Ornaments

[Rusty Nesmith]

I can’t believe I have been turning around five years and never made ornaments until now. Maybe scared off because of never turning finials. I am going through an ornament phase right now and have made 12 in the last week. Here are a few. The first one is mahogany and holly finial, the second one is Sapele globe with 100 year old wormy chestnut finial, the third one is mahogany with maple finial and the last one is mahogany with Bocote finial.

 

[John K Jordan]

Very nice! And your finials are looking good!

Hey, what do you use to hang the ornaments? Our good friend Jake came up with a good, cheap, solution - he buys an inexpensive SS whisk from Walmart, cuts off a wire, and bends it to the shape he wants.


Jake always turns a small wooden base for the wire. I stole his idea for the hanger but use a different type of base - I repurpose small pieces of burl with a flat bottom. Drill a hole and press in the wire, no need to glue it. I make them for one, two, or three ornaments. A burl base is shown in the small picture on the right here. You can probably do a better job at wire bending than I did!


JKJ

 

[Curt Vogt]

Rusty! These are great! Next thing you know, you will be hitting the Christmas isle at the crafts store for ornament hangers in bulk... (Don't ask me how I know!)

 

[Kirk Amidon]

Well Rusty, it appears that you have caught up quickly! Those look great. I like the shape and simplicity of the finials, which allows the wood to do the talking. Are you hollowing the balls? What is your finish on these? I typically dip in thinned lacquer, but yours have a different shine to my eye.

 

[Ted Pelfrey]

Must be something in the air! I too , after 20 years of turning, am just getting into ornaments. Loving it. Harder than I thought but have been getting great advise here and on WOW. Those are looking great! Share your sizes as I am still working on my proportions.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

Well Rusty, it appears that you have caught up quickly! Those look great. I like the shape and simplicity of the finials, which allows the wood to do the talking. Are you hollowing the balls? What is your finish on these? I typically dip in thinned lacquer, but yours have a different shine to my eye.

Yes I am hollowing the balls. My finish is Deft spray lacquer, semi gloss.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

Must be something in the air! I too , after 20 years of turning, am just getting into ornaments. Loving it. Harder than I thought but have been getting great advise here and on WOW. Those are looking great! Share your sizes as I am still working on my proportions.

The ball is 2” in diameter and 1.25” tall. I like the squashed balloon look. The bottom finials are around 3.75” long. I mark the 3.75” and hold the Fibonacci gage up to mark the center of the drop. I try to make the top to match the Pedistal that holds the drop.

 

[Dean Center]

Rusty, me too--those are terrific finials. Hard to imagine why you were reluctant.

 

[john lucas]

I can’t believe I have been turning around five years and never made ornaments until now. Maybe scared off because of never turning finials. I am going through an ornament phase right now and have made 12 in the last week. Here are a few. The first one is mahogany and holly finial, the second one is Sapele globe with 100 year old wormy chestnut finial, the third one is mahogany with maple finial and the last one is mahogany with Bocote finial.View attachment 86031View attachment 86032View attachment 86033View attachment 86034

Very nice.

 

[Tom Gall]

Maybe scared off because of never turning finials.

Very nice ornaments, Rusty .... and finials! Ever notice that only turned wooden ornaments seem to have icicles (finials)? Probably 99% (maybe 100%) of all tree ornaments don't have them. Maybe just a nice globe and a cap will do. On the other hand, if you intend to display them all year round on a stand then an icicle (finial) is a nice additional element.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

Very nice ornaments, Rusty .... and finials! Ever notice that only turned wooden ornaments seem to have icicles (finials)? Probably 99% (maybe 100%) of all tree ornaments don't have them. Maybe just a nice globe and a cap will do. On the other hand, if you intend to display them all year round on a stand then an icicle (finial) is a nice additional element.

View attachment 86058

Thanks Tom. Also thanks for some ideas. Beautiful ornaments you have there.