The seat of my camp stool has been done for some time and needing legs. Three legs. As such, I spent an inordinate amount of time making three different legs because I wanted to see what I could do without a lathe. This was something of a blank space in the internet. No clear directions on how to hand carve curves that taper in and out. Or end abruptly in the middle of the piece.

Three legs – tapered and rounded sapele in the middle; rounded and tapered down then back out on the right in oak; and a rounded leg tapering to the flat top of a rounded foot in pine.
I didn’t bother keeping track of how I went about the rounded taper. I forgot with the taper in-and-out in oak.
So, on with the pine leg that tapers down to a flat topped foot.
The process was draw lines, taper, draw more lines (as shown in this post on cabriole legs), chamfer and then round. I used a combination of chisel, plane, and rasps.
Initially I’d set out some guide lines using a method for drawing an octagon from Chris Schwarz as seen here. Also, finding the centre at both the top and bottom and using a compass to draw circles provides other reference points.
The foot was a completely experimental. It rounds horizontally and vertically. Basically whittling a ball. Finally I sawed the bottom off to flatten it and arrived roughly at the point I had intended.
I like the one in red oak the best. Working without a lathe seems to be a black art. Paul Sellers has done a few spindle projects without a lathe on Masterclasses. Generally its work with a plane, spokeshave, rasps and files. Just like you have done here. Done well I might add. Its a logical sequence. Square to octagon. Octagon to round. Then the shaping. Nice work!
Greg
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Thanks! black art…for all of us sorry bastards too cheap to go out for a lathe. It’s a process I really enjoy, right up there with necromancy. I am fond of the oak leg as well. I think I’d start the taper an inch or two higher next time, though.
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If you lay a 24″ ruler diagonally across a timber, and mark 7″ & 17″ you have the arrises of an octagon, extend with combo square. Scaled down to 12″ it’s 3 ½”, 8 ½” etc…function of square root of 2…easier than drawing arcs on end grain, and more accurate…
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damnit, you had to bring math into this. But seriously, that is good to know, thanks!
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I suppose you could just use ones and zeros…
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