It’s been busy in the dragon’s lair (my dusty shop) and the wheel is coming along well. I added an unexpected tail to the frame between where the treadles will eventually go. This wheel has a ball and claw front foot. It and other components are crafted from sapelle, a beautiful mahogany type wood. In the center of each hub will be placed an amethyst cab. There will be more surprises to come with more dragons and Celtic knots. But enough for one day!
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Now that the hummingbird wheel is about to be shipped off I have turned my attention to new wheels. Elsa from Portland requested a dragon wheel and wants it done in association with Celtic designs and ideas. The frame is built and the big wheels are glued up and awaiting the lathe. In order to set the tone, I started the art by carving this head/handle. Most of what you see is wood with a little epoxy overlay. The eyes have a purple color, as there will be amethysts put into or onto the wheel eventually. This dragon has really assumed a personality, although there is some work left to do. It is a bit fearsome but mostly just wise. I am happy with how it is turning out. Name ideas?
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Whenever we finish a wheel we try to take it outdoors for some better photos than I can get inside. Also, with a little hummingbird, it just seems the right thing to do! And we have been enjoying a break from the gray and wet weather. Sunshine and mid 50’s. This wheel has turned out very nice and spins as smoothly as any I have ever made.
Just another photo of the other side. The fiber Amy chose to use as a test went so well with the paint and glass we just left it on for the photos.
This little carved bird seems to have a spark of life! It seems busy and lost in its own pursuits – much like the hummers we have coming to our feeder every day. The only time they acknowledge us is when we walk by too close and then they chirp at us in irritation. Ungrateful though they appear, they are a welcome addition to our window view. Now I move on to other projects. One new wheel will be a Celtic dragon for a spinner in Oregon, and the other will be a milk snake for a spinner from Ohio. I’m not a huge snake fan, but it will be a chance to learn and grow. And this milk snake will have real ruby eyes!
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Yesterday I went out to Edensaw, my favorite wood supplier. We are so fortunate to live just a couple of miles from such a great resource. I picked out some nice cherry for ongoing projects and, as usual, took a few minutes to look at and drool over all the beautiful wood available. I almost fell over when I found a nice stack of Oregon myrtle right there in front of me. I have been going to Edensaw for years and never have I seen a stack like this! I have no reason or room to stock up so I sadly bought just my cherry and came home. I told Amy about the myrtle, though, and we have an idea that might just resonate with someone out there. Since I may never have access to a pile like this again (and this was confirmed by the guys at the counter), I thought if anyone on my list of future wheel owners would like a wheel with myrtle, you could pay for the wood now and I will keep it ready for when your name comes up. You would need to jump on it soon. The wood is about four times the cost of cherry, but I think it would only be used on a wheel where the wood was the big star and my art takes a smaller role. So in the end the final cost of the wheel would likely come out about the same. If you are unfamiliar with this wood all you have to do is a Google images search for Oregon myrtle. It is often used by turners, but I found a lot of guitars and other instruments using it as well. It is so beautiful! This is just an idea but it might appeal to somebody out there….? If anyone is interested, just email me!
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This is part of a letter I just sent to the spinner who commissioned this wheel: I thought and thought about the hummingbird and how to carve a little delicate bird in a carving style that is by nature heavy and monumental in approach. I created a file of images I found on a Google search and the carvings are recognizable as hummingbirds but they don’t have the feel of an actual bird. The silk screen or painted images do often have a lighter and more delicate feel but they are a pretty modern interpretation of the old art forms. I don’t know how they would have resonated with the ancient people who were not decorating living rooms or bathrooms with prints framed under glass. The art was created with totally different intentions. Eventually after running out of excuses, I just went out to the shop to make a little hummingbird. I was looking for a tool under an inevitable pile of stuff and as usual I ran into two pieces of wood that I just haven’t been able to throw into the burn pile. They are cherry cut outs from an earlier set of treadles I made for a Disney themed wheel. The cutouts were to mimic the clef cutouts on a violin as the spinner is a violinist. When I saw them this time I noticed the organic shapes and felt they might just be the way to integrate my new bird into the rest of the wheel. The result sort of grew out of this glimmer of an idea and eventually incorporated a couple pieces of stained glass as well. The glass echoes that on the rest of the wheel and also adds strength to the delicate wood curves.
With the base created (and removable) I started the bird. I just started with a block of cherry and roughed it out on the band saw. The wings were added with epoxy. Then I started carving in a way that best allowed me to keep with NW coast style. I am not really a carver and I usually run up against my limits. I also had to keep the bird from becoming too much of an isolated feature in an otherwise harmonious wheel. What I decided to try was to make it look like a real Rufus hummingbird is transforming into a carved bird. There are hints of NW coast design elements here and there but the paint is another story. A real hummingbird has no pigment in its feathers and the brilliant display of colors is caused by iridescence. So I decided to mimic life by using mostly iridescent powders mixed with varnish. It does shift color when you shift viewing angles. I also wanted to make the hummer doing what these birds do so I carved a little flower. This serves another purpose which is to guard the delicate beak from being damaged. The beak itself is rather thick but strength would be lost if I thinned it out much more.
There is fine-tuning to do at this point but first I will wait to hear back from Sandy. I love the freedom spinners give me but sometimes I take risks in pushing too far and too fast. My excuse is that if I don’t know how to do something, just get started and follow the lead of the wheel. Thanks for looking!
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The hummingbird wheel is finally coming together. In the last couple of days I’ve incorporated some stained glass accents that echo the colors in the paintings. They unify the elements of the wheel and add that touch of class that only glass can do. This side of the wheel features a ruby throat and Indian paintbrush at the top and I added a NW coast graphic bird at the lower left.
A little Rufus graces this painting and it is checking out the fireweed. The new style speed changer is partially built and I can hardly wait to get it ready to spin. The main thing to do next is to carve a NW coast style hummer to fit onto the handle. That will keep me busy!
The new Foothills is spinning wheel and just needs some dressing up of details. I am so glad that it is turning out to be a good design. I redesigned the block that holds the flyer shaft and was able to position it closer to the big wheel. This allows me to use a much smaller drive wheel. This means that we can keep the speed up to at least that of the larger Timberline model. The only art on this wheel is the little owl. My feelings are that the Foothills will be mainly for spinners who are willing to do with less art but want easier portability. It is good to have options, I’m thinking. Another good thing is that this smaller wheel uses the same size flyer and bobbins are in fact interchangeable between the two models. If anyone wants more info, please email me and I’ll give you the latest report. Thanks for your time and support!
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It’s been quite a crazy time around these parts lately and I am feeling I’m neglecting you when I don’t get a blog post done now and then. The photo above shows a bit of what I am doing now, but there are other projects that need me as well. The fairy wheel is getting restless for my attention after sitting for a while. I think it got used to all my attention and needs some TLC. Probably there is another wheel around too. The photo above shows the new and unfinished Foothills model on the left. I very much like the way it is turning out. The frame on this first effort is cherry while the main wheels are eastern figured maple. The stick of wood exiting from behind the big wheel at a 40 degree angle is the new slider assembly. The hummingbird wheel on the right will also use this new design and I have hopes that it will result in an easier to build and (if ever the need arises) repair. I will talk about the design details later when I can provide better photos. The wheel in the center is almost finished and has paintings of rabbits on one side and pictures of Hudson the golden retriever on the opposite side. This wheel is walnut and maple and is quite dramatic. I’ll be delivering it to a spinner in Portland perhaps this coming Saturday.
The Foothills is just so cute I can’t keep my hands off of it. In the front I put on a piece of art from a very early wheel. It is a little carved stone owl peeking out from a wooden frame. The wheel it was crafted for is now cut apart and of no value but the owl lives again! I will provide more photos and info about this baby as things progress.
Just a note to everyone on my waiting list – I have not forgotten you! I try to work seven days a week and am moving along slowly. I get frustrated at feeling behind but I just can’t bring myself to call anything finished unless it is as good as I can make it. If it means taking a wheel apart and re-building something, it just has to be this way. you guys matter to me! Thanks for your trust.
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Just thought you folks might enjoying seeing this. We were surprised at how many people have found our blog. It’s gratifying and a pleasure to share our efforts with so many people.
Happy New Year to everyone!
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 34,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 13 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Click here to see the complete report.
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Several Christmases ago I was enthused by the idea of making spinning wheels for my two daughters for Christmas. I bought a how-to book and presented the promise of the wheels to them on Christmas morning. Long about April I finally finished one of the wheels and it is enjoying an early retirement as my wheels have steadily evolved into much nicer machines than it could ever be. This year, in the middle of of very hectic schedule, I had another bright idea. On Christmas morning I presented our daughters with another promise (as the photo proves and may be used as evidence against me in court). I will be building each of them an new Foothills model wheel to be finished in April. In an earlier post I presented a dream of three models in our line-up with the Foothills model being the lightest and most portable. I have spent a lot of time thinking about how to make this a reality and now I am pretty confident that i can make a wheel that looks and feels a lot like our current model but will be two thirds the size and half the weight. The only way I can justify squeezing these wheels into my schedule is that a number of spinners have been waiting for something like this to surface. I will post photos of all my efforts in this direction. For those of you who have orders and are waiting, don’t think I have forgotten you! You are my first priority and I’ll just keep plugging along.
On another note I have two poster images ready to print now and actually printed them this morning to see how they will look. I enjoy the chance to work inside a warm house this time of the year, especially since I am enduring some kind of miserable cold or flu.
So, that’s it from this end. I hope you all have had a great holiday season and I wish you each the best in the coming new year.
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It is always a happy moment for me when a wheel is finally ready to show off. After countless trips in and out of the shop, assembling and dis-assembling, and then re-assembling again, the moment arrives when I hand it over to Amy for testing. So far everything points to a good and reliable wheel
One new thing for me was the chance to learn the smallest bit about handle wrapping in the style of the great swords and knives of Japan. I found a source in Portland for genuine silk cord and thanks to Youtube tutorials, this is the result. Rather than cut a slot in the handle for the cord to pass through (and thus weakening the handle), I made a hood from walnut and covered the glued end of the cord with this. It is held into place with cherry pegs. Another nice thing about this project is that it is going to a local spinner! No crate to build and the chance to see this wheel again from time to time. Now, on to my granddaughter’s toy chest!
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Olympic Spinning Wheels 