I acquired wood turning pen-making tools with the expectation that they might also be useful for other “more serious” woodworking projects. But pen making is fun by itself!
Yijing is an ancient Chinese method of seeking guidance and insight by interpreting hexagrams (combinations of 6 lines that are either solid or broken) generated through the casting of coins or manipulating yarrow stalks. I wanted to create a casting dice set with equivalent probabilities to traditional methods, intended as a gift.
One day I figured I’d make some birthday gifts instead of falling for cliché and buying chocolates or alcohol. This seemingly simple idea soon became an obsession and opened up unexpected horizons.
I was excited to try my hand at making grips from poplar burl and Turkish walnut for reproductions of the historical 1851 and 1860 Colt cap-and-ball revolvers. Turkish walnut justified its price, as expected. The much cheaper poplar burl, although soft and a bit tricky to work with, turned out to be promising as well.
I took a piece of available poplar burl from Dictum and wanted to turn it into 1911 grips that would look handy on a Ruger or a Walther Colt Gold Cup.
People began spinning fibers into threads some 40,000 years ago or even earlier. Initially, fibers were simply rolled between the fingers. Spindle whorls were invented much later, perhaps around 7,000 years ago.
I was making some wooden pendants to test my scroll saw and for a moment it felt as if I were baking cookies or something…