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So, when LOML returned from a visit to her mother a few weeks ago, she brought back something that caught her eye and that she just knew I could duplicate. I took a look at it and, of course, said "Yes, Dear".
Here's the result:
Yep. Thimbles! Now, you guys and gals know I'm still really a novice at turning but my wife only knows that I can do "anything". So, my model for this project was the thimble in the middle - her mother's. But, it's a little too large for Bobbie's finger, so I had to make some tweaks. I used a 1/2" standard drill bit to make a hole a bit less than an inch deep. Then, I eased a taper along the inside to make it about 9/16" at the opening. After a little sanding to smooth it up, she had a perfect fit.
By the way, the materials are walnut and curly maple. The thimbles I made are in order from left to right around the original from Bobbie's mother. I played around with burning lines using a piece of wire. Needless to say, Bobbie is happy with all of them. After all, how many people get to say they have a "custom" thimble?
Now for a stealth tool gloat. I worked on one thimble using my regular lathe tools, a spindle set. It was kinda touchy for me, so I used this as a reason (excuse) to order a set of small tools. These are a bit over 10" long; the gouge closest to the camera is 1/4" wide. After sharpening, they worked great!
Here's the result:
Yep. Thimbles! Now, you guys and gals know I'm still really a novice at turning but my wife only knows that I can do "anything". So, my model for this project was the thimble in the middle - her mother's. But, it's a little too large for Bobbie's finger, so I had to make some tweaks. I used a 1/2" standard drill bit to make a hole a bit less than an inch deep. Then, I eased a taper along the inside to make it about 9/16" at the opening. After a little sanding to smooth it up, she had a perfect fit.
By the way, the materials are walnut and curly maple. The thimbles I made are in order from left to right around the original from Bobbie's mother. I played around with burning lines using a piece of wire. Needless to say, Bobbie is happy with all of them. After all, how many people get to say they have a "custom" thimble?
Now for a stealth tool gloat. I worked on one thimble using my regular lathe tools, a spindle set. It was kinda touchy for me, so I used this as a reason (excuse) to order a set of small tools. These are a bit over 10" long; the gouge closest to the camera is 1/4" wide. After sharpening, they worked great!