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thefixer
10th December 2008, 08:59 PM
G'day all

Just wondering if anyone has turned a set of babushka dolls. One of my daughters collects them and has asked if i could make a set. If anyone has done them i would love to see some pics. Painting them could be a problem though coz I'm not very artistic:(

Cheers
Shorty

artme
10th December 2008, 09:45 PM
On the very long - indeed endless - gunnado list! :B:B

joe greiner
11th December 2008, 12:56 AM
I've collected three sets from garage sales, but never turned any. Each doll seems to be a box, turned end grain from a reasonably stable timber, probably boxwood or something like that. The interiors don't need to be particularly smooth - just large enough to contain the next smaller size. A set of patterns would be advisable.

"Babushka" is Russian for "grandmother" or "old lady," and also refers to a head scarf worn by my Irish Grandmum (had some Russian immigrant neighbours, I guess).

Outside themes (sometimes bizarre) can be anything under the sun. A set, perhaps painted by your daughter, could represent your own family, and become an heirloom. Google [woodturning babushka] just got over 700 hits.

Cheers,
Joe

wands
11th December 2008, 01:46 PM
Evidently Babushka is what we westerners labeled them, not what Russians call them. I once asked a Russian friend about "Babushka dolls" and she did not know what I was talking about, when she worked it out she told me they are "A matryoshka doll".

Just found this if interested: http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Babushka-doll

Funny however, it is listed under Babushka.

Cheers, Steve

Tornatus
11th December 2008, 08:37 PM
Steve's got it right - the proper Russian name for these dolls is "Matryoshka", which means "Little Mother", so called because each doll contains a "daughter" doll, which contains another "daughter", etc, etc .... My wife has a set which she was given when we were on posting in Moscow, many years ago, and it contains a large number of "daughter" dolls - the "mother" is about 200mm high, and the smallest "daughter" is about 10mm high.

They are usually decorated with traditional costume designs, which can include a scarf, which is where the confusion with a "Babushka / Grandma" scarf may have come about.

joe greiner
12th December 2008, 02:51 AM
I had originally Googled [matryoshka], but got more hits with [babushka]. I first learned about them at an animated film festival in Seattle about 30 years ago. One of the films had that title, and consisted of stop-motion images of the dolls roaming about, IIRC. Youtube might have something similar, but I don't have time for exploration at the moment; seems to be a bunch of them.

I repeat my suggestion to Google [woodturning babushka], or [woodturning matryoshka] for guidance.

Cheers,
Joe

joe greiner
12th December 2008, 10:41 PM
Here's a link to some text instructions:
http://www.enotes.com/how-products-encyclopedia/matryoshka-doll
Note the requirement that a full set be made from one single piece of wood, for consistent warping and shrinkage.

Some Matryoshka production videos from youtube:

YouTube - Carving a Nesting Doll

YouTube - Russian Doll Production for Discovery Channel
The printing contraption is a form of offset printing, also used on golf balls.

Joe

munruben
13th December 2008, 11:53 AM
Bit beyond my capabilities at the moment. :)

thefixer
13th December 2008, 08:16 PM
Bit beyond my capabilities at the moment. :)

Yeah, mine too but I'm gunna have go anyway. Nothing ventured, nothing gained:cool:

Thanks for all the info and video clips Joe, plenty of food for thought there. I hate it though when people make it look that easy:oo:

Cheers
Shorty

joe greiner
14th December 2008, 01:17 AM
Yeah, mine too but I'm gunna have go anyway. Nothing ventured, nothing gained:cool:

Thanks for all the info and video clips Joe, plenty of food for thought there. I hate it though when people make it look that easy:oo:

Cheers
Shorty
Me too, Shorty. I hate it when people tell me something is easy, too. Brain surgery is easy if you know how; tying your shoes is difficult if you don't know how.

I reckon the first turner's use of the tool rest in parallel mode wasn't exactly right the first time he tried it.

Joe

marter1229
14th December 2008, 03:52 AM
Whats worse then the term "easy"?
When the doctor says there could be a slight discomfert.:o

Ed Reiss
14th December 2008, 05:48 AM
.....the heck with babushkas, Barbie is more like it!!!:U

hatchet
12th August 2009, 01:36 PM
G'day all

Just wondering if anyone has turned a set of babushka dolls. One of my daughters collects them and has asked if i could make a set. If anyone has done them i would love to see some pics. Painting them could be a problem though coz I'm not very artistic:(

Cheers
Shorty
Mate did u ever do the Babushka doll thing? If so, any tips/pics to share? I am thinking of making some for my nieces. I dunno how to woodturn, but I will have a go at anything realy.
cheers, Hatch

thefixer
12th August 2009, 09:22 PM
Mate did u ever do the Babushka doll thing? If so, any tips/pics to share? I am thinking of making some for my nieces. I dunno how to woodturn, but I will have a go at anything realy.
cheers, Hatch

G'day Hatchet

Not yet, still on the "to do" list. Finding the right timber has been a problem. Although I recently tripped over some claret ash that may do. I might green turn a few and wait til they dry out. It appears to be a very stable timber so far. I'll post my progress.

Cheers
Shorty

ElizaLeahy
13th August 2009, 10:20 PM
I have a set painted as cats that was given to me by a client years ago.

I got it open once, when I first got them, and never again - until recently when I started box making.

Then I thought "drat this, pointless if I can't get them open" and prised them open. Turned out that only the outside one was stuck.

I was thrilled to bits to find them so rough inside. Made me feel so much better about my box turning!

:)

tea lady
13th August 2009, 10:36 PM
You can buy blank sets at those Russian doll shops in Melbourne and Adelaide. (Prolly in other towns too, but I've been to these ones. :cool: ) Was $45ish i think for a doll with 5 sizes. Now that I turn, I think that is pretty cheap. :shrug:

fubar
13th August 2009, 10:59 PM
I have a potential client who has over 500 of these matroshkya dolls and currently displays them on ikea black bookshelves which dont do them justice and take up two walls of a 4mx4m room so I am currently trolling for display ideas the problem is the dolls range in size 450mm high down to 100mm and she likes to rearrange them as the mood takes her so shelving cant be fixed also she's not to keen on having just straight shelves so some will need to drop or raise a level
should be fun

thefixer
13th August 2009, 11:14 PM
I have a set painted as cats that was given to me by a client years ago.

I got it open once, when I first got them, and never again - until recently when I started box making.

Then I thought "drat this, pointless if I can't get them open" and prised them open. Turned out that only the outside one was stuck.

I was thrilled to bits to find them so rough inside. Made me feel so much better about my box turning!

:)

Probably the humidity in QLD that makes them stick coz they are painted on the outside and not sealed inside. My daughter has heaps of them and it surprises me that none of them have split. Must be the timber they use. And we are in Melbourne. That means humidity is humanly tolerable :U

Cheers
Shorty