How to make a wood and resin begleri - Anti stress juggling toy

Tools and materials I propose:

Resin

Lathe

Wood turning tools set

Forstner bit set

Mask Respirator

Buffing kit

Bowl gouge

Cutting board

I made this little begleri out of iroko wood and epoxy resin. I also used a piece of leather as a cord. 

I used a scrap pine piece to make my mold. 

I mounted the piece between centers on the lathe and turned it true with the bowl gouge.

You can make the tenon for the chuck with the skew chisel.

Hollow your mold with forstner bits. First decrease the speed of the lathe. Then start with a small bit and increase the size of your bit as you move on. Use a depth gauge to check how far in you’ve gone. 

After my mold was ready, I turned an iroko dowel on the lathe to fit in my mold.

Use a chisel to split the iroko dowel in half. To give it more character you can use a V carving chisel.

Next glue the iroko piece on the mold to keep it from floating in the resin.

The resin I used was one part A and one part B. I added 4 drops of transparent orange dye. I should have used less dye, because I wanted it more transparent. 

Mix the resin good and pour it into the mold. It’s supposed to be a self degassing resin but I used a lighter to pop some bubbles. 

After a few days, the resin cured and I mounted it on the lathe to turn it.

I shaped my begleri with flat chisels as scrapers. I also made the cord hole on the lathe.

Do as much sanding as you can on the lathe. Start at 100grit and move your way up to 1000. Above 500 wet sand with mineral oil.

Use the parting tool to part the pieces off. Continue with hand sanding.

Final step a good buff with buffing wheels mounted on the lathe.

My begleri came out nice. I would prefer it be more transparent and with fewer bubbles, but that was it.

See you soon with a new project video. 

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Make special purpose homemade tools from allen keys - DIY

Tools and materials I propose:

Grinder / belt sander

Lathe

Wood turning tools set

Roughing gouge

Bandsaw

Mask Respirator

Buffing kit

Gloves

Sharpening Stone

In this video I show you how I made a few special woodturning tools. This way you save money and get the satisfaction of making your own tools. 

In the past I have made several homemade tools. And believe me, you save money and get the joy of making your own tools.

To make tools you will need tool steel. You can use old files, chisels, saw blades, drill bits and the list goes on. 

For this project I used allen keys, to make a few special purpose wood turning tools.

First  of all I flatten two sides on the belt sander.

Once in a while I dip the tool in water to cool it down. You don’t want to burn the tool, and loose it’s hardness.

Next I grinded the bevel of the tool. I wanted something close to a scraper.

Once I set the angle on my grinder’s base, I begun grinding the bevel.

When you see sparkles flying over the bevel, you are almost there. Then I used a flat sharpening stone to clean the burr.

To make handles for my tools, I used iroko wood. Iroko is a beautiful hard wood, but it’s toxic. So using a respirator is a must!

Next I found my centers and removed as much material as I could on the bandsaw. This way I saved quite some time on the lathe. 

I turned the handles on the lathe. I then cut pieces of tubes and glued them on the handles with 5 minute epoxy.

When the epoxy dried, I sanded the handles flush on the belt sander.

I wanted the steel part to fit snuggly. So I sanded it until it fitted perfectly.

Finally I glued the steel in the handle with 5 minute epoxy again.

I finished the handles with 3 coats of spray lacquer. To speed up the drying process I used my heat gun.

Finally I buffed the handles on my buffing wheels to make them feel nice in my hands.

If you need tools for a special project, chances are you won’t use them so often. So making your own tools is cheaper and also gives you the satisfaction of creating something unique!

I hope you enjoyed that project, see you soon with a new project video!

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

How to make a goblet with a captive ring - woodturning

Tools and materials I propose:

Lathe

Wood turning tools set

Bowl gouge

Roughing gouge

Grinder / belt sander

In this video, I show you how to make this wooden goblet out of apricot wood on the lathe. 

First of all I made a rough prototype to see what difficulties I was going to come across.

I then mounted a piece of apricot wood between centers on the lathe, and turned it true with my roughing gouge.

Then I used the skew chisel to create the tenon for the chuck.

After mounting the piece on my chuck. I flattened one edge with the parting tool.

To hollow my goblet, I used the bowl gouge and the spindle gouge. This was end grain hollowing and my tools didn’t seem to work nicely. I think they were too large for such a small project. I just could’t avoid the catches.

So I decided to remove material with a drill bit. Then I grinded a chisel as a scraper. This tool worked just fine.

At this point I sanded the interior of my goblet.

Next I marked the position of the ring, so I wouldn’t remove material from this area. 

I then started shaping with the spindle gouge and the parting tool. At this point I sanded the goblet I had so far.

To part the ring off, I made two mini scrapers from allen keys. I used a pair of locking pliers to hold them while turning. I first used one scraper to remove material from one side. Then I used the other scraper from the other side, to part the ring off. I took it really slow here. After a while the ring was free.

You can easily let the ring spin aside, while you clean the stem.

To sand the interior of the ring, I just secured a piece of sandpaper on the stem of the goblet. I did that using a zip tie. The stem worked really nicely as a spindle sander.

I sanded to 200 grit and then finished the piece with Yorkshire grit abrasive paste. I just applied the paste on the piece, slowed down my lathe and used a paper towel to polish the goblet.

It was a really fun and relaxing project, perfect to start the new year!

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. But that was it, see you soon with a new project video!

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

How to make a rustic wooden snowman with hand tools

Tools and materials I propose:

Woodworking vise

Screw clamp

Draw knife

No4 hand plane

Spoke shave

Flat file

Carving tools set

Carving mallet

Chisel set

Hand drill

I created my snowman out of a scrap piece, I found in the garbage. I think it was part of an old door.

First of all I created a circle at one end of the stock. Then I made a smaller circle on the other end.

I used my vise and a screw clamp to secure the stock on my bench.

I wanted to create a cone, so I started shaping with my draw knife. The circles on the ends were my limits. So I tried to remove material, without losing the circles.

After the draw knife, I moved on to the plane. The plane smoothed everything out!

Next I divided the cone to my basic snowman shapes. I also divided the hemispheres of the snowman.

Next I added a piece of tape as a depth mark on my saw. 

And I created my stop cuts. I stared carving with a gouge. When I finished the first wave of carving, I decided I wanted my shapes to be more dramatic. So I made another series of stop cuts and continued to carve.

My gouge was pretty good quality, so I sharpened it only once for this project.

The next step was to use a file to clean the gouge marks. After the file I used 100grit sandpaper to clean the file marks. I did not get crazy here. I wanted the project to look beat up and hand made.

Next I used a center punch to create my drilling marks. I used my ancient hand powered drill to make my holes.

The nose of my snowman is just a 6mm dowel glued in place.

To make the hands, I used my spokeshave to round over a piece of square stock. Next I made a few stop cuts, and used a chisel to shape the gloves of the snowman.

I used the chisel again to flatten the area of the snowman that would receive the arms. The arms are connected to the body with wood glue and a 6mm dowel.

At this point I started the paint job. First I applied a coat of white latex paint. 

The paint raised the grain of the wood, so I lightly sanded with 220 grit.

Next I painted the hat and the gloves with blue. The nose was painted orange as a carrot.

To create the rustic effect I sanded the white areas with 100grit, until the grain of the wood started to show up.

On the blue and orange areas, I sanded until the white paint underneath started to show up. I also like to reveal the high spots, like the edges of the hat!

I finished the piece with two coats of clear, water based, satin varnish. 

And I was done. Some people don’t like the rustic projects, I love them. I think they have a lot of character and personality.

I am really happy with my little snowman, I hope you like him too.

But that was it, have all a Merry Christmas. See you soon, with a new project video!

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Turning the wet mulberry bowl to it's final shape

Tools and materials I propose:

Lathe

Wood turning tools set

Bowl gouge

Buffing kit

Micro mesh sanding pads

Rotary tool

I turned this wet mulberry wood bowl two moths ago. Now I turn it to it's final shape and I hope that it won't deform too much over time. 

As you can see in the photos, the deformation was pretty dramatic. I guess I could wait a couple of more months. But I still want to see how much more it will deform!

I begun by shaping the chuck’s mortise to fit my chuck.

I started turning with the bowl gouge. But the bowl suddenly flew of the lathe. So I decided to secure it better on the lathe, using my tailstock and a scrap wood piece.

I slowly turned the piece into shape using mainly the bowl gouge. I used a flat chisel to flatten the lip. I also used a round scraper to clean the inside of the bowl. 

I sanded the bowl with a few grits of sandpaper. Then I applied my homemade beeswax and mineral oil finish and started sanding with my micro mesh pads.

Finally I buffed the bowl with my buffing wheel kit!

I hand sanded the bottom because I could not reach it with the bowl gouge.

I stopped the project here. This whole thing is an experiment, so I’ll wait and see, how much more the bowl will change over time.

But that was it! See you soon with a new woodworking project!

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

How to solder copper pipes

Tools and materials I propose:

Propane torch

Propane cylinder

Copper pipe cutter

Solder and flux kit

Many people are kind of afraid soldering copper pipes for DIY projects. But this is actually a pretty easy procedure.

Before you begin you are gonna need a few tools.

Obviously you are gonna need copper pipes and fittings. You will need solder and flux. A propane torch and a propane cylinder. A copper pipe cutter. Don’t buy the cheapest cutter, buy a descent one because most cheap ones won’t work. You will also need a piece of 100 grit sandpaper.

To cut the pipe, place the cutter in place and tighten it just a bit. Then make the first turn. Tighten a bit more and make another full circle. Repeat that process until you gently cut all the way through.

Then sand the touching surfaces you want to solder. This way you clean the joints. Next add the flux and then the fitting.

Assemble the torch. Open the valve a little and light the torch. Then increase the propane flow.

Start heating the joint evenly. When the temperature is high enough, the solder will follow the heat and the flux. Then take a wet rag and clean the joint. This also cools the joint faster.

When possible, add the solder from the top. Let gravity do the rest. 

You don’t have to turn the pipe around, the solder will follow the heat. As you gain experience you will add just the tiny bit of solder you need.

Wasn’t that easy? 

Just a few tools and you are good to go. 

I hope you found this tutorial useful!

See you soon with a new project video!

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

How to make a different wooden nutcracker for Christmas

I made this nutcracker out of oak and eucalyptus wood. I think it's threaded screw mechanism and the fun character make it a unique Christmas present from a woodworker to friends and relatives.

Tools and materials I propose: Wood threading kit Lathe Wood turning tools set Forstner bit set Woodworking vise Jointer planer

Table saw Bandsaw Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

The whole mechanism is just a screw that acts as a press against the nuts. To make the male screw I used pine, oak and eucalyptus. The wood that worked the best was eucalyptus. It is really hard and dense wood.

First of all I turned the piece true on the lathe. Then I flattened it with a straight chisel and a sanding block. I then added mineral oil as lubricant, and cut the male threads using my wood threading kit.

Next I planed a piece of oak on my jointer. I then cut it in half on the bandsaw and glued the two pieces together.

While the glue dried I started working on my character. I first made a tenon to fit on my chuck with my skew chisel. I then mounted the piece on the chuck. I established my measurements with the parting tool and did most of the shaping with the spindle gouge. I also used the skew in a few tight spots.

I drilled the bottom with a forstner bit. I gradually increased the size of the bit until I reached the diameter I wanted. I did all the drilling on the lathe.

Then I lubricated the hole and used my taps to start threading. The female threads are easier to make because my kit has two taps and completes the threading in two passes. 

I then glued the threaded dowel in the female hole.

I painted my character with latex paints. It is easy to find, doesn’t smell and dries really fast.

To speed up the drying process I used my heat gun.

I then parted the piece off the lathe, sanded it an painted the top.

I finished it with three coats of clear glossy varnish.

Then I squared the glued stock on the jointer and cut it to size on the tablesaw. I completed the cut in several passes to make things easier for my table saw.

Then I found the centers for the lathe.

I used a 38mm spade bit to drill the hole for the nuts. I drilled half way in. Then I used a regular drill bit to drill all the way through. Then I flipped the piece over and finished the drilling with the spade bit. This way I had a much cleaner cut.

Again on the table saw I removed as much material as I could, to save me some time on the lathe.

Finally I started shaping the base on the lathe. I mostly used my bowl gouge here.

Using the same process as before I created again the female threads.

I applied the varnish and my little nutcracker was ready.

I think it came out really nice. 

Have all a merry Christmas! See you soon with a new project video!