For years, one of the great mysteries to me was, how did artisans of the past make those spectacular decorative twist finials often found on the most elaborate grandfather clocks, highboys, and other high-grade period furniture? In this video, we meet Irion Company staffer Brad Ramsay, an accomplished cabinetmaker and highly skilled carver who shows us the fundamental approach used to carve these flamboyant furniture elements. It’s a technique that can be used to carve spirals in any wood project, be it a finial or even a twisted table leg.

Learn the core skills used including how to secure the workpiece to the workbench, how to start the carving, and how to rough-carve to the layout lines. But most importantly, in my view, Jeff explains how carvers — and all woodworkers — need to read the grain of the wood for feedback. The take-away lesson: let the wood speak to you whether you are carving the twist of a finial or tuning the fit of a dovetail. — Keith (10 Minute Woodworking Video) For more in this series go to: The Big Payoff: Finish Carve a Decorative Spiral (Part 3 of 3)

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The Irion Company specializes in the restoration, conservation, and hand-made reproduction of American antique furniture from the 18th and 19th century. Brad Ramsay is a cabinetmaker and he specializes in period correct carvings.

Turning segmented objects is similar in many ways to traditional woodturning. But there are subtle differences. Each segmented glue-up can contain dozens or hundreds of precisely made pieces fused into a single rough blank. This construction can sometimes be more fragile than a solid piece of wood, especially during the early roughing out stage of the turn. But there are ways to minimize the risk of “blowing up” the piece. Success starts with proper gouge and hollowing tool selection. WoodTreks guest artisan and Segmented turner, Don Leman shares his thoughts on how he approaches the craft and his special appreciation for the magic that comes from putting a complex segmented stack on the lathe and putting steel to wood. (3.5 Minute Video)