I got my egg cup back from the milling machine this week. This time I cut it into walnut as the last one I made I wasn’t particularly happy with the wood. It was too soft and didn’t have a nice finish after sanding.
I started by cutting out the two sections using my jewellery saw. I first sawed into the frame and then cut each of the supports off one at a time. I left a little material from the edge of the piece so as to make sure I didn’t cut into the part I needed.
I then sanded both the inside edges flat and glued together using wood glue.
I didn’t want to mark the wood by putting it in my large rusty vice so I decided to bind it with some copper wire. I found this was better for keeping the edges aligned to each other. When using the vice, I found the two sections more difficult to keep aligned.
After leaving the glue to dry solid, I filed down the excess supports using a large steel file. The smaller sections which was harder to file I used a small flat needle file. The wood was much nicer to work in than the previous one I used. The walnut felt much stronger and I could feel the difference in quality and way it worked instantly.
After filing off the supports I sanded the piece all over through different ascending sandpapers.
After sanding I put a layer of Danish oil on the wood and rubbed it back after a few minutes using a polishing cloth. I will repeat this every day for the next seven days. The Danish oil is bringing out the grain nicely. I will order silver to make the cup section within the next week.
A Tool Making Approach through digital technologies. 