Hi Chuck, If your design turns out to have what some say a "pommel", some say a "pummel" (since I'm no furniture maker I say a "square section") at the top, I offer one bit of advice from sad experience.
Probably advising a furniture maker to measure carefully is preaching to the choir, but just in case:
I usually center spindles by eye, figuring the piece will be brought into round & be concentric when turned between centers anyway. Not so with pommels and pummels. If the blank is not square and centered accurately you will never get the square section centered on the rest of the leg ...and that's neither art nor craft. :)
I suggest that a leg with a simple short square section at the top ending with a cove or an ogee then a long plain tapered cylinder without coves or beads to the foot looks good, is easy to turn, sand and finish, and not as difficult to duplicate as fancy coves & beads. Just remember to 'KIS' & 'KIC' (keep it simple & keep it crisp). :)
Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter
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