Generally I use domestic woods for several reasons. One, I like the woods with which I have grown up, second while I am not a "green" fanatic I do think that importing exotic wood from far, far away creates a carbon foot print that is not necessary.
Recently I was given a billet of Jatoba that had come to Canada as framing on a heavy packing crate. Since it was here already I figured I would give it a chance, I hate the idea of it being burned in a back parking lot someplace because it is garbage.
As I didn't know anything about Jatoba I turned to the Internet, and you can see the link at the top of the page. My experience so far has been positive although the piece of wood I have is not large enough to make a big project.
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| ear rings, photographed on a business card |
I did fuss around in the shop and make a pair of ear rings to see how the wood looked and how well it took finish. I found that it sanded very well, this piece of wood is very very dry. The grain was close, closer than oak and elm but not a tight as maple.
I found making the ear rings interesting, mostly because it required a re-think about how to handle my tools. Most recently I have been building a shelf unit and cutting boards. Those projects use joiner, planers, mitre saws, power sanders etc. Ear rings are hand saws, small files and tiny scraps of sand paper. The only machine in the process was the drill press, and i could have done that with a hand drill if I had wanted to.
One tool/jig that I will make before I do more wooden jewelry is a series of sanding boards. A sanding board is a flattened piece of wood with sand paper glued onto the board. (kind of like the "scary sharp" method of sharpening) I have a couple of sanding boards with course grit paper I made for a project a while ago. They are great for sanding short edges without rounding things over. Short pieces from projects got rounded corners or ends when I tried to sand them with my random orbital. This time though I need sanding boards with very fine grit paper to do the final finishing/polishing of the jewelry.
I can see ear rings as something to do in the evening when I am tired to machine noise and dust. Making jewelry can be done while listening to music and sipping coffee. Projects like that are satisfying too.
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