G’day all.
Pic of oysters ready for flattening.
26"X6"
Mesquite edging, Sage brush oysters.

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Gene
'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

This is going to look so neat!

Will you sand or route it smooth? 

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!

Lew,

I'll use a sled and router to even out the oysters. The pic doesn't show it well, but they are all of different thicknesses. An artifact of trying to cross cut twisted stock. 

After the router does it's thing, the voids will be filled with turquoise and epoxy. Then sanded smooth. Only then, will the piece be cut for the box sides and ends. 

I'm thinking a solid piece of mesquite (with voids, also) for the top and BB for the bottom. Flocking for the box interior.

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Gene
'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

Now that is just way too interesting. I like the sound of the finish.

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John Moody
Site Administrator


John Moody Woodworks
http://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com

Gene they look really nice. You should blog this project. I'd like to see how you do this.

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www.thepatriotwoodworker.com Proud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops

Mike & John,

Pure boredom and lots of scrap can result in some interesting stuff.
Took most of yesterday to build a one time (maybe) use sled for the router. Crossing my fingers that the oysters don't blow out. I suspicioned that the planer was a no go but, I tried it anyway. One oyster promptly left it's spot and pieces of it hit the wall. Suspicions confirmed!

Mike,

As with most everything I do, there was no prior planning. Planning is for wimps. :-) I like surprises. 

Consequently, no pictures for a blog. So, here's a text version.

The lengths of sage were cleaned and then cut on a band saw. I used a stop to get consistent thicknesses. (another surprise. It was only semi successful). I figured out the dimensions of the box and cut a piece of scrap 3/8 ply about 2" oversize, to accommodate those dimensions. Then I glued the oysters on the plywood. The trunks of "Large Sage" are made up of several smaller "stems" ( it truly is just a woody weed) so, when placed on the plywood substrate, there are lots of gaps. Being really cheap, I didn't want to fill all those gaps with expensive turquoise and epoxy. I needed to fill in those gaps with smaller pieces. Where I couldn't find a piece or pieces to fit, I placed tracing paper over the void and traced it's outline, Then used 3M 77 to glue it on a larger oyster and cut it out with the scroll saw. "Close" was all I was aiming for. Often, I had to use a Dremel with a sanding mandrel with a 1/2' or 1/4' drum to finesse the fit.

The oysters were placed to overhang one edge of the plywood so that when that edge was ripped (remember the 2" oversize?)  there wouldn't be any gaps on that edge. After that cut, there was an edge to run against the fence to cut the other edge after the oysters were glued on with an overhang. 

Another surprise. There were still small triangular gaps! No problem. To cover the edge of the plywood substrate, I glued on the mesquite sticks seen in the picture. Now, those gaps along the edges can be filled easily with the turquoise filler. 

So, that's where the oyster project is now. I'll have some pics of the sled and router set up today. And HOPEFULLY, pics of the leveled oysters with NO BLOWOUTS, too. We'll see.

More later. Wish me luck with the router!!!!

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Gene
'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

Crossing my fingers that the oysters don't blow out

You can do more than cross fingers.

Use the smallest diameter cutter you can bear to use and  use a down spiral cutter.

This will minimize the forces  that might shred the little things or pop them.

Some blew!

Used a bowl bit. 

I used CA for some of the small oysters, those less than 3/4" dia. +or-. Those blew. A lesson learned.

Another thing, I should have partially filled the voids with epoxy PRIOR to routing. 

Oh well, a bit more turquoise than originally planned. 

Got about half filled last night. Finish filling today. Then tomorrow, sand and cut. I'm only running about 4 days behind my estimate. So, what else is new?

The unfinished gun cabinet is still there, mocking me. I think I heard it giggle each time an oyster left it's spot. 

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Gene
'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton