Each post starts out as a slab of cherry 4 inches wide and about 2 inches thick (a "blank"). In order to make sure that the front and back fit I decided to lay out the shape of the post with the other parts in place. In the first three photos you can see that I clamped the front and top rail where they should be on the post blank. Notice that the top rail will be curved, so I'm positioning it in the outline of that curve on the post blank.
Using the position of the front parts as a guide I made a template for the curve of the foot. I copied that onto all four posts, using a slightly shorter version for the tops of the posts. I cut along those lines on the bandsaw.
After look at the results I felt like the posts were a little boring, so I decided to add a secondary curve on the inside of the foot. This cut can be a problem on the bandsaw because the foot is no longer properly supported. I learned a nice trick to solve this problem in a woodworking class: tape the cutoffs from the first curve back onto the piece, making it look like a whole blank again. Then make the secondary cut. Tomorrow I'll post pictures of the finished legs. Needless to say it takes a lot of scraping and sanding to get the resulting curves smooth.
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