Here are a few ornaments I have made over the last few months. Some were started over a year ago, and just finished recently. Turning time has been at a premium this year, so it has been hard to get anything finished. Lately things have lightened up a bit so I have been able to get some things done. The urchin was my first of this type, and I read a lot of articles on hoe to do it. My biggest concern was that the wood could expand if the humidity rises. if the tenons, top and bottom, fit tightly in the urchin shell hole, swelling could cause the shell to split. If is is loose, it is hard to glue it in. My solution was to size the tenon slightly smaller than the urchin hole, drill a small hole in bottom of the top, and in the top of the bottom (still with me?), then connect the two together through the shell with a carefully sized length of dowel. The dowel holds the whole "sandwich" together, and with luck, swelling won't cause a problem. Anybody have a better way? On the bird houses, I hear the new way to make real birdhouses is without perches, because it makes it easier for preditors to get the birds. So I left the perches off these. Not sure I like it. Well, here they are.
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