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Multipart series on making a French rolling pin with oval inserts

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Read more about Part #5 Some Final Thoughts

Part #5 Some Final Thoughts

In Part #1, I mentioned that the pattern of the Celtic knot can be varied by how much wood is removed during the creation of the slots. Typically, I plow out a 3/8" wide slot and fill it with three inserts. That technique results in a pattern of knots that overlap-       If the slot is cut, leaving a center slice of wood intact, and then placing an insert on each side; the pattern displays diamonds at the cross-over-         Another subtle

• 6 Comments
• 2,027 views

• lew
• October 19, 20197 yr

Read more about Part #4 The Glue-up and Turning

Part #4 The Glue-up and Turning

I found it easier to glue if I oriented the blank with the diagonal cut facing up. I use an old restaurant cutting board as a gluing work surface and pieces of the cutting board as culls and pads. In this picture, you can see the three strips to be glued into place. They measure 2” x 10 3/4” x 1/8”. Test fit the pieces first to make sure they will seat into the slot. (I now have a thick piece of Corian countertop for the gluing surface)     On my first attempt, I didn’t use

• 13 Comments
• 4,963 views

• lew
• October 19, 20197 yr

Read more about Part#3 Making the cuts

Part#3 Making the cuts

Once the blank has the layout lines drawn, it is time to cut the slots for the ellipses. The first step is to set the blade height. When the cut is made, there should be about 3/32" to 1/8” of material left holding the two sides together. This is necessary during the glue up by keeping the pieces aligned.   Set the blank on the jig and adjust the angle and the end stop so that the front SHORTER layout line is positioned to the LEFT side of the blade cut. Orientation is

• 1 Comment
• 1,961 views

• lew
• October 19, 20197 yr

Read more about Part#2 Layout

Part#2 Layout

The second part will concentrate on the layout of the rolling pin blank in preparation for cutting the slots. Create a blank that is 22” long and 2” square.    Locate the center of the length (11”) and carry a line around the blank.   The ellipses are 11” long and made of three pieces of 1/8” thick material Layout a mark 5 ½” on either side of the centerline and accurately carry the lines around the blank.   To assist in laying out the diagona

• 3 Comments
• 1,918 views

• lew
• October 19, 20197 yr

Read more about Part 1- The jigs

Part 1- The jigs

This is a re-post on the Celtic Knot Rolling Pin. I am a fan of “Cook Book” style instructions so if I miss any details, please let me know and I will try to flesh them out. In addition, many of these photos/procedures have been refined over time and I will try to point them out by adding extra photos rather than rewriting the entire blog. I thought it best to start with the jigs I used to prepare the turning blanks. Please note that I always over engineer everything and hardly ever see the

• 1 Comment
• 2,049 views

• lew
• October 19, 20197 yr