Poppies, a making story

[dr4g0nfly]

I was asked by a friend if I could make 100 poppies for the Royal British Legion branch he's a member of. I turned up a dozen and gave them to him as a sample to show around before committing him (and me) to any great expense, they said 'Go Ahead'.

I had some difficulty getting enough sycamore but eventually found someone with a felled tree who would sell me 3 slices 2½" thick. These I cut down into the widths I needed and have started cutting then into blanks.

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Next, working as batch production I started turning the backs, and then the fronts.

The tenon on the front is cunningly disguised as (what will be) the black button in the centre of the poppy.

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Turning finished I had to remove bits to shape the petals,

I made a Jewellers saw bench and clamped it to my bandsaw, so i could work in the natural light.

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[dr4g0nfly]

Sanding, smoothing off the sawn edges and finalising the shape of each petal.

I made a jig to speed this up but it still took several hours to do all 48 of them.

They ended up looking like this.

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Colouring.

Here they are with the red stain applied.

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So here are 38 to go with the original 12 of the final poppies.

Half way done.

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I've already started the next batch, 50 more blanks cut and corners removed, ready to start the backs tomorrow.

[dr4g0nfly]

And that's number 100 turned.

Closely followed by a damn good clean up. It's frightening just how many shavings are created making 50 shallow bowls.

Now to cut the shape, sand and colour.

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[tony_A]

Quite a project there dragonfly, and for a worthwhile cause. Well done.

Tony

[Nubsnstubs]

Hey Fly, great job, but why didn't you use your bandsaw? I probably already know the answer, but I'd rather hear it from you. I used to do jewelry, and know how clean a jeweler's saw can be, especially getting into the petal separations. But, man, that's gotta be a slow process. ................. Jerry (in Tucson)USA

[smiife]

Hi dragonfly , well done , I bet you were glad to see no. 100 finished
They look great , and for a good cause :2tsup:

[dr4g0nfly]

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments.
I don't post my work here very often but I thought these worthy of a posting as we share the cultural memory of Armistice Day.


Hey Fly, great job, but why didn't you use your bandsaw? I probably already know the answer, but I'd rather hear it from you. I used to do jewelry, and know how clean a jeweler's saw can be, especially getting into the petal separations. But, man, that's gotta be a slow process. ................. Jerry (in Tucson)USA

Jerry,

Thanks for the question.

The platters are quite thin, about 3mm, my bandsaw blade is a 3TPI with a very aggressive set for ripping wood along the grain. So no way would I get the 3 teeth in the wood at once as recommended for sawing. I was also worried that I'd shatter too many of them to make the extra time saving a worthwhile bonus.

[Nubsnstubs]

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments.
I don't post my work here very often but I thought these worthy of a posting as we share the cultural memory of Armistice Day.



Jerry,

Thanks for the question.

The platters are quite thin, about 3mm, my bandsaw blade is a 3TPI with a very aggressive set for ripping wood along the grain. So no way would I get the 3 teeth in the wood at once as recommended for sawing. I was also worried that I'd shatter too many of them to make the extra time saving a worthwhile bonus.


Well, that answer makes more sense than what I thought might be the reason. I figured the jewelers saw you were using would give you a better cut at the petal split, but not tearing them up by using the bandsaw makes a whole lot more sense. Smarter move than I would have done....... Thanks.. .............. Jerry (in Tucson)USA