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I'm wondering how I could achieve a bevel along the edge of a table top where the angle changes smoothly along the way. See reference image attached of this same effect on a chopping board. I could do this manually but I'm sure someone has a smarter (and more repeatable) technique! Many thanks for any suggestions.

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I'm willing to bet that this piece was done with a computer and a CNC machine of some kind. You need to change the tool (or work piece) cutter angle to get this effect.

There might be a Maker Space in your area that you can use for this.

But, unless you can mount a router in a multi-axis articulated arm and control it smoothly through a 3D space, a dedicated CNC machine and some simple coding is the way to go.

You could also grow old doing this with a spindle sander and a very steady hand.

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  • Thanks for the answer - that makes a lot of sense. I may have to grow old with a spindle sander 😀
    – Ben
    Commented May 8, 2020 at 1:59
  • I upvoted, but spindle sander? Duuuude, how about rasps and files and sanding? A spokeshave? @Ben, I wondered what the Q would be about from the title and when I saw the pic literally the first thing I thought of was hand tools. You could do this by a handful of different routes that I can think of, including some mixture of the techniques (e.g. starting the roughing process using chisels and gouges, then smoothing by rasp/file or with a suitable spokeshave or two).
    – Graphus
    Commented May 8, 2020 at 6:14
  • @Graphus, the OP wanted "repeatable" so I opted for mechanical waste removal. But, yes. A one-off could be done with hand-tools, and if you took the time you could get pretty close to this machined edge. But the aesthetic in the photo is definitely "CNC".
    – user5572
    Commented May 8, 2020 at 13:52
  • (It is my assertion that suggesting to use hand-tools would specifically not have answered the question posed -- at least the question as it stands right now: that of achieving this look and design not using hand-tools, and with a repeatable method. This can only mean bulk waste removal and shaping with a machine tool of some kind.)
    – user5572
    Commented May 8, 2020 at 14:13
  • Sorry I wasn't clear jdv, I wasn't suggesting that hand tools should have been the answer, just presented as an option... since sans CNC they are nearly the only option for the majority of people. And of course it's how this kind of shaping would have been done traditionally, so there's that. Since we're not living in the past though then absolutely, CNC is the way to go, if available and cost effective, and especially if very high accuracy and replication is desired.
    – Graphus
    Commented May 10, 2020 at 10:45

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