Sometime at the end of September or the beginning of October, I turned these little projects. I was still working with the laminating of wood to make a design with the turning. Here is a picture of the two blocks which I glued together. The one of the left is two blocks glued together with a thin white band between them. The blank on the right is an attempt to make a double-cross design. I followed THESE instructions for making it but it did not turn out the way I was hoping (I will give specifics below). Here are the blanks:


The first (left) blank I turned into a toothpick/money holder. I used a kit I bought from Craft Supplies USA and it made a nice little project. I think the band is a nice contrast to the rest of the holder. NOTE: To make sure the band finished in the middle of the tube, I had to measure from each end of the whole blank, Then when I inserted the tube into the blank, I had to make sure I inserted it enough to make sure the band landed in the middle.


This final picture is the result of the double-cross pen attempt. This did not turn out a good as I wanted but it still looked OK. First of all, if you are wanting to attempting this, use much thinner inserts than I used. I used wood which was way to thick and way to soft. Therefore, when I began to turn it, the small the blank got, the more muddled the bands got until it just looks a white glob on the dark wood blank. The soft wood also made way too many nicks and chips. However, it still was a cool looking design. Next time I attempt this, I will need to find a way to make a more accurate cut so that the bands are more symmetrical then what my attempt turned out. It took a while to cut, glue, cut, glue, etc. but I think this could be a great, unique feature for turning.


I have really enjoyed the gluing of different woods to make patterns and unique blanks. I have several scraps which I will continue glue to make unique blanks. I will post as I do.