A Few Ornaments

Thanks for the nice words, all. None of these will end up on any of our trees here. We've got 3 or 4 tabletop size artificial trees, but they're already packed with LOML's selection of ornaments. (When we got married, all our Christmas stuff merged. Nowadays, I only see her stuff decorating the house. All of my stuff is still in the boxes.) :rolleyes:

Are you using transtints? What size gouge are you using to make the finials?

Yes, I used Transtint liquid dye on the dyed tops, followed by a coat or two of spraycan lacquer. All the wood except the ebony and bocote has spray lacquer on it. The ebony and bocote is just sanded and buffed to a gloss.

I used both 1/2" V and U shaped bowl gouges for roughing and general shaping, and a 3/8" shallow detail gouge for the finer details.
 
Yep, number 7 is the best, especially when viewed on a tree.;)...

Woot! Looks like it works. :thumb: Glad to see it got there OK, Bill. :)

I just had to try tweaking the color in your photos a bit. I saw it as a Photoshop challenge. :D Still haven't gotten it right, but I think these are a bit closer...

Bill's Ornament Tweaked.jpg Bill's Ornament 2 Tweaked.jpg
 
Nice tweaking with the pictures. Does it better justice, but it still is much better in person.

We are going to a Xmas eve party at one of my sisters and part of the activities is an exchange of tree ornaments. You are suppose to bring an ornament that reflects your interests or personality. I knew that I would not have time to make something, so I thought of Vaughn. It really turned out nice. Just one little teeny problem. According to the "boss" there is no way we are parting with this ornament.

So, for plan B, I am making a very inexpensive thumb plane into an ornament.:eek:
 
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...Just one little teeny problem. According to the "boss" there is no way we are parting with this ornament.

So, for plan B, I am making a very inexpensive thumb plane into an ornament.:eek:

Smart man...I know all too well the pain that's connected with getting rid of something SWMBO has laid claim to. :rolleyes: :p
 
Vaughn talking tutorials how about a shot at how you do those finials.

I used my skew correctly for the first time making my birdhouse but i cannot get the spindle finial parts right.

My guess is my tools are too large or i am using the wrong tool and approach. I resorted to sandpaper just to finish but it aint right.:D
 
Rob, I'm still enough of a beginner that I should probably get a few more finials under my belt before I start trying to show others how it's done. ;) I used a 1/2" U shaped Thompson bowl gouge for the bigger cuts, then refined things with a Thompson 3/8" shallow detail gouge. (With a parting tool and flush-cut saw at the end.) I'm not ashamed to admit that I refined some of the longer curves and thinner sections in the ebony parts with sandpaper. I also didn't break any blanks trying to be a hero with my tools. :D I am finally getting to where I can cut the finer details and not need to sand them with anything rougher than about 320 or 400 grit. The less sanding on the details, the crisper they appear. In a few cases where I did need to sand the smaller details, I often went back over them with the detail gouge to sharpen up the cuts after sanding.
 
Very nice work. I am going to attempt these myself next. I consider myself a rookie at woodturning as well....but I'm having fun learning.

Give 'em a spin, Dave. They're a lot of fun. I'd forgotten about these until you dug up the old thread. :thumb: I forget from time to time some of the things I've made over the years. :rolleyes:
 
I think they are great looking ornaments! Gotta try something like that.

I like to hollow them out to make them lighter on the tree. I have a little 1/4" tool steel bit that a friend heated and bent for me into sort of an "L" shape. It mounts in a handle, and it just takes a couple of minutes to hollow out the little blank. You could do about the same thing with an Allen wrench that's been sharpened. (Especially if you can heat treat it to make it harder.)
 
Thanks, Vaughn. Glad you mentioned the hollowing. When I first read that at about 6:30 this morning I couldn't understand the simplicity of what you were talking about. Now I does. :D I usually can't figger nothing out until I've had at least half a pot of coffee in me.
 
My wife surprised me tonight. She was getting out Christmas decorations and she found one of my ornaments that she had kept and displayed at her office in LA every year. (The bocote and ebony one that's fourth from the top in the initial post above.) I didn't realize we still had any of these. Made my night. :thumb:
 
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