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Christmas Ear Rings


CharleyL

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I made a few of these for Christmas this year. The ear ring reindeer are just over 1" tall. I also made some reindeer pins from 2 1/2" tall reindeer. All were compound cut. The reindeer for the ear rings were made from hard maple and the ones for the pins were made from poplar. All were cut on my DeWalt 788 scroll saw using FD1R blades.

 

Sorry about the fuzzy pictures. This camera doesn't do macro very well.

 

Charley

 

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Edited by CharleyL
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I don't sell anything that I make, and never have.  My extended family and close friends consume most of what I make.

 

These ear rings and pins went to close friends and relatives this past Christmas, along with 72 compound cut ornaments cut from patterns by Diana Thompson. I used many different hard woods to make the ornaments and all were clear finished so that the natural color of the wood shows. A few of these are in the photos attached,  along with some slot type 3D ornaments (I did paint some of these) that I also made and gave away,

 

I made a total of 428 reindeer of all four sizes last year, and gave away all but about a dozen of the largest size this past Christmas Season. The block showing the four sizes of reindeer was made for me so that I could keep track of which size I was making at any given time. The largest and smallest reindeer were easy to keep track of, but the two middle sizes were confusing sometimes. The largest reindeer take me about 8 minutes each to cut. The smallest take me about 15 minutes to cut. The eyes and red nose are applied with permanent marking pens. I light sand them to remove the fuzzy edges with fingernail sanding sticks, sometimes trimming these sticks narrower to fit where needed.

 

For the past 6 Christmas Seasons, beginning right after Thanksgiving and continuing until about New Years, I've been giving away the largest size of these reindeer (about 3 1/2" high) to any woman cashier, waitress, sales clerk, nurse, etc. who waits on me or helps me in any way while I'm out shopping, dining, etc ( most men don't appreciate them, except for other woodworkers).  I also give them to children over about 8, if I'm allowed to do so by their parents.

 

I usually place one in the palm of my hand with my palm facing down, so they don't see what I have. As my transaction with them ends I wish them a "Merry Christmas" and I hold out my hand toward them. When they reach out to me, I drop the reindeer into their hand. I most always get a huge smile and a "thank you", but frequently I also get hugged and sometimes kissed on the cheek. It's kind of weird how the women get so excited when they receive one of these. It shows them that they are appreciated for what they are doing and it helps us both get more into the Christmas spirit.

 

This year my wife made me buy a Santa Hat to wear while I do this, but our Christmas Season this Christmas was in the 60's and 70's here, so my car wore the hat on it's dashboard more than I wore it. She thinks I'm crazy to spend so much time making and giving them away, but I love Christmas and giving gifts, however small they are, if the receiving person appreciates what I give them. 

 

I've been doing compound cut scroll sawing for about 6 years now. I was hooked on it when I first tried doing it, and haven't scroll sawn much else since then. Diana Thompson's patterns are great, but I haven't been happy with the compound cut pattern books by Frank Pozsgai. My reindeer pattern originally came from Mathias Wandel's website www.woodgears.ca, but I cleaned it up some and resized it, then filled 8 1/2 X 11 sheets with as many as would fit, to be cut out and used with a minimum waste of paper. Since the compound cut reindeer or ornament ends up completely inside the block of wood, there is never a problem with pattern removal when compound cutting. It all goes in the trash still stuck to the off cuts. 

 

I'm new to Scroll Saw Village, but I have been using and teaching scroll sawing for about 25 years now. 

 

Attached are photos of some of the ornaments and samples of the four sizes of reindeer that I make.

 

Thanks everyone for your positive comments. I really appreciate them.

 

Charley

 

 

 

 

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I made a few of these for Christmas this year. The ear ring reindeer are just over 1" tall. I also made some reindeer pins from 2 1/2" tall reindeer. All were compound cut. The reindeer for the ear rings were made from hard maple and the ones for the pins were made from poplar. All were cut on my DeWalt 788 scroll saw using FD1R blades.

 

Sorry about the fuzzy pictures. This camera doesn't do macro very well.

 

Charley

 

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My camera doesn't do macro good either.but i found that if i wait  a few seconds the camera refocuses its self and the shots wll be clearer.projects look great thanks

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