Project 6 of 52

" Ochoco "

For this week I wanted to continue working will my lathe and see what I could come up with. With doing a little research and kinda just going with the flow I made a Ochoco piece out of figured maple.

I turned the outside, put 3 decorative lines, sanded and buffed to a 4000 grit smoothness. I then hollowed the inside and repeated the sanding and buffing process like I did on the outside.

The piece now parted from the lathe sits at 2 inches tall and 1 and one quarter inches wide. This piece is now a small Sake cup or Ochoko. In Japan Sake originally and traditionally came in a wooden box that you would also drink out of. I am more familiar in the United States to drink from these small cups usually made from ceramic or also plastic. I wanted to bring the old tradition of wood with the new shape we see most of the time.

In my thinking it is always better to drink with someone so I made a second one that is identical (well sort of) It is pretty hard to exactly match a custom turned piece. This way two can enjoy the benefit of old world drinking in a new world.  

乾杯

(cheers)

This project will be in the gallery showing at the end of the 52 weeks.

Project 5 of 52

" Illuminate "

As a woodworker you learn pretty quickly what you are good at and what needs improvement. This project I wanted to practice on my lathe that normally I do not use for my everyday work, so the only time I get to is when creating pieces like this.

I took a piece of Yacushapana from Peru and cut 8 pieces at 22 and half degrees and put them together in a stave construction style to begin making a cylinder. I put in on my lathe to shave off the corners and to hollow the inside.












After smoothing the sides and before hollowing



The finished piece, now a perfect cylinder, I sanded smooth while on the lathe and drilled holes in the side in an artistic representation of the Yacushapana tree I made this out of. I also installed a 60watt socket and and electrical cord and made a small table lamp that measures 10 inches tall and 5 inches around.

This project will be in the gallery showing at the end of the 52 weeks.

Project 4 of 52

"Outside the Box"

As a carpenter and woodworker you tend to vision things in a linear way. Making pieces that are square and level. For this project I wanted to make one of my favorite objects; a box. I wanted to show that even though it is square and level it can be artistic.

The two pieces together with one in between represents balance. The balanced box is made of Lacewood from Brazil and Purpleheart from Mexico. The box holder is made of Jatoba or also called Brazilian cherry. The overall dimensions of the piece is 10 inches tall and 8 inches wide. The box is 4 inches squared. The pivot is an aluminum rod.

As an artist people always say you become part of your pieces, this one actually took a part of me; literally. A piece of the Purpleheart while sawing, split and cut me. One reason why I love this piece more and also to remind us that safety is always number one.

This project will be in the gallery showing at the end of the 52 weeks.

Project 3 of 52

" Linked "

For my third project I found myself rummaging through a box of exotic scrap and cut-offs of previous work I have in my shop. I came across this brilliant example of Bocote wood from South America.

What to do with the piece came later while looking at my watch and thinking, let's try and make that out of wood. I laid out the design of the links on the wood and proceeded to cut them on my scroll saw.

I hand sanded each separate link and drilled through for maple pins to hold it all together.

The finish piece now with the clasp connected makes a stunning bracelet for those occasions you want to show off your love for wood. At 1 1/2 inches wide it's big but not over the top. This was my first time ever creating jewelry, and will definitely continue now in the future.

This project will be in the gallery showing at the end of the year.