Sycamore Toy

Kerry Burton

Member
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1,163
Location
Orem, Utah
At this year's Utah Woodturning Symposium I was able to take a break or two from my duties as volunteer videographer and duck into various demos. Sometimes I would pop quickly from one to another, but one of the presentations that I sat all the way through was Kip Christensen's demo called Ten Projects Fast & Furious.

One of the items that he turned was what I call a "ball and cup toy". A couple days after the symposium I was trying to think of something to make, and I decided to take inspiration from Kip's toy. I didn't remember exactly how his had looked, so I drew my own idea ... and adjusted it a little as I turned.

Anyway, here it is so far. I haven't decided what to do for a ball, or where to attach the string for it. (Neck? Bottom of handle?)

A590_0662_BallAndCupToy_Inverted.jpg


A590_0663_BallAndCupToy_ThreeQuarterView.jpg


A590_0664_BallAndCupToy_CupEndView.jpg


Wood: Sycamore
Dimensions: 5 7/8" x 1 1/4"
Finish: 1 layer of wax (either Town Talk furniture wax or neutral shoe polish)

The black stripe was the result of a serendipitous "Oops". While cleaning up the outside bottom of the "cup" with a small skew, I moved the tool rest to get a better position. "Gr-r-r-r-ack!" The pointy end of the tool rest spun a groove into the cup. :doh: After I calmed down I deepened and defined the groove, and then grabbed a black dry-erase marker from my whiteboard and laid down the color.

To me, if the groove were any higher or lower on the cup it wouldn't look "right". As it is, most people I show the toy to accept the black stripe as an intended design feature. :dunno:
 
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Maybe you already watched it, I don't know. Bob Hamilton did a tutorial on the Ball and Cup Toy. Maybe you can get a hint or two there.

Wow - a blast from the past! The page didn't look familiar until I saw the photo where the mostly-turned ball is still attached to the rest of the blank. Then it was a case of deja vu.

Thanks - I appreciate it! :thumb:
 
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