Compass(es)

[user 922]

I was in the mood to make some compasses. The first one is turned from a nice piece of spalted ash a neighbor gave me. The other two are cherry stained with LMF "Nut Brown" dye. I don't, normally, stain wood but I like the color that dye produces on cherry.

They are about 3" in dia. and 3/4" high.

 

[agill]

Very nice work! :hatsoff:

 

[Grizzly Adams]

I always enjoy seeing your work.

BRAVO!

 

[LRB]

Very, very nice.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Very well done and artistic. :thumbsup:
Where do you get the inserts?

 

[Grumpa]

Finding your way, with class!

Very nice work. :hatsoff:

 

[Grizzly Adams]

Finding your way, with class!

Very nice work. :hatsoff:

Indeed! If I had one, I would TRY to get lost!

 

[user 922]

Thanks everyone for the nice compliments. I get the compasses from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Explorer-Com...w_p_img_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0JNC34JAWWTEMRJNCJCD

They're quite inexpensive and are 2" dia. Nice size to work with.

One note of caution. Create a loose cavity for the compass. If pushed into place the copper shell will bend and crack the glass. Make it loose and keep the depth accurate. A drop of epoxy will hold the compass in place nicely.

We should have a compass competition. The only rule is that we use one of those 2" compasses. Knowing the great craftspeople on this site, the results would be most interesting and educational.

 

[hoochiepapa]

You do nice work.
The only folks who could compete would be those with a lathe, no?

 

[Grizzly Adams]

I am inspired to make one of these in the future, after looking at your work. Mine would likely not hold a candle to yours but I am willing to give it a try.

 

[user 922]

I have the most basic Jet "mini lathe". It'll do anything up to about 10" diameter. I have made canteens, powder horn parts, compasses, music boxes, bowls, etc. Only limit is diameter. I'm fortunate that I get a lot of really nice wood pieces from Ron Luckenbill. Too small for him to use but just right for me.

Here's some recent projects: a simple bowl I made from spalted ash and a music box I made from cherry and horn.

 

[Rifleman1776]

You do nice work.
The only folks who could compete would be those with a lathe, no?

No. You could make a square box and cut the 2" hole with a Forstner bit.

 

[omarick1948]

We should have a compass competition. The only rule is that we use one of those 2" compasses. Knowing the great craftspeople on this site, the results would be most interesting and educational.

Some of us might get lost!...... :shocked2:

 

[user 922]

The OD of the case is about 2-1/16. The Forstner bit would work but there would be a bit of hand fitting to get it to fit. Perfectly do-able and a square case could include a hinged lid.....hmmmm.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Beautiful! :thumbsup:

 

[dloud]

I haven't posted here in a good while but this got me going. You do very nice work, I have considered doing the same thing with a compass but never got around to it. I hope to retire in a year or so and out to the shop I go. I want to do a few more rifles, dulcimers and bowels.

It would be interesting to see how your canteens are made.

Dave

 

[user 922]

I put together a photo series showing how I make canteens. I don't call it a "tutorial" as that implies I know what I'm doing. I'm sure there are better ways but it works for me and can be done on my little Jet lathe. I'd be happy to e-mail it to anyone who is interested. I think I have posted some on this site that I finished over the past couple of years.

 

[MSW]

great looking work - I really like the music box!

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :hatsoff: :hatsoff:

 

[colmoultrie]

You do beautiful work, but to misquote Crocodile Dundee, " that's not a music box..."

"...that's a music box!"

 

[colmoultrie]

Sorry, I didn't mean to be flip. My Dad was a past president of the Musical Box Society International, so I grew up with over fifty large disc boxes.

How does the horn resonate? The wood base should enhance the sound nicely, and your craftsmanship is superb!