Mallet from a Bowl

For the past couple of years I have been slowly but surely replacing my shop bought tools with a collection of tools that I have made myself.
There is a sense of satisfaction that comes from making things using tools you have made yourself that is difficult to put into words,it's just awesome!!
My latest tool creation is this lignum vitae mallet.
For years I have been using a 2.5 lb club hammer to drive my chisels but after seeing various beautiful examples of lignum mallets on the web I convinced myself that such a thing was essential.
Now,my first port of call whenever I'm looking to buy wood or supplies these days is,of course,eBay.
The first suitably sized piece of lignum listed (5"long cylinder by 5.5" diameter)seemed,at £27.50,a little too salty to me but 3 listings below it there was a set of 4 vintage lignum vitae lawn bowls,buy it now £10.
"Drat,pick up only,knew it was too good to be true!"
Click on it anyway -item location,City of Edinburgh
WHOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!
BUYBUYBUY!!!
Send message to arrange pickup.
I have only ever worked small pieces of lignum in the past,small turned inlay & the sole of a tiny smoothing plane so to say I was unprepared for the edge destroying abilities of this ferocious timber is an understatement.I swear it felt like I was sharpening more than turning.
That said lignum vitae is a beautiful material to work taking a crisp,glossy finish.
I decided to use maple for the handle as it is a lovely creamy white which will contrast even better once the lignum oxidises to its eventual deep,leafy green.
The finished mallet is 275mm long & the head is 100mm at its widest.

mokume gane & blackwood cufflinks

Here is a pair of Mokume Gane & African Blackwood cufflinks.
Mokume Gane is a Japanese technique involving the lamination of 2 or more contrasting metals,in this case 8 layers of copper & sterling silver,then cutting into those layers to reveal a pattern then flattening into a sheet to create a smooth,uniform material.
As far as I'm aware Mokume was first used to decorate the hilt & scabbard of Samurai swords but now is mainly used in the manufacture of jewellery,most notably by James Binnion & Steve Midgett.If you Google either of them you will be amazed by the work of 2 modern masters of an ancient craft.

pendant or brooch

When I started this piece over a year ago the intention was to make a pendant.I didn't complete it straight away because I'm atrociously unfocused & if I have a new idea then whatever I'm working on gets put to one side until I satisfy my creative urge.This is a common theme with my work,probably why I'm usually working on 20 plus things at once.
Much of my work has a modular nature,earrings can become cufflinks or bracelet components or 2 bracelets become a necklace,you get the idea.
Now,because I have been looking at this piece for over a year I'm not sure what to make it into,a brooch or a pendant.
Of course the most likely reason it hasn't been completed is because I really,really like it & if I complete it then I have to sell it!
Woe is me...
The main body is Bocote which is inlayed with 17 different materials including organic cow bone,turquoise,lapis & malachite resins,African Blackwood,Pink Ivory,African Padauk,Cocobolo,Black Walnut,Boxwood & Yew.
It is 76mm long,15mm wide & 5mm thick.

First Image

I had a funny feeling my blog entries would be few & far between but I didn't think the first image I uploaded would be 3 months after my first entry!

Anyhoo,here's a wee pendant I made for a long lost friend who I have tracked down on facebook.

The main bulk of the piece is African Blackwood,the blue is turquoise resin which is marketed toward pen makers,then we have Mother of Pearl,difficult to see from this photo but it has some lovely flashes of pink & green.The brown you see is American Black walnut & then there's the tiniest hint of bone just around the silver tubing which holds a 5mm Tigers Eye cabochon.The whole thing is finished to 400 grit then given a light buff with a fibral mop(more on fibral in a later post.)before being wiped with vaseline then buffed to a soft sheen.

More much sooner,promise...

And so it begins..

Hello to anybody who happens across this wee online diary.
Chances are if you find yourselves here it's because you know of my work as a designer/maker.
Chances are it's my work as a jeweller that brought you here as that is what I spend probably 75 % of my time making,although,as you will find out over the next few months (if i can hold your attention...),I feel inspired to make all manner of things.