It’s Monday…let’s make something! ~ Week 25
Well holy crap! It’s week 25!!! It’s incredibly crazy how quickly time has flown! Seems like yesterday that I walked into my barn and said “Hey guys…it’s Monday…what do you say we make something?” for the first time! And here we are now! It’s been a busy week around here, the oldest kid was home sick from school on Thursday and Friday, so that put a little bit of a cramp in my style…but I managed to get some things done.
<—— Check out today’s video!
Today I walked into the barn knowing what I was going to make…but I still needed to find the right piece of wood and determine the shape! I grabbed a piece of Patagonian Rosewood from the shelf, found the center of each end and punched the one end so it would grab onto the lathe. Once that was done I popped it onto the lathe, rounded it out and then notched out the end that would go into the chuck jaws.
Once it was into the chuck jaws it was time to get down to business! This is where the piece of wood really leads the way. And I slowly started cutting and finding the shape that looked good. During this part I normally cut for a bit, turn off the lathe and look for any chips or nicks…and then turn it back on and make any corrections that I need. Once I had the bottom end of this ornament almost to shape I pulled back the tail stock so I could round out the bottom tip. And using gentle cuts, I was able to take the spire (is that the right word for it?) down to its final thickness. Then I really worked on the top of the ornament.
I love making wooden ornaments, each one is totally unique because of the shape and each individual piece of wood! Once I had the top shaped it was time to sand and oil the ornament. And then came the part that always makes me hold my breath. Using the parting tool, I began to cut the ornament from the wood in the chuck jaws. And once it was thin enough, I used the saw to finish the job. And then I let out the breath I’d been holding! Then a quick sand of the top, drill a hole and put in the eye hook!
I absolutely love this ornament, and it will look fantastic on a tree during the holidays! What do you all think?
Thanks for sticking with me the last 25 weeks! I’ll see you back up in the barn next Monday!
