Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 90.djvu/944

 928

��Popular Science Monthly

��Combining Different Woods to Make Fancy Indian Clubs

TO make the Indian clubs shown in the accompanying illustration, nine separate pieces and five different varieties of wood were glued together and turned to shape on the lathe. The resulting com- bination was very attractive and the work looked like a job of the very best inlay. No more than ordinary care was required to get a smooth appearing piece of work. Plenty of clamps were at hand, and the best glue obtainable was used in building up the pieces, the glue being given plenty of time for drying thoroughly before the next work was done.

The center stick was first squared up, mak- ing the surfaces exactly i}/^ in. each way, and 1 8 in. long. To this stock two pieces of walnut 7/16 in. thick were glued, leaving the edges rough and projecting, as shown by the dotted line Fig. i. After the stick had dried in a warm place for 12 hours, the clamps were removed and the edges planed down, even with the stock. Two more 7/16-in. walnut pieces were glued to the other two sides, as shown in Fig. 2, and the rough edges planed as before. The result was a stick 2 in. square. In the same manner another layer of different woods, ^ in. thick was built up. The last layer was used to make the heavy end of the club. Its length is only 12 in. measur- ing from the thick end.

��SURFACE HERE

��^SURFACE HERE

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��F1G3 END VIEW

��FIG. 4 TO FIND CENTER

��Manner of arranging the different woods for making the outside contrasts to the surface

The piece was then ready to be put into the lathe. Great care was taken to find the exact center of the i^-in. center piece, as illustrated in Fig. 4. Failure to get the

���The appearance of the clubs when finished

��piece properly centered in the lathe will result in unequal faces of wood in the clubs. By using a gouge, the block was quickly rounded. A mark was made about ]/2 i"* from the heavy end, and exactly 17 in. measured off to the end of the handle. At 13^ in. from the handle end the piece was cut in to J^ in., the final size. The ij^-in. part was turned down to a ball iJ4 in. in diame- ter, to form the handle. The base of the club is 1^3 in. thick, and at a point 5 in. from the base the diameter is 2^ in. The stick was turned smoothly be- tween these points, giv- ing the shape as shown in the photograph. Most of the cutting was done with the gouge, and the piece was finished with the skew chisel.

In order that the pair of clubs should match up well, it was necessary to use care in cutting the second one to the exact size of the first. To do this, the finished club was measured every inch, and the diameter of the second was made exactly the same as that of the first club at all corresponding points.

After cutting to size, all chisel marks were removed with a medium-grained sand- paper, and the piece was finished with No. GO (very fine) sandpaper. While still in the lathe each club was given a coating of linseed oil, which was rubbed in with a rag. Following this, a coating of shellac was put on and dried, then rubbed smooth with No. 00 sandpaper. The club was then removed from the lathe and the rough ends were cut and smoothed. A coat of floor wax well rubbed on produced a high polish and proved to be an excellent finish.

Good contrasting effects were obtained by the use of the different woods. The clubs in the photograph have a center of sugar maple, a layer of black walnut, and top pieces of red cedar, burr oak, and red oak. Various results may be had by com- binations of other contrasting woods. It is best for the beginner to practice on cheaper woods until he is thoroughly familiar with the lathe. — Dean G. Carter.

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