# Ornamental stuff for the wife...!



## robutacion (Feb 10, 2011)

Hi everyone,

I don't know how long there is no more room in the house for stuff made out of wood but, the wife seams to just loves these sort of ornaments, particularly made by me so, and to keep the happy wife "thing" going, I just keep finding stuff to make for her...!:wink:

After the ice cream scoop, these 2 items have just been finished and out in the house, one while the wife was out the other one she caught me with the hands in the pie, as I wasn't quick enough (due to some "technical" problems :biggrin.

Anyhow, here they are, the first one is a edge we cut from the last Platypus gum burl episode (root part) which didn't look much when I cut it to access the centre part of the square we cut out but, when I was washing the dirt out of it, I turn it with the cut face up and I could see, the Australia map configuration (close enough).  The front has a thick layer of bark so it took me "forever" to get that bark off, something I don't recommend anyone to try as is just an impossible tusk, when it still green...! 

A little turning, (back and front) to accommodate an old wedding pic :tongue:, a little varnish and voila...!:wink:

The second one is a very small Almond burl I cut from a old Almond tree at my doctors clinic yard, 4 weeks ago...!
The 2 middle slices were joint together with a bit of epoxy glue, a little varnish, 1 round Lapis stone I had for my knife handles making, cut is half, a bit of chain, a stick and a bit of She/Bull-Oak turned as a hanging base and voila, another piece of "ornamentation"...!:biggrin: 

I reckon,I will be alright with house ornaments for now but, my best plans in these issues, always turn always to $#!% so, will see...!

Cheers
George


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## Larry in Harrow (Feb 11, 2011)

George, you have the neatest woods to work with.  Love the Valentine almond.  I wanted to see the "old wedding picture".


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## ctubbs (Feb 11, 2011)

George, it would almost be worth the trip to snag some of that wonderful wood you have just lying around 'Down Under'.  Thanks for showing your very good works.
Charles


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## Gofer (Feb 11, 2011)

They look good George,

But how do you make anything for Merissa without her seeing it?  I agree with Larry the real wedding picture would be better, your self portrait needs a little work ; )

Bruce


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## David Keller (Feb 12, 2011)

Nicely done, George.  You're lucky that your wife likes your turnings around the house...  My wife puts everything in a cabinet out of site!


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## robutacion (Feb 13, 2011)

Hi peoples,

Thanks for the complements, they're most appreciated...!:biggrin:

*Larry* - You are so right about the woods we have here, I'm most certainly not wasting the nature's gift, huh...???
The Almond piece has amazing colours, reason why I needed to not waste its look. Quite frankly, I'm not expecting these piece to last forever like that, as Almond has all these beautiful colours when green but when dries, it changes considerably.  

The wood was very green and I (again) did try to stop nature to do its thing and capture the best colours and grain pattern for as long as I can, the wood wasn't dry when I trimmed it to joint with epoxy, as the small burl was cut from the tree 4 weeks ago, sliced when I got home and then soaked in Fungishield for 24 hours.  After let it drain and dry for a week or so, cracks where developing, there its, separation of the heartwood to the sapwood, which I glued with CA under compression. 

After a few days I decided to stabilize it with Fungishield under pressure on my pressure pot,  The idea was to force the Fungishield through the wood and push any of the moisture (water) out, 120 PSI is all I have so maybe not quite enough, will see...!

After letting this dry again, then I sanded and varnished it with Floorseal, after my attempt to coat it with the liquid glass or liquid gloss as many may did fail.  The coating looked perfect as certainly looking the way I wanted as this stuff was about 2mm thick all around and is rock hard when dries, which would assist me with the attempt of preserving the piece as it is for as long as possible but, for some unknown reason, the part A and part B mix, wouldn't set/dry, after I spend nearly 2 hours in the sun holding this thing changing positions every few seconds to void runs.

After that time I had no choice than, remove all that sticky stuff, let dry and start again with my trustful Floorseal.  So, for the purpose I needed this piece to hold, there is a gift to my Valentine today 14/2/2011, is accomplished and will be kept "swinging" until nature takes over and spoils all my work to which, will not be wasted as I will cut it into pen blanks and make a pen out of it for her (my wife) as a replacement...!:wink:

Sorry about the non-pic Larry, personal stuff mate...!:wink::biggrin:

*ctubbs*- Well, the trip would be always worth while, for sure, and you are almost correct when you say, "wood laying around" in fact, most is just that, look for it and you shall find...!

*Gofer* - Well mate, your question is a lot simpler to answer to what you thing, when Merissa is stuck in the lathe room sanding down the pen blanks, she can't see what I'm up to outside that little shed and if that is not possible, I wait for her to go to sleep, about midnight or so and then I go down to the shed do some work until 2 or 3 am, which is the time I got to bed everyday, anyway...!:wink:

There are many other opportunities, even tough we are at each other faces 24/7, that doesn't seem to bother us, by the contrary...!:wink::biggrin:

*David Keller* - Yes mate, I'm lucky but, she has an understanding and appreciation of woods not many women do, just because she is there from the very moment the tree is cut down, or salvaged from a pile, recovered from a paddock, she is also there through out the whole process of that piece of wood/log into all sorts of blanks, normally so she certainly appreciates seen what comes out of those woods, particularly if I'm the piece producer/maker/artist/worker/originator.  She never stops being amazed with the thinks possible, when it comes to wood, as she didn't had anything to do with wood before she met met 11 years ago...!:wink: Lucky me...!:biggrin:

Cheers
George


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