I’m roughing a sculpted ash seat tonight with a travisher and scraper, aiming for a gentle 7° pelvic tilt, a 3/4 in sit‑bone hollow, and a 3/16 in eased front edge so it supports circulation without losing a crisp silhouette. What’s your go‑to for the first passes — adze and scorp or a 4‑1/2 in grinder with a Kutzall — and any tricks to keep the ergonomic geometry honest while the curves still read light?
Adze then scorp on ash; 7° shim under the seat keeps ‘7° tilt’ honest; grinder’s quick but overshoots.
I tilt the drill press table to 7° and pop a grid of shallow Forstner depth pips — 3/4 in at the sit-bones, 3/16 near the front edge — then carve until I just ‘kiss the holes’ so the geometry stays honest. I’ll rough with the Kutzall only after that layout, super light passes; if you hate dust, a small adze is a fine swap.
Grinder first with a Kutzall fine, but I lay a blue‑tape ‘no‑go’ line 3/16 in back from the front edge and stop the first time the tape just feathers, then go to the travisher. A cheap angle cube on the seat keeps the 7° honest between passes — faster than shims for me on ash, @t_mason55.
I keep the 7° and the 3/4 / 3/16 targets honest with a quick shop‑made depth pin (dowel + sliding collar) plus a cheap angle cube on the blank — spot‑check every few passes and skip the pips, ; @t_mason55’s grid works, but I hate the cleanup. For first passes I go light adze then travisher on ash, and switch to a negative‑rake scraper right before final shaping to keep the silhouette crisp without tear‑out.
I skew the travisher across the grain and set a low raking light; I pencil crosshatch the whole field and carve until there’s a uniform ‘ghost’, then switch to the scraper so the tilt you’re chasing doesn’t creep. If ash chatters near the lip, a very light spritz of water or alcohol stiffens the fibers, but go easy or you’ll raise fuzz.
I bolt the blank to a 7° plywood wedge so I carve ‘level’ with the floor; it locks in the pelvic tilt from the first passes and keeps the travisher honest as the seat thins. The only caveat is to mark a centerline and you’ll want to re-square the wedge after flipping, since ash can cup mid‑session.
I lay out a light grid and drill 1/4" brad‑point “witness” holes on the drill press with the stop set for your “3/4 in sit‑bone hollow,” and I tip the table to 7° so the dots track the pelvic tilt; then I rough with an adze until the dots just kiss and switch to the travisher. On ash I leave the front about 2" undrilled so the “3/16 in” break stays crisp, and if you go Kutzall on a 4‑1/2" it’s fast but it’ll erase those witnesses in a heartbeat.