New work, in progress

[Michelle Rich]

I have never sent progress pictures before, so decided with this new process, that I would send in so ya'll could see before it is all finished and chomped thru!(this is a "cross-pollination" of my neg & pos space design, heading in a new direction) First it is a 3 centered turning. Second, I made my own "homemade" inlay. (walnut & holly) I tired of the commercial, linear, triangles, squares, etc, and wanted a more organic look. Hopefully you can see there is a second turned trough for another circle of inlay that will overlap the first circle of inlay. Since this is my first attempt the inlay is a tad simplistic, but my brain is small & simple is about all I can do along with everything else. :-) Hope this is enjoyable to peruse, and gives you ideas for your own shop. (I believe at this time, I will cut away alot of the ambrosia & leave the circles with a border and make it a wall hanging..at least that is the plan!!)

I posted a picture of the jig I made to get the radius on the inlay pieces, in a post below

[Russell Eaton]

Michelle I think it is off to a very nice start. I hope that you will post more pictures as you progress.

[John Keeton]

Quite interesting!! The inlay has a certain 3-D quality to it. I wonder if one could enhance that look by the careful application of a "shadow" on the outer half of the ring - just thinkin' out loud.

I think what you do with the rest of it can really impact the overall character of the piece, and I have no doubt your imaginative mind will come up with something magical!

[Michelle Rich]

thanks John..what makes this so gosh darn hard is that every piece has to have a radius that copies the radius of the inlay circle. They look straight, but they aren't.
Yep, magical, that's possible!!! :-) The ambrosia is less than 1/4 inch, the troughs are about 1/16th ..so those little pieces are very thin & tough to get a grip on! It took me all day yesterday to get this far...wow! tedious!

[Michelle Rich]

thought maybe some of you would be interested in how I got the radius on the inlay pieces to fit the groove I turned. the picture on left shows the "jig" I made. the inlay pieces are double stick taped to the jig, and I used a router to cut them on each side. this had to be perfect, so they would meet the radius and be just the right width to fit snugly in the groove. Tedious work

[Bernie Weishapl]

Awesome Michelle. Please keep the process coming.

[Paul Heely]

It's looking good Michelle. Thank you for sharing the process and how you make the rings. Looking forward to seeing the finished piece.

[Steve Busey]

the inlay pieces are double stick taped to the jig, and I used a router to cut them on each side. I can't imagine doing that without the tape failing and the inlay piece flying across the shop! Tedious indeed!

[charlie knighton]

thanks for sharing

[Baxter Smith]

Pretty imaginative Michele! If your brain is small and simple, mine must be.....:)see, I can't teven think of a word for it.:)

[Kathy Marshall]

Looking good Michelle! Don't know where you get the patience for such meticulous work, but I'm sure this piece will be worth the effort!