How to Make Post Style Legs
Post style legs are usually straight and thick legs. This style of leg comes from the Arts and Crafts movement (1880-1920). Sometimes this style is referred to as “Craftsman” or “Missionay” style. These terms coming from Gustav Stickley’s 1902 Magazine “The Craftsman Magazine.” The benefit of a Post style leg is the simplicity and thickness, using straight lines and grain attributes as the focal point. As a result, I chose to use Sapele to demonstrate the build of these legs. These legs will be used in a modified Banister style bed.
Step One: Pick a wood that has beautiful grain.
Because the legs are so wide and thick, the grain is the focal point. Pick a wood that has a lot of grain or figure. If you want to use the same board for all the legs, consider cutting an 8/4 board into veneers. For this project, I made the veneers 3/16. After I cut the veneers, I planed one side of them and glued them onto a secondary wood. The secondary wood can be any wood. It will not be seen so it is commonly a cheaper wood. I used rustic alder.
Step Two: Cut the legs to width with a double sided 44.5 degree miter.
Joint the show side of the boards and plane the back sides of the boards until they are all the same thickness. Next, joint one side and rip the other side. Cut one side with a 44.5 degree angle with the show side up on the table saw. The reason you are cutting a 44.5 degree angle instead of a 45 is you want the miter to close perfectly. You don’t want the inside of the miter to hit and have gaps at the mitered glue joint. Once you cut one side, put that side against the fence and measure for your final width. Then cut the other side.
Glue the mitered edges together.
Once the sides have been cut to length, I put a couple of dominos on each one to help with alignment. This can be tricky but it helps to not have things sliding around once the glue is on. It also helps because then you can use clamps to tighten the joint. Some people use tape to hold the joint together but I prefer to use dominos and clamps.