How to make a wooden toy mouse, on the lathe

I made this little toy, out of a scrap pine piece I had.

First of all I used a hand saw to cut the piece to  size.

I then marked the centers on the front and back and mounted the piece on the lathe between centers.

I then used a round scraper to turn the piece round. I also used a straight chisel to create a tenon on one end, in order for the piece to fit my chuck’s jaws.

I mounted the piece on my chuck and used a bowl gouge and a spindle gouge to shape my mouse’s body.

To remove as much material as I could, before parting the piece I used my skew chisel.

I then sanded the piece from 100 to 300 grit. I finished the surface with yorkshire grit while reducing my lathe’s speed at 500rpm.

I then used my flush trim saw to part the piece of the lathe. I use that kind of saw for this job, because it’s thin and as a result it removes less material. It’s also leaves a much smoother surface.

I then moved on my disc sander and sanded the back. I also sanded one area of the piece flat. This way my little mouse can sit nicely on a flat surface.

I then used the skew chisel and a spindle gouge to turn the ears of my mouse.

To mimic the roundness of my mouse’s body. I removed as much material as I could with my rotary tool and then used the mouse itself as a sanding block. This way I created an inner curve on each ear which matched the outer curve of my mouse’s body.

I then cut a couple of small nails to size, I drilled a few pilot hole and glued the nails in place with super glue. I then glued the ears in place. The nails add a little extra support to the ears.

I then drilled the hole on the back for the tail. I mixed some five minute epoxy and glued the tail in place. The tail is just a piece of cylindrical rubber I’ve had from an old piece of clothing.

After a bit more sanding my little mouse was now ready!