Russell Neyman
03-11-2012, 1:41 PM
One of my favorite "quickie projects" -- when I have just an hour to work in the shop and simply feel like doing a small project to satisfy my need to create -- are lidded vessels. I have a stack of small cured blanks specifically for this purpose. Another habit I have gotten into is collecting various ornaments that can be applied to the lids of these; old buttons, tie tacks, badges, and earrings can be had at garage sales and flea markets for virtually nothing, and they deserve a second life on the top of one of my jars. The combination of a nice piece of wood and a small bobble makes for a pleasing gift.
So while dozens of these projects have come and gone without the benefit of a photograph, I thought I'd grab a few of the leftovers and share. Perhaps you'll climb into your button box and find some inspiration.
This first one is a simple means of mounting almost anything, in this case a polished rock found on the beach below my house. The process is to solder two wires to an ordinary machine screw, place the ornamental object (rock) inside the two wires, and secure it by twisting it. This jar is lignum vitae and black-lacquer on the lid, about 4" W by 3" H.
226719 226720
Here's the same deal using an arrowhead mounted on a 3x3 cocobolo jar.
226723 226724
You may recognize this insert because it was a demonstration piece for a laser CNC machine from one of the woodworking shoes. I trimmed off the perimeter and inserted it into the 8"H x 4"W yew jar.
226725 226726
And this one, a jar I did two weeks ago using a scrap piece of box elder. The ornament is a carved bone button from an antique store. It's about 4 inches in diameter and 7 inches tall.
226727 226728
Still in my box of future ornaments:
The gold buttons and fouled anchors from my father's US Navy uniforms
All sorts of tie tacks
Antique Masons, Lions Club, and Rotary Club lapel pins
My high school football and baseball medals (the ones you stuck to your varsity letter)
Costume jewelry
The point is almost anything, even quite small objects, can be used to lift your jars to a new level.
So while dozens of these projects have come and gone without the benefit of a photograph, I thought I'd grab a few of the leftovers and share. Perhaps you'll climb into your button box and find some inspiration.
This first one is a simple means of mounting almost anything, in this case a polished rock found on the beach below my house. The process is to solder two wires to an ordinary machine screw, place the ornamental object (rock) inside the two wires, and secure it by twisting it. This jar is lignum vitae and black-lacquer on the lid, about 4" W by 3" H.
226719 226720
Here's the same deal using an arrowhead mounted on a 3x3 cocobolo jar.
226723 226724
You may recognize this insert because it was a demonstration piece for a laser CNC machine from one of the woodworking shoes. I trimmed off the perimeter and inserted it into the 8"H x 4"W yew jar.
226725 226726
And this one, a jar I did two weeks ago using a scrap piece of box elder. The ornament is a carved bone button from an antique store. It's about 4 inches in diameter and 7 inches tall.
226727 226728
Still in my box of future ornaments:
The gold buttons and fouled anchors from my father's US Navy uniforms
All sorts of tie tacks
Antique Masons, Lions Club, and Rotary Club lapel pins
My high school football and baseball medals (the ones you stuck to your varsity letter)
Costume jewelry
The point is almost anything, even quite small objects, can be used to lift your jars to a new level.