Fluted Column
- Thread starter enewman
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George Madok
Member
the depth of the flute hasto be deep enough to put something that forms a 90 degree angle (like the corner of a square or the corner or a piece of paper) in the bottom of the flute and have the two edges of the piece of paper touch the two sides of the flute. I think the flats were narrower than the widths of the flutes. You just have to step it off to see what flute and flat widths work out so you end up with the last flat the correct width. When I was researching this for the columns for the hood of a tall case clock I noticed that there was a rather large flat uncarved section that was placed such that it would not be visable. It is obvious that the number of flutes did note evenly divide the circumference of the column so that the left-over was left uncarved.,
hope this helps,
George Madok
hope this helps,
George Madok
John McAlister
Well-known member
I agree with George that the flat should be narrower than the width of the flute. I have an index head on my lathe and have made a jig that mounts on the lathe on which you can run a router. Most of the fluting I do is for corner 1/4 columns on case pieces. The diameter of the full round column runs about 2 1/2". I use a 3/16" bit (sometimes a 1/4") for the flutes with 15 divisions which leaves about 3/32" (or a bit less) for the flat. As George says you just have to play around with it. Make lots of trial cuts. I try for a full half round for the depth of the flute. On one of my early pieces (which is still in this house) I wound up with the flat equal to the width of the flute, or a bit wider. It looks terrible. An index head, a jig and a router is not exactly the 18th century way; but it works great in the 21st century! E mail me off forum, if you'd like. I'd be glad to e-mail pics of the jig, and some of the results.
John McAlister
John McAlister
Jeff Saylor
Well-known member
I just finished making quarter columns for a tallcase clock with the glued up column turned to 1 1/2" dia. One thing to consider when laying out for quarter columns is that if the flutes are indexed from a head and are equally spaced around, you get a half width flat on each edge of the split turning. I scraped the flutes in using a box set-up like Allen Breed showed in FWW. By using the scraper as a gauge, you can visually mark off the widths of the flutes so the outer flats at the glue seams are equal (or very close) to the others. Tapping a wooden wedge between the headstock and indexing plate on my lathe locks the turning in the various positions for scraping.
As a follow-up to some of the replies you've already gotten, I decided to see if I could find any information in older sources which might be germane to your question. Some of the other responses seem to assume (possibly correctly) that you are actually looking to make quarter columns. If so, what follows will not be much help. But, I've decided to take you literally about a column with twelve flutes.
Peter Nicholson, in his _Practical Carpentry, Joinery, and Cabinet-Making_, c. 1826, indicates that columns. for architectural work, would generally have 24 flutes. This is obviously too many flutes for columns on the smaller scale of furniture work, though Nicholson doesn't really have much to say on that topic. Franz Sales Meyer, in his _Handbook of Ornament_, c. 1888, indicates that the number of flutes, for architectural work, varies from 18 to 24, but is reduced for smaller construction, including furniture. Though the number is seldom reduced to fewer than eight. So, the number you've chosen seems about right - especially for ease of lay-out resulting in a flute being centered at each quadrant of the column.
As to your questions about the profile of the flutes and the relative width of the flutes and fillets, Nicholson has some information which may be of some help. He illustrates flutes of this style as being approximately semi-circles, and suggests that the fillets can generally be about one-fifth as wide as the flutes.
In the case of a column with a diameter of 1 1/2 inches with twelve flutes, this works out to a flute and corresponding fillet of about 3/8" (in round numbers). In which case the flute would be 5/16" wide, and the corresponding fillet 1/16". I've taken the liberty of drawing the results up in a quick sketch so that you can judge for yourself whether you like the results or not. I'm tempted to say more, but think it better to see what discussion may follow.
Hope this helps a little.
Don McConnell
Eureka Springs, AR
Peter Nicholson, in his _Practical Carpentry, Joinery, and Cabinet-Making_, c. 1826, indicates that columns. for architectural work, would generally have 24 flutes. This is obviously too many flutes for columns on the smaller scale of furniture work, though Nicholson doesn't really have much to say on that topic. Franz Sales Meyer, in his _Handbook of Ornament_, c. 1888, indicates that the number of flutes, for architectural work, varies from 18 to 24, but is reduced for smaller construction, including furniture. Though the number is seldom reduced to fewer than eight. So, the number you've chosen seems about right - especially for ease of lay-out resulting in a flute being centered at each quadrant of the column.
As to your questions about the profile of the flutes and the relative width of the flutes and fillets, Nicholson has some information which may be of some help. He illustrates flutes of this style as being approximately semi-circles, and suggests that the fillets can generally be about one-fifth as wide as the flutes.
In the case of a column with a diameter of 1 1/2 inches with twelve flutes, this works out to a flute and corresponding fillet of about 3/8" (in round numbers). In which case the flute would be 5/16" wide, and the corresponding fillet 1/16". I've taken the liberty of drawing the results up in a quick sketch so that you can judge for yourself whether you like the results or not. I'm tempted to say more, but think it better to see what discussion may follow.
Hope this helps a little.
Don McConnell
Eureka Springs, AR
