Alan Zenreich
12-19-2010, 4:36 PM
This stabilized buckeye burl pendant was intended to be round with an offset 5/8" hole.
However, things do not always go as planned.
When boring the center hole on the drill press, a small chunk came off of the blank. Some epoxy, dried coffee grinds, and voodoo let me put it back together again.
However with the blank mounted on the pendant backer plate, I was shaping the outer edge when a larger chunk went into orbit somewhere in the shop. This was not repairable.
Undetered, I took this as a 'redesign opportunity'.
Back to the drill press, with a larger forstner bit to rough out a moon profile.
Then back to the lathe, using the forstner bit in the tailstock to align the blank around the new eccentric center. A little shaping of the inner curve took a few minutes... keeping in mind that there's not much wood being held onto by the double sided tape.
Because of the shape, there's lots of air being turned... delicate stuff.
Next, recenter the blank and shape the outside edge. then remove from the backer plate, and follow up with some final shaping using sanding mops, then on to my first use of Deft water based lacquer. Lauren wanted this piece to be a little glossy.
Finally, I had to drill two tiny holes for the screw eye findings. Trick was deciding where they should be placed so the moon would be at a slight angle when the necklace and beading were attached. Lauren had already prepared the crystals and chainwork.
We got the pendant done just in time for a black tie wedding a few weeks back. I was in a tux, and Lauren wore the pendant on a black dress. It looked lovely on her.
So, this was not what we intended to make. But the forces in the universe kept saying "you don't want to make that... you want to make this..."
Sometimes it pays to just go with the flow and see what was hiding in the materials.
However, things do not always go as planned.
When boring the center hole on the drill press, a small chunk came off of the blank. Some epoxy, dried coffee grinds, and voodoo let me put it back together again.
However with the blank mounted on the pendant backer plate, I was shaping the outer edge when a larger chunk went into orbit somewhere in the shop. This was not repairable.
Undetered, I took this as a 'redesign opportunity'.
Back to the drill press, with a larger forstner bit to rough out a moon profile.
Then back to the lathe, using the forstner bit in the tailstock to align the blank around the new eccentric center. A little shaping of the inner curve took a few minutes... keeping in mind that there's not much wood being held onto by the double sided tape.
Because of the shape, there's lots of air being turned... delicate stuff.
Next, recenter the blank and shape the outside edge. then remove from the backer plate, and follow up with some final shaping using sanding mops, then on to my first use of Deft water based lacquer. Lauren wanted this piece to be a little glossy.
Finally, I had to drill two tiny holes for the screw eye findings. Trick was deciding where they should be placed so the moon would be at a slight angle when the necklace and beading were attached. Lauren had already prepared the crystals and chainwork.
We got the pendant done just in time for a black tie wedding a few weeks back. I was in a tux, and Lauren wore the pendant on a black dress. It looked lovely on her.
So, this was not what we intended to make. But the forces in the universe kept saying "you don't want to make that... you want to make this..."
Sometimes it pays to just go with the flow and see what was hiding in the materials.