The mood was right to turn a pen yesterday so I turned a European Round Top Pen made out of Zebrawood. The style I chose was similar to the Spalted Birch Pen I made back in November. It is a very pleasing shape, both to look at and to hold:

This pen came out extremely well. I am quite pleased with it. Here are the steps that I took to create this pen. First, you will need a pen blank and a pen kit:

Continue reading 'Zebrawood European Round Top Pen'

Yesterday, in celebration of Easter, I made, what I’m calling, an Easter Basket Plant Pot Bowl:

The bowl is made of Maple with a band of Padauk running around its center. It’s approximately 4″ tall and 6″ in diameter. Because it is to be used as a flower pot I made the walls a bit thicker than I normally would, at about 1/2″.

Continue reading 'Easter Basket Plant Pot Bowl'

Here’s a bit of woodworking from the past – it is an Arts and Crafts or Mission style mirror that I did about two years ago. It’s 4 feet long and 16 inches high and made out of Red Oak with a light stain and finish:

What I enjoyed about this project was the joinery and the curved top. The joinery was a bit of a challenge because it used lap joints that were different on the top than on the bottom and I had to compensate for the rabbet where the mirror would sit. The curved top, of course, had to perfect. If not, it would be very noticeable against the mirror.

Continue reading 'Arts And Crafts Mirror From The Past'

With the cold temperatures and the high winds whipping around the shop door the past few days it wasn’t very enjoyable to do much out in the shop. I don’t really think it was much colder than at other times throughout the winter but the howl of the wind made it seem that much more so.

However, I was able to get out there for a few hours and turn a small bowl out of walnut. The bowl is 5″ in diameter and 1 3/4″ tall with straight sides and a shallow curved bottom:

I found the walnut fairly easy to turn, in fact, quite enjoyable. It finished up well too. Walnut always finishes with a look of elegance, as confirmed by even my limited turning skills.

Here’s a sequence of photos showing the steps I took to create this bowl.

Continue reading 'Walnut Bowl From The Whipping Wind'