I applied Howard’s Feed-n-wax to my newly made inkle loom, and to the freshly designed and cut wood rigid heddle and shuttle, both marked with the dragonfly symbol I designed for the loom.
It was so hard to wait for the finish to dry, I really wanted to warp it up and get testing!
I made a new inkle loom that can make longer bands. The design is based on a picture from an Estonian band weaving book that I saw on a blog post by Durham Weaver. I used poplar 1×2 boards and 3/4” dowels, predrilled wood pipe, carriage bolt and knob, small screws, 1/8” birch plywood which I laser cut for the side, a 3/4” Forstner bit to drill the holes, gimlet to make a starting hole, coping saw to cut the channel, and sand paper. The toughest part was cutting the channel for the tension rod, my coping saw skills are rusty, and sawing along the grain is difficult.
I laser cut the removable side panel first, then missed my angles during assembly by 1 degree, so had to recut the panel. To get everything to dry in the right position, I glued in the dowels, then wiggled them into place in the side panel.
Next step is to apply a finish coat to protect the wood from finger oils.
In September 2018 I made a second furniture item for the outdoor cat Sophie. This one was much, much more popular than the insulated bench. I started by making a small frame with 2x4s, then painted it.
I used outdoor fabric with a pretty white and gray pattern and sewed a cover for the frame, with two slits on each side secured with white bias tape. This was all before I started this blog, but I did make a social media cry.
To keep the cover in place I punched my own washers from aluminum blanks. I’m not sure why I couldn’t find premade washers. I probably put them somewhere safe.
I used four washers and four screws to secure the bottom edge of the cover on the non-slit sides to the wood legs. This works quite well and has held up for 8 years.
I bought new tuning peg plates for my 1895 bowl back mandolin. The original (maybe?) plates were worn and one peg in particular couldn’t hold its string tight. I purchased Golden Gate A style tuning peg plates and they were almost the right size. I had to sand out the holes to get them seated flat. The old plates came out easily and I replaced one at a time so the bridge stayed in place.
The mandolin sounds amazing and the strings are holding their tuning. I am happy that she is happy.
I do have to say that as a child of the 80s this week has been a hard hit. Dolly Parton, who was amazing angelically, Tim Curry who was amazing demonically, and Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime, who probably started my fascination with the human voice.
I need to practice some blues music.
In February 2025 I made a turned wood pen holder for my Dad. A month later my first child was born. What is the correlation? When I saw the pen holder at my folk’s house I didn’t remember it. At all.
I used the information on the bottom to find the original picture, that is how I figured out that it was a month before my first child was born.
There are small indents on the bottom of the cylinder which are likely marks left by the lathe. The two beads carved at the bottom and one at the top also would have been done on a lathe, because the precision is very difficult to achieve without a lathe. The wood grain looks like white oak, which is a common hardwood and one that I had access to at the time. I can’t remember how I hollowed it out, but since the piece is marked #1 and there are no others in the following month, I imagine it was difficult. I know it is difficult to hollow out a form even with a lathe. Getting the wood secured and balanced is tricky, and the angles are awkward for a beginner, which is what I was in 2005. The finish is likely to be a store bought urethane, because that is also what I was using at the time. I didn’t discover tung oil until later.
I do think it is interesting what my brain retains and what it jettisons. This is why I take pictures and mark my work.
