Keeping Busy

Taking it easy is more than sitting with our feet up. We have both been working on our hobbies since we moved to the Denver area. When we left Arizona in April I packed one figured maple bowl I had turned but still needed to sand. I also brought 10 wooden rings I had cut on the scroll saw. I made them into a basket. I did the scroll saw work at least 2 winters ago but I had been avoiding the tedious sanding needed to complete the project. Sanding is my least favorite part of working with wood!

With lots of down time, I finally finished sanding both projects. I then assembled the basket, gluing the rings together, and painted it. I finished the bowl with a mixture of polyurethane and oil. I am really pleased with how both items came out.

For the past 3 years John has been carving a large nativity set, a few figures each year. He has completed carving 15 figures, 4 of them this year. He has also cleaned up 2 diamond willow hiking sticks. When we return to Arizona he will paint the nativity figures and give each hiking stick a minimum of 6 coats of polyurethane.

We're having fun.

Tomorrow I report for jury duty, so I won't be needing any hobbies for at least a day or two.

Working With Wood

We finally found some time to work in our shop. It has been two years since we did any intarsia projects. John wanted to refresh his skills before making something complicated. First, he made a fish, all out of one piece of wood.

He is working on a butterfly out of three different woods. It is more difficult to get the pieces to fit when they come from different pieces of wood.

For the past two years, he has been carving large figures for a nativity scene. He finally finished enough to make a display. First he had to paint them. We display them in a window in the shop. They look great, I think. Unfortunately, the photos have some reflections.

I got some experience with my new lathe. I made a candle holder from a piece of birch and a box out of some of the aspen we gathered this summer. I look forward to having time to make more bowls.