As promised I have some photos of the shawl pin making operation. Andrew started with a pile of assorted types of wood that he has accumulated over time. He chose Red Maple, Cedar, Chestnut, Beech, Walnut and Mulberry because of the beautiful wood grain that you will be able to see in the finished piece. He then rough cut and planed the wood into usable lumber. I asked for oval shaped rings for the pins to fit through so he then cut ovals. After he did the rough cutting and shaping on them I did the fine sanding and applied tung oil to protect the wood and make it shine. Now he is working on the actual pin to hold the rings in place. This is done on a lathe and takes a bit of concentration. In another day or so you will be able to see the finished pieces. I'm keeping one of each kind of wood for myself and others we will use for gifts.
1 comment:
Andrew is sooooo clever!!! Tell him I said so! I've been trying to make wooden shawl pins and went at it another way. I took flat pieces of nice woods (rosewood, zebrawood) and cut out a circle inside a circle with circular drill bits. I have to do the best I can with the tools I have. I don't really have a proper saw or a lathe. Anyway -- I can't do ovals that way, just circles. The only thing I can do to make it interesting it to offset the inner circle. I make the stick part with nice wooden dowels that have been somewhat sharpened and decorated at the end with beads, etc. I was inspired to try to make them when I went to Maryland Sheep and Wool and saw how expensive shawl pins are! I was hoping to make some for the Guild sale (which starts tonight) but I didn't get my act together in time. The story of my life ....
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