Two Small Projects

  I am currently working with limited mobility and so I am doing small things in my workshop. Projects that take less than an hour are taking two or three days as I work for a few minutes at a time.

  This project took two days. Yesterday I drew the pattern on white paper and glued it to cereal box for future use.  That was about all the time I had on my feet for the day.

 Today I cut the pattern out, traced it on 1/2 Baltic birch and cut it out with my scroll saw. Can you guess what it is?

 My second small project was finishing my walking stick.

                        

  I picked up this tree branch last year. At that time I peeled off the bark and sealed the knots and ends with paint and hoped that it would not split apart when it dried.

  When I was a kid I had an Akela that had a thumb stick like this that he took on hikes and I always thought it was a cool. His stick featured carving, crests and ornaments that added to the coolness factor. Akela is long gone but since I walk with a stick often now I plan to retain some of his spirit.

 As the stick dried it did not split and today I did a bit of trimming with my shop knife and sanded the shaft with 220 grit sand paper. It will get a couple of coats of varnish to protect it until I have my own ornaments to add.

  We are having a brief return of summer temperatures here and I am looking out the window at a beautiful day.  Get out there and enjoy yourselves.

cheers, ianw