Check out this demo on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWWw5HHzvFw&feature=related

The fellow has an old treddle lathe that spins about 200 rpm. He creates these spectacular wooden flowers out of 1/2-inch diameter hazelnut sun shoots. Unfortunately in my neck of the woods (southeastern Michigan) hazelnuts are not common, so I’m in the process of drying out some lilac shoots instead. I’ll report on success or lack thereof in a few months. If you are in a region that has hazelnut trees, maybe we can work out a deal for you to send me some branches.

Regards,
Sir Robert

One thing I’ve noticed about woodworking magazines is that they take essentially the same jig and write ten articles about it, changing it cosmetically each time. For example, how many table saw sleds have you seen in the past year? They all do the same thing! Why not combine a sled with a taper jig and a fixed-angle mitering jig?

My process for creating multi-jigs is as follows:
1. Look for jigs with similar functionality and blend designs.
2. Omit features that unnecessarily over-specialize the jig to a single purpose.
3. If possible, combine jigs that would typically not be used at the same stage of a woodworking project. This will preclude switching settings back and forth on your multi-jig.

By combining jigs, you’ll reduce clutter in your shop.