Friday, March 13, 2009

Baby Rattle from Start to Finish



Sorry for the washed-out quality of some of the photos; it was dark in the shop! This is some scavenged wood that we think is Southern Red Oak.



Rounded and starting on the captive rings.





One captive ring done and one halfway there! I tried some new tools - a $1.50 package of tools that look like those scrapers dentists use to get the plaque off your teeth. I had heard somewhere that dentist's scrapers were decent tools for parting the last little bit of a captive ring. Well, I'm not a big fan. My tools were very soft and they are rather misshapen now after the beating I gave them on the lathe. Apparently cheap tools really don't work all that well ;)





Now I have three captive rings and am shaping the top and bottom of the rattle. I caught my skew in the top when it was nearly finished, so I had to take off quite a bit of wood to get it right again. Bah. I still like the way it turned out.




And done! I finished it by sanding to 220, burnishing it with shavings, and then coconut oil while it was still on the lathe. It is very pretty, very smooth, and perfectly safe for my friend's baby to stick in her mouth.

1 comment:

Autumn Leaves said...

I see you already thought of what happens when the baby sticks this in her mouth! LOL You are so awesome, darlin'. I cannot begin to tell you how impressed I am. I really do think you should see these on Wild Hairs (etsy). I think you could make some good money from them! The rings added to them will be great for counting too! I love this piece!!!