My first ornament

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TattooedTurner

TattooedTurner

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A small birdhouse ornament, sans the bird. I need to get some at Hobby Lobby this week. Soft maple dyed cherry red over red-orange and a friction polish finish. I need to tweak a few things, mainly the proportions and whether or not to dye or use an oil, but for a test run it didn't come out too bad. I cheated and used a dowel rod for the perch which I sanded a curve into at the end. It didn't take the dye too well so I'll try dying under vacuum if I choose to color them. I primarily used an IX collet rather than a jam chuck so the roof isn't hollowed to shape but it's still light. I've never had a problem with a piece flying off an IX collet, jam chucks are a different story. Any critiques/help/tips will be greatly appreciated.


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Thanks guys. I'm happy for it being a test run since I ended up with a useable ornament.

Woodchipper said:
Very nice. I bought some bees at Hobby Lobby for a bee hive I turned. Lots of little critters there. Have some birds, just need to get into the shop and turn!
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That's a great idea! One of our nurses informed me she likes yellow. Instead of a birdhouse ornament I might "borrow" your idea and make her a little beehive with a bee or three.
 
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Looks good. I too make many birdhouse ornaments and the nice thing is the shapes can be altered anyway you want. You can add finials, use different colored woods as accent piece. I have used rit dyes to color some. Yellow heart is good for the yellow look that you talk about. Spectraply is great for those too. I spray lacquer mine. Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Ac Moore all have small birds. Or you can get on line for cheaper if buying in bulk. Thanks for showing and keep at it. They are great sellers or make great gifts.
 
Very nice - birdhouses are fun to make.

I use dowel rod for the perches also. I typically use a Sharpie to color them black regardless of the color/shade of the house itself.
 
Well done. It's been a couple of years since I made these and by SIL has been asking for some. Maybe after Thanksgiving.

The perches are an excellent way to practice your spindle gouge skills if that sparks any interest. After 1-2, not that hard, and a nice activity.
 
jttheclockman said:
Looks good. I too make many birdhouse ornaments and the nice thing is the shapes can be altered anyway you want. You can add finials, use different colored woods as accent piece. I have used rit dyes to color some. Yellow heart is good for the yellow look that you talk about. Spectraply is great for those too. I spray lacquer mine. Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Ac Moore all have small birds. Or you can get on line for cheaper if buying in bulk. Thanks for showing and keep at it. They are great sellers or make great gifts.
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Thanks for the info. I was considering a more durable finish like spray lacquer and you just sold me on the idea. And yes, being able to make several shapes adds a nice fun factor to the process. I have another chucked in the lathe as I type, maple body with a leopardwood roof. I plan on trying some resin ones too, all will be gifts to my daughters, mom, and coworkers.
 
mark james said:
Well done. It's been a couple of years since I made these and by SIL has been asking for some. Maybe after Thanksgiving.

The perches are an excellent way to practice your spindle gouge skills if that sparks any interest. After 1-2, not that hard, and a nice activity.
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Thanks Mark. I cheated by using a dowel to save time but as the bad dye job shows, it didn't work out too well and has a lackluster shape as well. I did get some much needed practice with both skew and spindle gouge on this. I'm a little bit rusty after almost no turning during the long summer months. I did the basic shaping with the gouge then got a nice finishing cut with the skew. I had a catch with the gouge which resulted in a smaller body but that actually worked out for the better as it was too large compared to the roof anyhow.
 
TattooedTurner said:
jttheclockman said:
Looks good. I too make many birdhouse ornaments and the nice thing is the shapes can be altered anyway you want. You can add finials, use different colored woods as accent piece. I have used rit dyes to color some. Yellow heart is good for the yellow look that you talk about. Spectraply is great for those too. I spray lacquer mine. Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Ac Moore all have small birds. Or you can get on line for cheaper if buying in bulk. Thanks for showing and keep at it. They are great sellers or make great gifts.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I was considering a more durable finish like spray lacquer and you just sold me on the idea. And yes, being able to make several shapes adds a nice fun factor to the process. I have another chucked in the lathe as I type, maple body with a leopardwood roof. I plan on trying some resin ones too, all will be gifts to my daughters, mom, and coworkers.
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Yes Jay I use Deft gloss spray lac. and it gives a beautiful shine and brings out the woods colors. They do not get handled alot so no need for poly. Here is a photo of what the shine looks like. Also My latest design change that I worked on last year. The single one is Holly and Gabon Ebony. I turn my perches and also the finials and I like to add the different colored entry hole sometimes. As I said many styles and shapes and combination of woods is endless. Have many other ideas I will work on this winter with these for I need to replenish the inventory. I also sell the stands if customers prefer. Some just like them for their tree. To me they a year long thing but who am I to argue with a sale. At one time I started making my own stands to compliment the woods used in the house but that got a little time consuming and I could not recoup the cost.

Keep at it and they are a fun project to do that does not require special tools and easy to finish.
 

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jttheclockman said:
Yes Jay I use Deft gloss spray lac. and it gives a beautiful shine and brings out the woods colors. They do not get handled alot so no need for poly. Here is a photo of what the shine looks like. Also My latest design change that I worked on last year. The single one is Holly and Gabon Ebony. I turn my perches and also the finials and I like to add the different colored entry hole sometimes. As I said many styles and shapes and combination of woods is endless. Have many other ideas I will work on this winter with these for I need to replenish the inventory. I also sell the stands if customers prefer. Some just like them for their tree. To me they a year long thing but who am I to argue with a sale. At one time I started making my own stands to compliment the woods used in the house but that got a little time consuming and I could not recoup the cost.

Keep at it and they are a fun project to do that does not require special tools and easy to finish.
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Outstanding work on those! The holly/ebony is especially impressive. I like the entry hole and you did a fine job turning two woods that probably couldn't be further apart in terms of hardness. And no sanding dust from the ebony staining the holly either! I'm guessing you used a skew to minimize sanding? The spray lacquer finish looks like the way to go too. Very, very nice work, thanks for showing them.

tonys said:
Wow great job everybody! Why I love this site. Great turners of pens and everything else they post. I can't wait to start making ornaments like these for presents for family. I'll post when some are done.
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Thanks Tony. I say go for it! They're fun little projects/skill builders. I got a lot of good feedback from friends on FB and even a request to buy one. Selling work to help fund the hobby is always nice, and I have a feeling these are very sellable items this time of year.
 
Yes to the use of the skew. No sanding needed. Even though Holly is white I still like to wood bleach it to get it extremely white.
 
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