At one of our events this year, I saw a man I helped out with some sheep shearing in April. He and his wife also had a booth there and I thought I would say 'hi' and show him some of my work as I had briefly mentioned my woodworking when I helped him with the shearing. Commenting on the quality of all of the things I had made, he asked if I would be able/willing to try out some rosettes for his older 1920's home, as he could not found someone to do them for him. He said he would paint them so they didn't need to have a perfect surface or be a special wood. I told him I would be more than happy to try them out and will give him an update and a price point when I finish a few. The next day he brought a rosette to let me use to replicate them.
At first I wasn't quiet sure if I would use a rosette cutter or turn them on the lathe, but after further research and talking to a local antique home restorer, I learned that craftsmen during this time period often made their own custom rosette cutters. I decided the easiest and most cost effective way to do it would be to turn them on the lathe. I selected some quality cherry after also discussing potential chipping issues of different woods with the antique home restorer. After cutting a few pieces on the table saw, with the help of my Dad, we noticed that they looked crooked. So, we had to take some pieces off of the table saw and figure out how to correct it. After some minor adjustments we were getting all the pieces cut straight.
I had already been considering the best way to center and mount them so I started turning them on the lathe. My first rosette went great and I figured I'd only get better and faster as I progressed. I was wrong. I needed to contact him immediately because there was just a 1/8" difference in thickness between the original and the one I turned. I thought he may want to meet and see it for himself, but after describing the challenge in detail and sending him pictures, he was happy to have me continue; acknowledging that the painting could make up for that small variance.
Getting back on the lathe I found each piece of wood, although the same type, acted a little differently and getting all of them the same size proved challenging. I learned several lessons during this project.
When all the rosettes were finished I scheduled a meet up. After looking at them he was very impressed with my quality of workmanship and was excited to finally find someone who could do them. It was a great opportunity to learn something new and add to my skill set, which I'm happy to have always increasing, yet never full.
I had already been considering the best way to center and mount them so I started turning them on the lathe. My first rosette went great and I figured I'd only get better and faster as I progressed. I was wrong. I needed to contact him immediately because there was just a 1/8" difference in thickness between the original and the one I turned. I thought he may want to meet and see it for himself, but after describing the challenge in detail and sending him pictures, he was happy to have me continue; acknowledging that the painting could make up for that small variance.
Getting back on the lathe I found each piece of wood, although the same type, acted a little differently and getting all of them the same size proved challenging. I learned several lessons during this project.
When all the rosettes were finished I scheduled a meet up. After looking at them he was very impressed with my quality of workmanship and was excited to finally find someone who could do them. It was a great opportunity to learn something new and add to my skill set, which I'm happy to have always increasing, yet never full.