Sycamore Bell Ornament

[Steve K]

Anyone who has Sycamore trees in their yard knows one thing for certain! They lose a lot of limbs. I hate to think how many of them I've burned. The other day I noticed a limb was down and it was about 3" or so in diameter. On a whim I cut it into short lengths. The moisture content was about 12% but I thought maybe it would be okay if turned to less than a quarter inch or there abouts. So far I've turned a few bells from the limb and I like them. This one has been in the house for about a week and shows no adverse effects. Thanks for looking.

[RickM1]

Very cool. I like it.

[badwhiskey]

Nice.

[RokJok]

Pretty!! Very nice use of what would otherwise be firewood. And appropriate with Christmas headed our way in the not too distant future.

What is the accent wood? Walnut?

[Dusty Workshop]

I like it.

How did you insert /hang the striker?

[Steve K]

Dusty Workshop said:

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I like it.

How did you insert /hang the striker?

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First to Rokjok; yes, the accent wood is walnut.

I use 10lb test braided fishing line.
I drill all the way through the finial/handle part with a #60 drill bit. The hole will go off center a little but as it's up inside the bell that's not a big deal.




Before I part the striker off I also drill into that with the same drill bit.



Then I turn a little tapered pin that will fit in the drilled hole, fit the striker to it and lightly score it with a razor knife.





I insert the line in the striker, put a drop of medium ca on the pin and push into the striker and snap it off.

Now the striker is hanging from the fishing line. I turn another pin for the top. By feeding the line through the top I can dry fit and adjust the line to hang the striker where want it. Then I repeat the process with pin and ca to fix the line to the top.





Snip the line, put in the screw eye, glue the finial in place and you're done. Whew, I think it takes longer to explain it than it does to actually do it!!



These just have Myland's on the outside. I don't finish the inside of them the same. For the inside I mix some Christmas tree scented oil with some mineral oil. That way, even an artificial tree will smell like Christmas. Of course, a person could use any scented oil for that matter.
If I didn't explain a step will enough please let me know and I'll try again. Thanks for your interest!!

[Scoots]

Sweet!!! I've never gotten around to turning any ornaments but always want to. There just seems to be another project that's on my mind at the time. Hopefully one of these days I will try to make one of these. Thanks for all the pics.

[Arlin Eastman]

Steve

I like is. Good save on the wood. That is one of my favorite American woods.

Arlin

[AHill]

Very cool! Clever idea on mixing the scented oil for the inside. I gotta try that - cuz I have an artificial tree.

[Martin S.]

Bump