Here was a real fun project that I originally did for the AWA Christmas Toy Drive. I had so much fun making them that I went on to make a total of 16 of them to give away as Christmas gifts for friends and family!

Once I got going each one took about 30 minutes from start to finish. They are all made of Cherry and about 5″ long and 7/8″ round. Each one is different and the accents were burnt in the wood with a bit of wire. They are finished with beeswax and then buffed.

When blown they give a loud whistle that is not hard on the ears, allowing the kids to blow at their heart’s content… or until their parents curse me and put a stop to it.

Here’s a couple of closeups:

Continue reading 'Wooden Whistles For A Wassailing'

Taking a few tips from Don Moore’s presentation at the last Nova Woodturners Guild meeting I turned a few small Christmas ornaments. They proved to be quite fun and definitely great spindle turning practice.

From left to right the first one is about 5″ long and made from Jatoba. The second one is only 3″ long and made from Cherry. Then there is the Snowman which is made out of Maple and about 4″ long. Finally, the one on the far right, which could double as a honey dipper , is made out of Maple and is about 5″ long.

The Snowman is colored with red and black marker and all are finished with EEE Cream and Shellawax. The bottom snowball of the Snowman is hollow end-turned.

Hopefully next Christmas doesn’t come so fast so that I will have a chance to make more of these.

Back to the shop…

Here we go again! It’s another chance to show your woodworking buddies what a fine craftsman that you really are!

Lumberjocks, the #1 online social network for woodworkers, has just announced the Winter 2009 edition of the LumberJocks Woodworking Awards. This is a chance to showcase your latest woodworking projects and vie for the title of “Best Overall LumberJock”!

There are two categories in this competition, ‘A Knot Like No Other’, where you have to be a bit creative and incorporate a knot, ot he hole, it into a project and ‘A Secret Compartment’ where you have to include a hidden storage compartment in your project.

Prizes range from DVDs from Passion For Wood, router bit sets from Eagle America, finishing products from Swing Paints, a bowl saw from Steussy Creations, Fine Woodworking Collection DVDs, a Dovetail Spline Master System from Dovetail Splineand more. Top prize, for the Best Overall Lumberjock, is a TrakSaw from DeWalt!

The contest runs from January 1st to January 31st with voting between February 1st to 7th so get your saws a-runnin’!

Click here for more information on participating is this great cotest!

Back to the shop…

This month’s meeting of the Atlantic Woodworkers’ Association was the annual toy drive and Christmas party. It was held at our local Lee Valley location and as always proved to be one of the most popular meetings of the year.

The meeting began a bit earlier that normal in order to include all the festivities planned. It started with announcements of various upcoming activities and events and then went on to a lengthy question and answer period regarding dust collection and extraction systems.

This was followed by an auction for an official Canadian football cap and a DeWalt jacket. Information was also given for an upcoming raffle sponsored by the AWA of which the winning prize will be a Ridgid Job Site Radio! We were also told of an upcoming membership drive contest where the one who brings in the most new members will win a cordless tool yet to be determined. Looks like the new year will be another exciting one!

The high point of the evening, well, actually just one of them, was the Toy Show and Tell where the members who brought in toys told about their trials and tribulations in the creation of such. Let me tell you, there were a few laughs for some of these stories!

This year, as in the past, there was an excellent collection of toys brought in. These will be given to the Salvation Army for distribution. Here are a few photos of these great projects:

Continue reading 'It’s Toy Time At The AWA!'