Christmas Gift Tags
John U
>A fun little project - Christmas gift tags! These are made from cutoffs from bowl blanks � including figured/burl maple, redwood, apple, and canary wood. They range in size from about 1.5-inches to 2-inches diameter, and less than 1/8� thick. All were soaked in Danish oil after turning, until all shown were finish turned.
I sliced the cutoffs approximately 3/16 � 1/4 inch thick, and cut into rough hexagon shapes. Using my vacuum chuck and support with the tailstock, I trued them round. Then, after removing the tailstock, shaped and sanded the front face. After sanding, I cut two fine grooves to highlight the area where I will write who the gift is for. After touching up lightly with the final sanding grit, I flipped them over in the vacuum chuck, shaped and sanded the back side.
Since the vacuum chuck I used is only a 1.25� PVC coupling with leather seal, I learned that high lathe speed, VERY sharp tools, and VERY light cuts were needed; otherwise, these tags would pop off and go flying (I�m still missing one somewhere in my garage).
To tag along with the "how much vacuum" thread earlier --- I was pulling 22"+ Hg on the ones without voids, and would still pop them off the small vacuum chuck because of the small surface area.
