 inches which is 2 inches more than I need for the legs, but those 2 inches will  be used for the knee blocks.

The cabriolet legs are best when cut from radial grain patterns.  This 12/4 stock is mostly quarter sawn, or straight across grain.  I made this template window to see if I could adjust the grain on the leg billets to make them more interesting.  As you can see here I tilted the square across the grain and then cut out the blanks.  I then needed to square them up again.

Here they are squared up at 2 3/4 inches.  I have made a mark on the top of each pointing to the front of the cabriolet leg where the knee will be.  Then I trace the pattern on to two adjacent sides in the back.

Next I need to turn the pad feet on to each of the legs. The pad foot is 2 1/4 inches round and the pill which is the bottom is 1 1/2 inch rounds.  The larger pad is turned to the lower diameter.

All four ready to go.

Next I cut out the cabriolet legs on the band saw.  After cutting out the first side, I tape it back together and cut out the other side.  I have a number of videos in my channel which shows how to cut out cabriolet legs.
You need to be careful at the end to make sure you don't cut into the pad foot.

Here are the 4 legs cut out, now is can see how the grain looks on each leg and verify that the 2 front and 2 rear legs look good.

Next I cut the tops of the legs off to 1 3/4 inches using my band saw.  I could have put in the mortises at this point but it is not a problem if you save the cutoff to support the legs in the hollow chisel mortiser.

Lastly I mark out the mortises using my leg template like a story stick, the side and back mortises are the same.  I'll be using 7/8 inch stock for the sides and back and will be making a 3/8 wide by 1" deep mortise.

That's it for today, in the next post I'll be putting in the mortises and shaping the legs.

Here is today's video: