Thread: Something different this way comes...

Niche? Exactly. I need a couple of shawl pins. These are easily elegant. My D's can't wear long hair in their medical jobs. I do see that they both use/wear shawls with the commonly cool WX in Vancouver.

I have to ask about the delicacy of some of the animal appendages and the size of the larger kangaroo pins?

Hi Whittling,
Hey, I think you have done a Grand Job on those pins.

Very nice work indeed. They look great.
You've come up with a good range of designs, too.

Thanks RV. So far I haven't had any negative feedback other than a broken spike, which was probably a bit thin. I replaced it free and the customer is happy. Being hand made, the broaches all very slightly in thickness, but are approximately 5 mm thick, which makes the kangaroo 'arms' not quite as fragile as they appear. Most other appendages touch the oval surround, thus giving them a degree of strength and stability that might not be apparent at first glance.

The dimensions of the largest of these is approx 100 mm x 70 mm. Everything else is smaller than that. They also have a 'depth' dimension due to the curve in them. In most cases this is between 20 and 30 mm depending on the size of the broach. The Kangaroo is 100 mm width x 50 mm height x 27 mm depth at the center (highest point in the curve).

Thanks Issatree and Hermit,

Its been surprisingly easy to come up with designs. Pick an image, draw an oval around it, cut it out and low relief carve the image. Hey presto! I've done a few very simple loop and celtic knot designs prior to getting the scroll/fret saw, but the saw really opened up the horizons. It doesn't do everything, but it sure helped to bring more complex designs within reach of my 2 to 3 hour window.

Originally Posted by Whittling

Thanks Issatree and Hermit,

Its been surprisingly easy to come up with designs. Pick an image, draw an oval around it, cut it out and low relief carve the image. Hey presto! I've done a few very simple loop and celtic knot designs prior to getting the scroll/fret saw, but the saw really opened up the horizons. It doesn't do everything, but it sure helped to bring more complex designs within reach of my 2 to 3 hour window.

I think I'll be having a go at something similar when I get the time. My scroll saw just sits idle most of the time, and I could do with a few saleable pieces to make my hobby partly pay for itself. I have plenty of small offcuts here just begging to be put to use. I doubt if they'll come up as nice as yours' though.

I'll be interested in seeing what you come up with.

Originally Posted by Whittling

I'll be interested in seeing what you come up with.

Ha, yeah, so will I.
I'll post my results here in this section, good or bad. Won't be for a couple of weeks, though, once I've finished my current projects.

I am a patient man. I'll wait to see the other iconic Australian animals as shawl pins before I start buying. I am so pleased to see these. Soft reminders of some of the very best years of my life. Cockatoo or a Kook, maybe?
Take your own sweet time WW,
Christmas and Birthdays are some months off, yet.

Wow! They are beautiful Whittling!

Yeah very nice, lovely, any cooments on the frangrance of Huon from the customers? The pins do look a little fine for Huon to stand up to the rigours to me. Maybe there's a chance to use some contrasting wood that'd be stronger in such a critical sitcho?

They are really good Whittling, you have a good variety there, I've never used a fret or scroll saw but I watched a demo at the wood show and was impressed what they can do. I can see how it would cut the time down. Those pins look pretty delicate, did you do them with the saw as well? How about using jarrah as a dark color for blondes or would it be too hard?. Have you tried selling them online as they would be easy to post?

Originally Posted by springwater

Yeah very nice, lovely, any cooments on the frangrance of Huon from the customers? The pins do look a little fine for Huon to stand up to the rigours to me. Maybe there's a chance to use some contrasting wood that'd be stronger in such a critical sitcho?

Hi Springwater,

I have had one pin/skewer break. In retrospect I think I made it a bit thin. I was worried about it being too think to push through the knitted fabrics. I've since discovered that the pins can be a fair bit thicker and still pass through knits ok. I've only ever had the one break and I replaced it with a new pin a bit thicker. Customer happy. It is important to ensure the grain is running the full length of the pin though. Its easy to get a block of wood that wasn't cut parallel with the grain and if you cut your pin blank from this material chances are you are going to have a weak pin because the grain runs at an angle through it.

There's no getting around the fact these things are relatively delicate, but so is a lot of jewelry. I guess time will tell if they work well or not.

I did try other woods but for now I like the Huon. People do comment on the smell often. Its one of the reasons I don't seal them.

Originally Posted by Robthechisel

They are really good Whittling, you have a good variety there, I've never used a fret or scroll saw but I watched a demo at the wood show and was impressed what they can do. I can see how it would cut the time down. Those pins look pretty delicate, did you do them with the saw as well? How about using jarrah as a dark color for blondes or would it be too hard?. Have you tried selling them online as they would be easy to post?

Hi Rob. I didn't use the fret saw for the pins. I cut a rough shape with the band saw and then just sand it into shape, finishing with a bit of 850 wet and dry. The huon comes up really smooth. Good for pushing through fabric. The process doesn't take long.

I have thought about darker woods for contrast with blonde hair. I don't think Jarrah would work though as its too open grained. Might be ok if I seal it, but that's an exra step which means more time and therefore higher asking price. Don't know what the market will bear with this stuff yet. Still too new. I've got some blackwood just coming due after 3 years drying. I might try some of that eventually. I haven't reached the end of the huon possibilities yet.

I've never sold anything online. Looking at it but for now the galleries and markets are doing ok for me.