The next part I am going to talk about is the booster cover. The is the blue part in the middle of the leg. I decided to make this out of wood and made it in three main pieces, the top block and the two arms that come off the bottom of the block. I will start with the top block.
I started by gluing up some pieces of pine to form a block bigger then needed, I then cut the piece down on the table saw to the correct final dimensions.
The next step was to form the curve at the top of the block. This is a little tricky since the curve slopes down to the front of the block. I started by printing a full size template for the curve. I then cut this into two pieces, the larger piece defines the edge of the curve on the front of the block and adding he smaller piece defines the curve on the back.
I used the template to mark the block on the front and back and also marked which side was which.
I started the cut using the band saw to remove some of the material. This is the front of the block so the cut isn’t close to the line, but it is much closer on the back.
To finish the cut, I made a wedge that is the same angle as the slope of the curve. I then used that wedge along with the largest drum on the drum sander to remove the material down to the line on the front. The wedge will assure that it comes out correctly on both the front and back.
Here is what the piece looks like after that operation. I believe I had to do more more to form that angles on the edges but it’s been a while and I can’t remember how I did this, probably on a belt sander.
The next step was to form the cove along the bottom edge. I did this with a cove bit on the router table. I clamped a guide block to keep the block against the fence and a used a feather board to keep it tight to the table.
Once cove was cut I marked up the block for the location of the slots in the block.
I started cutting the clots using the drill press. I clamped a block along the back to hold the piece in the right position front to back.
Here is the piece after the drilling operation.
I cleaned up the slots with a chisel. Here is the piece after some cleanup and a coat of primer. Still needs a little work.
