My new favourite pen that I made just now! Purpleheart with maple accents including the two wavy lines. It’s the same technique used for making a Celtic knot, but I only took it as far as this, the historically less common Celtic wavy line.
Check out the video on YouTube!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-zMiJN_kkI
These are some recent pens customized from the basic kit, which involves (at least) replacing the stock centre band with a larger wooden one. Sorry about the price tags, I should have taken the picture BEFORE I put those on… tacky…
(l-r) Curly maple w. purpleheart; Purpleheart w. maple (2); Maple burl w. purpleheart; Olivewood w. purpleheart.
The 2nd from the left is my favourite pen EVER, would hate to see it go… you can see how purpleheart regains its purpleness over time, compared to the more recent one next to it…
Six recent “Euro”-style pens. (l-r) African Spalted Stinkwood, Purpleheart, Redheart, Maple Burl (2), SE Asian Red Palm
Two new breadboards, hard maple with purpleheart racing stripes. Aproximate dimensions: (l) 8″ x 12″ x 1″ and (r) 9″ x 12″ x 3/4″. They both have a recess routed into each end from the underside, so it’s easier to get your fingers underneath to lift them and set them down. I see the left one as more of a cheese tray, perhaps.
That’s it for these… unless I get more kits. Materials are (l-r) African Spalted Stinkwood; Zebrawood; Purpleheart; SE Asian Red Palm; Maple Burl. As with anything made of wood (or acrylic in some other cases) that you see here, please let me know if you’d like to own them for your very self.
Inventory – Bottle Stoppers, originally uploaded by rgdaniel.
Type of wood (from left): Zebrawood (2); Black & White Ebony (2); Pau Ferro (3). One of the Zebrawoods is missing its rings here, but it’s got ’em now…
Finally got around to trying out these new stopper kits. The Lee Valley stoppers came with nothing, so I was kind of flying blind. These new ones came with a proper mandrel and drill bit, so no centering issues. The wood is pau ferro, which I love, but I’ve not too much left now. Should be enough for a few more stoppers though.
I wanted to whip up a little something in the shop for the Love Of My Life, but I needed something I could build quickly, since the shop is freezing. This is what I came up with.
It’s made from the last bit of naughty pine — sorry, KNOTTY pine — from the Step Stool project. I freehand drew half a heart onto a scrap of plywood, cut it at the bandsaw, cleaned up the edge with the sanding drum, then drew the outline onto the workpiece, flipping the template for the other half to ensure symmetry. Back to the bandsaw to cut the final shape, back to the sanding drum to clean up edges. Hand sanded the inside of the curves at the top where the sanding drum can’t reach.
Finally, I laid out a line that would cut off enough of the bottom to allow it stand on its own, but at an angle so that the front is intact, retaining the full heart shape. To make the cut, I taped the heart to a wedge-shaped scrap that happened to be the right angle and took it to the bandsaw. Final sanding, quick coat of mineral oil, and back inside to thaw out my hands…
Lynda loved it. Yay!
Here’s the more-or-less completed step stool… made from recycled inch-and-a-half pine boards from the rails of an old waterbed I bought in the Eighties…
I was unable to find a plan that was entirely to my liking and/or could be easily used with the wood I had, so I came up with this simple design myself.
Since it’s going to be painted, I elected to go with a very sophisticated screw-and-glue joinery technique (nyuk nyuk) and just fill the screw holes with wood filler. Waiting for the first application to dry at this point, then a final application of the filler, then sealer/primer coat, then plain white paint.
At some point Lynda will probably give it the tole-painting treatment, but plain white to start.
Just a small project to use up the rest of the walnut left over from the TV table.
