Wood~Working & Engineering

Every now and then I like a change from my hobby of metal~working, and enjoy the different medium of wood.  Turning wood is so different than metal. Metal is very precise and accurate, whereas wood is more fluid and creative - working with the grain and character of each piece - which produces a challenge when needing to make identical items such as wine goblets.  Often I make items to give away, either wood or metal, or a combination of both - such as key-ring LED torches (photo at bottom of page), jewelry, wind chimes, whistles,  dog tags, bubble blowers, vases, wine goblets, bowls, weather stations and trinket boxes.  The item I liked the most was a goblet turned out of a Plum Tree branch.

These are a few items that aren't good enough to give away, or I've made for myself or members of my family.

Wooden Goblets

These are the first items I ever turned out of wood.  I am quite happy with them, and although not perfectly matching, I think they are very good for my first attempt at wood-turning

They are actually made out of an old Pine tanalized 100mmx100mm fence post! They have been stained and finished with flax seed oil.

They are looking rather shabby now days, as they just sit on a shelf in my workshop, often having small things placed inside them.

Height 150mm

Diameter 60mm

Baby Rattle

This baby rattle was perhaps the most difficult, yet fun to make.

The darker wood is Rimu, and the rest is Pine. No polish or stain has been used, and the rich grain and translucent color of the Rimu is entirely natural.

The two pieces in the middle rattle and turn as the rattle is shaken.

Length 100mm

Diameter 35mm

Candle Stands

A friend of mine was doing some repairs on their old house, and had some Rimu rectangular lengths of timber.

The most difficult part of turning these, is the long thin center pieces - at just 9mm diameter.

I used a similar pattern and timber to make some beautiful wine goblets for a friend, all I had to do was turn them upside down and hollow out the base to make the goblets.

Height 200mm

Diameter 50mm

Jewelry Box

I made this jewelry box out of  Matai as a gift for my wife, recessing and mitering the brass lock, clasp and hinges flush with the edges. 

The lid and base are both two pieces dovetailed together, and the corners of the box a conventional 45% mitre. 

Width 250mm

Height 100mm

Bowls

A couple of bowls that are used regularly in my workshop - hence looking a little battered!

Bowl to left

Height 150mm

Bowl to right

Height 50mm

Weather Station

I made a few of these weather stations as Christmas presents for family and friends - tracking down the instruments at a local emporium for around $1 each, and purchasing some native wood planks from a house demolition yard. Each completed unit cost only around $8 each - which is pretty cheap since similar completed units sell for around $150 in the shops.

This one we kept for ourselves. To be honest, I have no idea what this piece of timber is! It is possibly the most beautiful piece I have seen - with a strong and interesting grain. At one stage we had to evict some bad tenants from our rental property - and for some reason they left this piece of timer in the hot water cupboard!  As soon as I saw it - I knew it would make an excellent base for a weather station.

The timber is so beautiful that at first I thought it must have been plastic veneer over custom wood. It turned out to be authentic and solid wood!

Cutting first with a jig-saw, I then shaped the edges with files, and smoothed with sandpaper - finally routing the outer edge.

Each of the instruments are recessed  into the face, and accessible from the rear to adjust and add batteries.

It consists of a Barometer, Relative Humidity, Thermometer and Clock.

Height 500mm

Diameter bottom 175mm

Below: Another Weather Station that seemed to find its way onto our dining room wall!

Width 315mm

Thickness 20mm

Several years ago we had a supply of recycled/demolition firewood delivered for the winter.

Carefully cutting the piece so that the inside of the knot was at the center of the timber, I was able to then router and mount the clock right in the middle - creating what almost looks like orbit rings around the clock face.  Being so knotty, it was actually very difficult and challenging to work with - risking splitting or cracking along the grain.

Torches

Here are a few items I made while still a full-time tool maker. Actually, I found an engraved date I had put on one of them, 1996.

Top two items: Engineers LED Inspection torch - with extension probe. Made out of brass and stainless steel - operating on 2 AA batteries.  I had purchased a few commercially produced inspection torches, but none lasted longer than several months. I wanted one that was better than that! After crafting this torch, it was used daily in my engineering workshop for several years, checking the inside bore of hydraulic cylinders.

Middle items: Two LED key rings - made from stainless steel - operating on 1 AAA battery.  I made several of these and gave them away to friends.

Bottom item: Bullet necklace pill container. Made from brass and stainless steel - screws apart to expose hollow chamber. I made this for myself, as I needed access to  medication at all times.

Being around 15 years old, I bet the mass produced torches wouldn't last this well!

I also made a lazer torch, but have no idea what happened to it.

Digital Camera Adapter

Although thoroughly enjoying my standard optical microscope - it is much more fun to be able to share these things by taking photos and videos. Trouble is, that to purchase a half decent microscope camera - you need to spend around $1000. I already had a couple of excellent normal digital cameras - so the challenge was to make an adapter to connect them to my microscope - first designing it, then turning it on my lathe. I won't show my plans as I did with my suppressors (and three other engineers copying and selling them within six months!) The adapter I designed and made is fully adjustable and can be extended or retracted to focus and add more depth of field. Precision engineered, it is perfectly aligned, balanced and threaded with a tolerance of only 300th of a millimeter. And yes - my design and idea is copyrighted - May 2009. If you are interested in purchasing a custom video adapter for your camera/microscope - contact me through the guestbook.