In between other projects I’ve been puttering away at making a variety of wine stoppers. Using scrap pieces of wood and the tricks I learned at the wine stopper course I took last month I am getting into the habit of turning one as a bit of practice. Here’s four that I did recently:

These are great little projects to make. They don’t take much time and are an excellent exercise in spindle turning. They also make great use of small scraps of wood that may be lying around.

Here are closeup photos of each of the stoppers:

Continue reading 'A Collection Of Wine Stoppers'

Here is a couple of pens that I just turned. The pen on the top is in the European Round Top pen style and is made out of Buckeye Burl. The pen on the bottom is in the Slimline style and made out of Tulipwood.

Buckeye is a beautiful wood available throughout North America, specifically the US state of Ohio where it is the State Tree. The burl has a terrific swirling grain with multi-colored layers. I find that it looks like some varieties of animal horn.

Tulipwood is an exotic wood from northern Brazil, not to be confused with Poplar which is also referred to as Tulipwood. The heartwood is a beautiful pink-yellow with a pronounced striped figure in varying shades of salmon pink and rose red. The grain is straight but more often irregular, with a fine texture.

Both pens are finished with the UltraShine and Shellawax combo.

Back to the shop…

1. To get a better grip on the round, twist-type clamp handles drill a hole through the side of the handle and insert a dowel. This will give you better torque and not cause your hands to cramp.

2. When you only have one hand available and no magnetized screwdriver tip just slip a short piece of plastic tubing over the screwdriver bit to hold a screw. This works well when installing screws with an electric drill too.

3. To stop a hole saw from clogging and burning first score the wood with the hole saw to outline the hole. Then drill a 3/4″ clearance hole through the wood along the inside edge of the scored circle. Then cut the hole as normal. The 3/4″ hole allows the sawdust to escape eliminating the clogging and burning.

4. If you store your waterstones in water, add a few drops of household bleach to the water. This will prevent algae from growing in the water and it will not harm the stones.

5. Foam water-pipe insulation makes a great cover for your pipe camps. It’s inexpensive, comes pre-split and will protect your work. Shower curtain rod covers work well too!

These are just a few tips that I picked up over this past week. They come from a variety of sources including books, magazines, newsletters, online and some from personal experience.

There are more Woodworking Tips and Tidbits located here.

Got a woodworking tip that you want to share? Let me know and I’ll add it in a future issue of Tips and Tidbits!

Back to the shop…

No, it’s not Christmas! And not that kind of goose! This is a flying Canada goose that I carved a couple of years ago as a Christmas gift for my wife. It was a whimsical project in a folk art kind of way that was fun to do.

It was based on an article in Issue #4 of the Carving magazine. I was intrigued by the way that the wings were done so I thought I’d give it a try. It was also my first time at painting a piece.

The project was quite simple. Basically cutting the pattern out for the body and a bit of carving around the head and beak. The wings were cut out and feathers carved using a V tool. It sits on a wooden shaft and base and stands approximately 22″ high.

Here is a close up of the wing. You can see where it was carved to give a layered look:

Continue reading 'A Carved Flying Canada Goose'