Sands of Time Run Slow

[Jim Underwood]

This is an hourglass my wife bought my son for a present. At some point I offered to turn the stand for it, and I made parts for it. I think that was last Christmas.....:o So I've been sitting on it kinda stuck on how to mount it inside so as to account for contraction/expansion and still capture the glass without breakage. I worked that out this weekend and put it together with finish on it. I tried out some dye samples but couldn't bring myself to commit to anything but a natural finish... So here it is...

6-1/2" diameter x 11-1/4" Tall, White Oak w/ wipe on Polyeurethane.

[Ted Calver]

It's a beautiful piece Jim. How did you end up handling the expansion issue?

[Kathy Marshall]

Looks Great Jim! I think your son will be very happy with it!

[James Combs]

Sure is a nice time piece Jim. Some great triplication of the spindles too, can't see any differences in the spindles from the photos. I'll bet your son likes it.

[Jim Underwood]

I dealt with the expansion issue by measuring the smallest diameter and angle of each end, then creating an indention in the top and bottom that was slightly oversized. This ensured that the hourglass was captured side-to-side, but it wasn't too tight. AT that point the hourglass was too loose top to bottom. Then I cut away the from the top and bottom where the base of the spindles joined, until I had just under a 1/16th inch play. Then I used a large dollop of silicone caulk to secure the hourglass to the top and bottom, and let it seek it's own level during assembly. The difficult thing here was that the hourglass didn't sit exactly level, and each end was slightly different diameter, so it all had to definitely be dryfitted before final assembly. I might have thought to grain match the top and bottom when I first made the parts, but that was the farthest thing from my mind when applying glue and caulk... All in all though, I'm happy with the way it turned out.

Oh... and the expansion shouldn't really be an issue, since the longitudinal expansion of wood is practically nil. I was more worried about capturing it so slight shocks didn't break the glass because the wood gripped it too tight....

[John Keeton]

Jim, you achieved a very clean look with this - good cuts, nice design and the color/finish is very fitting. I like the placement of the beads at the midpoint to emphasis the hourglass. Excellent work!

[Steve Schlumpf]

I agree with John - very clean work! Your son is going to love it!

[Mark Patoka]

Looks very nice. I have an hourglass like this to make for my wife but just haven't gotten to it yet. Your piece may inspire me to get that done.

[Mike Peace]

Nice job Jim. Where did you get the glass part?

[Jim Underwood]

I don't even know... T.J. Maxx?

I know you can get them at Restoration Hardware, but they're pricey. I think Hobby Lobby carries them too. Recently I haven't seen them that big though.

[Mark Patoka]

Nice job Jim. Where did you get the glass part?

I believe I picked mine up at Woodcraft a few years ago. The wife saw it on the shelf and said, "You need to make me one of those" and that's how I ended up with it. Mine is about half that height though.

[Bill Wyko]

Very beautiful. I've always enjoyed the hourglass as a way to tell time. Well done.

[Baxter Smith]

Very nice design, details and finish Jim! So how long does it time for?

[Jim Underwood]

It's a 30 minute timer.

[Jim Underwood]

Thanks for the compliments and replies. This was, despite my foot dragging on the technical problem, quite a fun project, and I'm pleased with the result. I'm sure my son will be glad to finally have his Christmas present from at least a year ago... perhaps two years ago...