Woodworking Tips from Pop…

This is how we make bar brackets in our shop

First draw the design on a piece of paper or cardboard, this is called the template. Most brackets on a bar are typically around eight inches long x four inches deep x four inches wide. These dimensions will vary depending on the size of lumber available and the overall look you’re going for.
The design is traced on the template using anything with a rounded corner like a coffee can, drinking cup, shoe heel, or whatever! It really doesn’t matter, as long as you’re happy with the layout. This is why a piece of paper or card board is used to make the template, (easy modification). After you’re satisfied with the layout it is typically wiser to transfer your pattern to a piece of ¼” plywood. This will help the template last longer for use on future jobs and stay true to its original layout.
 

These patterns are several years old and have been used in many of our bars.

Once the template is complete, the next step is deciding on whether to cut the corbels out of solid four inch thick stock or gluing and clamping up thinner boards to achieve the desired thickness, like the one shown below.

About 24 hours is always a safe drying time. Remember, you’re going to be cutting on these and it’s always safer to make sure the pieces have had plenty of time to dry.

Using solid stock can really shave some time off, but at a cost!

Hardwoods such as cherry and mahogany that are this thick will cost a small fortune if they’re even available. Gluing boards up will definitely add some time to the job, but it has its’ advantages also. Minimal waste is the first reason that comes to mind, In fact most of the pieces that are glued up are usually leftover scraps. Depending on how many brackets you need, this can be a lot of little pieces. It’s always better to plan on having a couple extra in case of blow-outs when profiling the edge. A little forethought when cutting other components, and you could have a stack of shorts all ready to glue up (no waste).

Now it’s all a matter of marking the glued up piece with the template and then cutting the pattern out on a band saw. If you’re band saw is not big enough to handle a four inch thick piece, you can cut the layout on the thinner pieces first and then glue up to desired thickness.

Next, comes the cleaning of the band saw marks with an oscillating sander. This machine will pay for itself the first time you use it. It cost about as much as the store bought corbels would have cost and can be used for a multitude of sanding jobs. Some squaring of the brackets is usually necessary and they should be checked before profiling the edges.

Once the corbels edges are clean, the profiling of the edges is next. Profiling of the edges is not always required, it just adds a little more detail to the finished product. This is done with a hand router, router table or shaper. Any profile will do, but it’s always best to do a practice run on a scrap board first.

On larger profiles it safer to glue the brackets back to back before profiling, this is a much safer than trying to handle smaller pieces.

These brackets or corbels are just examples of the ones we make for our bars. There’s no right or wrong way to make these, just as long as they fit.