Baby Rattle

by the Woodworker

A friend of ours is being presented with a baby shower for her first child due in the very near future. As showers are a ladies only affair I decided to craft a souvenir baby rattle for her and have Mrs. Woodworker take it with her to the event. She will also add a gift of her own.

1. Somewhere in this pile of wood lies a baby rattle.

 

2. Here it is. A piece of West Virginia cherry. It been cut to length and properly chucked up in the lathe. Rounding is nearly complete.

 

3. Rounding complete and the top cut off. Note the shoulder on the top so it can be reattached later.

 

4. Hollowing out the rattle.

 

 5. Turning down the top to make it fit the hollowed out bottom.

 

6. The rattling will be provided by old screws.

 

7. Screws put inside and the top installed. Starting the rattle shape.

 

8. Finish sanding and decorative band added. One band is over point of contact between the top and the bottom. Unless you know where to look it appears to be one piece.

 

9. Good old Howard's Butcher Block treatment is the finish. 

 

 

 

10. A turning project can create a huge amount of shaving.

 

11. Project complete.

Bobbin Lace progress

Gradually I am understanding a little more about bobbin lace and how it works although I've still a LOOOONG ways to go.

The trick, of course, is translating a pattern that looks like this:

Into something that looks like this, mostly with no instructions other than a picture to work from, or at best 3-4 lines with very general suggestions on how to get the  job done.

Not entirely true on this one though as it came lavishly illustrated on about 5 pages. 

My goal is to be able someday to do a pattern called Running River which my great-grandmother, Euphemia Jane Carter Freeman remembers learning to make as a lace maker in England.

Rolling Pin Vase

by The Woodworker

For years I have been trying to figure out what to do with old rolling pins. They are available by the score in almost every antique/consignment store. A while ago it occurred to me that maybe they would make good cookie cutters after being cut down and turned on my lathe. I tried turning cookie cutters and it worked. Then today a new idea hit me. How about making them into vases? Here is a chronicle of what happened. What do you think?

1. Start with an antique rolling pin purchased for $6.00 in local consignment store.

 

2. Remove handles and cut in half. Save handles for unknown future projects.

 

3. Rolling pin half firmly chucked up in my lathe.

 

4. Vase shape roughed out and prepared to have inside hollowed out.

 

5. Inside being hollowed out. The lathe is actually turning here before the drill bit is inserted into the rolling pin.

6. Hollowed out and final shaping complete. Rough sanding completed.

 

7. Decorative bands added and final sanding.

 

 

8. Wax and oil finish being added.

 

9. Completed vase.

 

The next problem is figuring out if I should give it away or try to sell it. If I give it away who should I give it to? If I sell it what should I ask for it?

The Woodwright Shop: Building a Coffin

Coffins are included on the list of products the Woodwright Shop produces. Several years ago an old 19th century toe pincher coffin was hastily constructed. It served well but due to the popularity it became battered and started to fall apart. Simply put, it was loved to death.

Initially it was used as a display, but unexpectedly, a huge percentage of our patrons liked to have their pictures taken in it. We even added a bouquet of artificial lilies for the patrons to pose with.

This winter was replacement time for the old coffin with a newer one that was more sturdily constructed. It was constructed in my garage as the Woodwright Shop is closed for the winter.

1. Raw materials. Rough cut, one-inch, pine planks. Total cost; $40 dollars.

2. Tongue and groove cut in the planks.

3. Tongue and groove planks glued and assembled for the sides.

4. Sides standing up to see how they look.

5. Sides and ends cut and temporarily assembled to make sure the measurements and angles are correct.

6. Rough assembly.

7. Cutting the box joints to hold the pieces together.

8. Final assembly with the bottom started.

9. Final assembly on saw horses, The height makes finishing a bit easier.

10. Completed with molding installed and rope handle holes drilled. It was necessary to add molding as the box joints did not fit as well as I would like. Molding is very useful for hiding poor workmanship.

11. Coffin permanently installed in the Woodwright shop. It is safely screwed to the wall and ready for patrons for many years to come. A top was not constructed as it would just be in the way. It would be simple to make as it is essentially a clone of the bottom. 

It took about a week of off-and-on work to complete the project. As the garage door was open and the project in full view there were quite a few comments from the neighbors. It was great fun and probably reinforced my friends and neighbors opinion that I am totally nuts. I suspect Mrs. Woodworker agrees with them. Hopefully the new coffin will be as popular as the old one.

Jicama Bowl

by The Woodworker

Maybe it would be a little different to make some other kind of exotic bowl, I thought. I had been noticing two jicamas sitting on the counter top waiting to be used. We got them at a Bountiful Basket delivery some time ago and just haven't found a use for them.  We had them before but never really cared for them.  Aha! Why not see if I can put them on my lathe and make them into a bowl?

It required a little adaption to my lathe chuck to make it happen. I put some nails into a piece of wood and inserted it into the chuck, then shoved the jicama onto the nails. It seemed to hold pretty well but I butted the tail stock against it just to add a little stability.  I turned on the lathe and carefully made sure it was on the slowest speed setting. It seems to work best at about 300 RPM.

Taking my trusty mini lathe tools I carefully started in. They were sharp and with the lathe turning slowly it worked perfectly. After completing the task I took the completed bown into the kitchen and showed Mrs. Woodworker.  She was impressed. I could tell by the neat way she smiled and rolled her eyes.

Unlike wood products the waste on this one is edible.

How is that for a fine homemaker project by a backwoods Alaska Homesteader who never even knew what fruit was?  I'm going to try other fruits and vegetables. Blueberries should be interesting, however I don't expect much from bananas.

See. Some of us guys can be creative homemaker types too.

1. Jicama

2. Chuck adapter for turning Jicama

3. Jicama attached and modified tail stock to hold it in place

4. Starting to turn.

5. Hollowing out the inside of the bowl.

6. Completed bowl right off the lathe. Eating the Jicama guts was not too bad.

7. Project completed. How would some of these work as fruit bowls for a fancy party?

Baby Animal Days 2014

Baby Animal Days has become one station marking our progress through the year.  It is always the first and biggest event of the season at the American West Heritage Center.  The weather is always unpredictable, the baby animals are always cute, and everyone seems happy to be outdoors after winter.

The historical venues are open, so in addition to the baby animals, folks have a chance to learn what life was like in this area in the past by visiting the 1820s Mountain Man and Shoshone site, the 1850s Pioneer site, the woodwright shop, the millinery shop and the 1917 farm.  It is not unusual to see visitors from the past in the crowd.

We had a few new babies to look at this year in addition to the normal chicks, ducklings, bunnies, piglets, goats, and lambs.  These are the cutest little miniature horses...not ponies!  The baby is only 2 weeks old.  Even her mother is quite small.  If you look on the right at the top of the fence you can see the hands of a visitor at the top of the fence to get an idea just how small these horses are.  I am told that the mother horse here has a career appearing at "My Little Pony" and princess parties.

This little fellow was also out greeting everyone.

The baby goats are always irresistable.

In recent years the baby bears have been a very popular attraction.  When the gates open in the morning, visitors often head to the bears first before looking at the more common baby animals.
Other less common animals include toads, salamanders, turtles of all sizes and birds.

One of the animals this year was either shy, or didn't like the sunlight, so he was hiding when I went by, but maybe you can catch a glimpse of the albino porcupine there inside his carrier box.

Once in a while we heard an old engine of some kind in the distance.  It seems like they were working on one of the antique tractors there. 

The most fun of all though is interacting with the thousands of visitors who come to visit over the three day event.  Now we have a week long break before school groups start coming to visit.