I call them gift ornaments because they screw apart and you can hide gifts inside. We are going to see if they will sell at the Craft Center. My other ornaments sell but these will be a fair amount higher in price. Haven't decided exactly how high. going to call the gallery director monday and have a conversation about that.
Most are threaded directly using the Baxter threader however some woods are too weak to hold a sturdy thread so I add inserts out of wood or sometimes like the one on the right I use colored epoxy.
I disquise the joint in various ways and here is a photo.
John, those are beautiful and creative. And look like a lot of work. Hope you can get the price they deserve.
Two things. I made about forty ornaments and sold some at craft fairs. The ones shaped like bells sold best. Bells with handles. Teachers bells. Took a while to find the proportions. The bell is about the same diameter at the flare as the height. The handle is about 2 1/2 to three time the height of the bell. The handle penetrates through the top of the bell and the clapper hangs from the nub of the handle. I turned some clapper beads but also use boght beads. I also turned some out of little blocks of burl with ragged bottom edges. Those went well too.
Sold all of those I had and a few of the others. One person bought five of them. time for me to make more.
I like your finials and drops. I sometimes turn a little acorn on the bottom end. People recognised it and like it.
Barry I've already turned almost 50 ornaments (not counting these 10) that I donate to our club Christmas tree. We use it to sell ornaments and raise money for a charity. Mine sell pretty well. I started doing the acorn on the bottom simply because people like it. When I sell in shows (which is rare because I don't like doing them) all of my ornaments sell so I haven't been able to pinpoint a style that moves best. I did find out a long time ago that Christmas ornaments need to be glossy.
Still trying to decide. Ive only done these for gifts in the past. Im going to talk to the gallery director and out our heads together on what mighr sell. What would you guys sell them for. They sell the nice Bob Rosand ornaments for $45.
David I sell my normal ornaments for $25 but that's just so they will move quickly. I can make them pretty quick and don't use a lot of exotic woods. Of course I don't make much after the gallery takes their cut. Ideally they should sell for a little more. Nothing sells for what it should in my area. consequently you learn to turn fast and use firewood so theirs no material cost.
I've never tried to sell an ornament (except those donated for charity are sold), but I also found out the bell ornaments were in hot demand as gifts! I haven't had a single person turn one down. :-)
I didn't research the proportions but ended up with the same diameter-to-flare ratio by the eyeball method. I turn a small piece with a tenon to fit through the top of the bell and glue into a hole in the handle. I cut one in half to show:
I do one thing different now which is a little quicker: instead of putting eyes on both ends of the connecting wire I put a loop in just the top and epoxy the straight bottom end into a hole drilled into the clapper.
I never measured the handles but these looked about right to me from what I remember watching a handbell choir. (this is an old picture from 9 years ago)
Way behind this year, headed to the shop this afternoon to make a few more.
Those are beauties. Your shape is slightly different from mine. I don't have a picture, they all sold. How do you do the clappers? I just turn a bead, never thought of the little hanger. Yours are also very thin. Do you get any tone? Mine do not make a pleasant tone.
Mine make kind of a clack! Hard exotics like ebony and rosewoods make a louder clack. I've been meaning to try making one from sassafras - thin sassafras has more of a ring to it than any other wood. Maybe I'll do one with the batch I'm making now...
(This reminds me of the guy who turned a working trumpet. He said it sounded kind of like a duck.)
My clappers are turned from the same wood as the handle, mostly for looks. I thought about turning a brass clapper; it might make a better sound.
I know some people turn bells without clappers. That's not fair! I think a bell should have a clapper even if it thuds instead of rings! :-)
I turned a couple recently from acrylic. One came out very nice, turned from green acrylic so dark it looked black. Since the bells are thick at the top and very thin at the rim the color was perfect, dark at the top and lighter green at the rim. I took pictures so I'll post some when I get time. The acrylic bells "click" instead of "clack."
I also learned the hard way not to use acrylic that is a light color. I make these so thin that the color is almost gone - might as well have used clear acrylic!
I turn a little bead for the clappers and a small piece for the top hanger, both on the same piece of wood. I cut a little cone, flatten it with a scalpel, then drill a hole sideways for the wire.
As I mentioned, I used to make a loop on the wire on both top and bottom but I do it an easier way now. I found straight brass wires at the hobby shop with a loop formed on one end. I spread the loop and fit it onto the hanger, the part that has a tenon that is then glued into the end of the handle to hold the thing together. Then I drill a hole in the clapper (an elongated bead now) straight down into the top, cut the wire to the right length, and glue it into the clapper. This is easier and works as well.
I know some people use a flexible bit of something like stiff fishing line and just glue it in top and bottom.
I dropped them off at the Gallery and she said that she will make a separate display for those with the sign. Usually they place items all over the place and only jewelry is grouped with individual artists. So I feel lucky that they are doing this but it's also very necessary to close the sale.
I knew Norris White back when I lived in PA. He was a terrific turner and very much loved bells. (Huge collection in his home and one very loud one outside.) I think he would have loved to have seen these.
I had an idea for a bell turning that might be of interest to you. A trembleur of bells. It would be a tricky turning, as trembleurs tend to be. Hollowing the bells would be especially challenging. I imagine two beads would need to be turned below each bell, the first would serve to hold the bell and allow it to rock on the stem and the second would be the clapper for the bell. The first could be as small as possible to keep the bell from sliding down and does not necessarily have to be round.
Anyway, I think it would be an interesting trembleur, maybe one you'd be interested in trying.
Yikes, I can't imagine how I'd hollow them, at least not with the technique I use now. I use an old Craftsman diamond parting tool and drive it into the end grain, starting in the middle then working to the outside. I tried a number of things before I hit on this and it works surprisingly well, very quick, and gives a thin wall with minimal cleanup. However, there is a significant amount of force towards the headstock. I've turned some long thin (simple) spindles but have never used a steady rest. Maybe some solid bell-shaped sections?
I thought this was fascinating, a trembleur competition:
Just the visual picture of your concept gave me an idea for a string of bells, maybe 6-8 all hanging with a cord instead of a central thin trembleur shaft, displayed perhaps on either side of a doorway.
