Highland Games

I got up early this morning and drove to Bakersfield, CA (2 hour drive) and went to the Highland Games / Scottish Games. Now I have to wait until September for the one in Fresno... News story below.  And no I did not wear a kilt (this time).

I had the pleasure of walking with Clan Armstrong in the march of the clans.

Now I want to go home and make something Celtic.

16th annual Highland Games takes County Fairgroundsover the Kern 

Worry Cross

Some of you may have heard of a worry stone. For those who have not, here is an entry from Wikipedia:

“Worry stones are smooth, polished gemstones usually in the shape of an oval with a thumb-sized indentation. They are also known as thumb stones or palm stones. They originated in Ancient Greece. Held between the index finger and thumb, rubbing them is believed to lessen one's worries. ”

Well as much as I don’t want to admit this, my sister Tami (http://sewtami.blogspot.com/), came up with the idea of a worry cross.

• The pattern I created in Paint using the rounded rectangle tool. 6” tall by 4” wide
• Using a ¾” piece of pine, I used the router to put a rounded groove going vertically and horizontally (both sides). This eliminates a lot of sanding
• I then put the pattern on the wood centering on the groves
• Now to the scroll saw and cut out the shape of the cross
• Back to the router to round the edges.
• Now the sanding. From 80 grit to 400. All the sanding was done by hand.
• After sanding I soaked the piece in a cherry stain. Follow that up with several coats of polyurethane, lightly sanded to keep it smooth

So the moral of all of this, take your worries to the cross.

Worry Stone In Wikipedia. Retrieved April 16, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worry_stone

Just monkeying around.

More Key Chains

Made a few more key chains for loved ones. I am enjoying working with the clay. The one for Kel was an attempt at zebra stripes.

I also made a ring for my wife. I cut it out of red oak and added the charm.

Playing around today making key chains. The two with names are using a program written by Steve Good (my hero). After cutting out the names and gluing the back piece, you fill the name with a polymer clay and bake it. Then sand and sand... still need to coat all of these with a polyurethane to protect them. The third one tells you what I have been doing with a lot of my time. It is the symbol from the game Skyrim.

Family

This is not woodworking, but wanted to share a couple of family pictures from New Years weekend. We ate lunch at Bill Lee's Bamboo Chopsticks in Bakersfield. Great Food!

Also I am posting most pictures to my Pinterest account. http://pinterest.com/tim_munsey/

Bulldog Bowling

Fresno State Bulldogs won the National Championship in Bowling. I was commissioned to make something for the coaches - so here are a couple of pictures of one of the boxes I made.

Payroll People

Payroll People, Inc. – California’s largest privately own payroll processor. As part of the 30 year celebration I made these two items for Bettye Smith, the founder and owner of Payroll People. For more information on the Payroll People’s services go to www.payrollpeople.com

Thank You to the folks that made the pattern for the portrait of Bettye!

Puppy Love

Here are some dog signs I made. Instead of putting the breed names I used the dogs names.

Back In the Shop

After an extended break I am back in the shop. I have had a lot of request for crosses of late. Most of them are variations of a pattern by Arpop.

I have also had someone order some coasters. I believe this is based on a pattern by Steve Good. Here I use ¼” wood, I put a couple of coats of polyurethane, and the last step is to glue a thin piece of cork on the bottom.

Working on a couple of other items I will post when they are done. Pictures coming soon.