Making a Globe Ornament
by Andrew Hilton
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I measure the diameter of that drop finial. I want, normally, the diameter of the drop finial as it touches the globe to be the same for the cap too. |
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I transfer that diameter to the wood for the cap and make a sizing cut to that diameter (actually, it's just slightly larger so I can sand, etc. it down to exactly the same size). |
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On to the cap. I measure the hole for what the cap will fit into. |
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I've cut away everything down to that sizing cut and made a rough cap "dome". Now, I have to make that tenon that'll fit into the top of the globe. You can do this with just a skew or a gouge. Here I've used a gouge to get it rough. I check the fit of that tenon by putting the globe up to it and trimming the tenon down a little if needed. |
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Once the tenon is the correct size, I start on the undercut. It's easy to do with a small shallow-fluted gouge ("spindle gouge"). Again, it doesn't take much of an undercut here and it doesn't have to look pretty up in there for this kind of ornament. |
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You can either push the gouge from outter to inner like this. |
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Or use a pull cut from inner to outter. Be careful with this cut. Keep that flute pointing nearly horizontal or you'll get a good catch! Some woods respond well to this and some don't. Try either method to get the best cut you can. If you want, you can simply put that globe up there to check how it'll fit and how tightly the outter part of that cap will sit against the globe. Adjust things as needed. |
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I finished the cap as much as possible and parted it off. |
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Checking how it looks. Terrible, frankly. I haven't finished the top of the cap yet, though! |
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Use the rest of the wood left in the chuck to make yourself a jamb chuck. Just a hole the size of the tenon on the cap... |
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.... and press fit it in there. |
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If it is too loose or it loosens up, just put a paper towl around that tenon and press it into the hole again. It'll be tight then. |
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Do whatever decoration you want on the top of the cap, sand and finish. |
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Glue it all together. Here you can see the cap. It's a different style than the drop finial (next picture) just to show that each style (among many styles) can fit fairly flush with the globe. What you'll also see is that the cap and the drop finial are slightly rounded as it meets the globe. This is by design. It's a whole lot easier to get a good looking fit this way and it looks kind of neat too. |
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Here's the drop finial. Notice the difference in style from
the cap. The cap was replaced with a style that fits the drop finial
after these photos.
That's it. Making a few dozen more today..... |
That's All Folks
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