Project by ABarr | posted 01-25-2013 12:47 AM | 2682 views | 2 times favorited | 13 comments | ![]() |
![]() |
What goes better than wood and flame? How about wooden flames plus pearls? :)
Here’s my entry for the January contest. I made this necklace with 27 pieces of Padouk, Spalted Maple, Curly Maple, Osage Orange, Black Walnut, Tulipwood, Brazilian Rosewood and Ebony. I cut each one on the scroll saw (after making a sample version in poplar – thank you cheap wood from HD!) and burred out recesses so that my baroque pearls can nestle down into the padouk flames. It took awhile, but each one sits down in. Here’s (I hope!) what it looked like at that stage.
and fitting the pearls
Next up I used my flex shaft with a tiny drill-press attachment to drill all the holes for the neck wire to go through. With such thin pieces, I find I have to drill with up to 10 different size bits getting bigger and bigger so I don’t split the woods.
I used ball burrs and a lot of hand sanding to texture each flame and then it was on to finishing. Each piece has two coats of Sealcoat and two coats of spar varnish to help with UV protection. That turned out to make things so sparkly that lots of folks think it’s made of pottery rather than wood! Here are the pieces drying.
Something I learned: after painstakingly shaping each one so that it fit perfectly against it’s neighbors lying flat on the board you see in the photo, I then put a neckwire through it and found I had to reshape each one again so it fit perfectly when draped against the neck! Looks seamless now, but next time I’ll DEFINITELY plan on that beforehand.
With everything fitting nicely, I cut lengths of sterling silver tubing, shaped each one to fit perfectly in the holes (had to make sure they weren’t too wide or they pushed the other flames out of flush) and epoxied them in place.
Finally I drilled into the backside of the pearls and installed 2-3 silver posts in each, like you’d have in pearl earrings. The posts extended out and fit into matching holes I drilled in the recesses in the padouk.
Put everything on my fabricated sterling silver neck wire and done! Took about 50 hours, but well worth it!
Thanks to my co-worker Elise for modeling and Doug Yaple for the awesome full necklace photo. Hope you all like it!
-- www.aaronbarr.com
13 comments so far
Raymond Thomas
home | projects | blog
189 posts in 2184 days
#1 posted 01-25-2013 12:56 AM
Great looking necklace arrived after a good design and a lot of follow through. Very colorful! Well executed.
-- Raymond, Charlotte, NC -------- Demonstrate the difference!
WoodenFrog
home | projects | blog
2737 posts in 2878 days
#2 posted 01-25-2013 01:28 AM
Very Nice Great work!
-- Robert B. Sabina, Ohio..... http://www.etsy.com/shop/WoodenfrogWoodenProd
Monte Pittman
home | projects | blog
28923 posts in 2303 days
#3 posted 01-25-2013 01:37 AM
Awesome job. Beautiful.
-- Mother Nature created it, I just assemble it.
Jim Jakosh
home | projects | blog
20285 posts in 3071 days
#4 posted 01-25-2013 02:50 AM
Wow, that is really cool!!!!
-- Jim Jakosh.....Practical Wood Products...........Learn something new every day!! Variety is the Spice of Life!!
majuvla
home | projects | blog
12082 posts in 2833 days
#5 posted 01-25-2013 08:17 AM
Suddenly I feel warm,excellent job!
-- Ivan, Croatia, Wooddicted
MShort
home | projects | blog
1789 posts in 3383 days
#6 posted 01-25-2013 01:29 PM
Beautiful necklace.
-- Mike, Missouri --- “A positive life can not happen with a negative mind.” ---
ABarr
home | projects | blog
14 posts in 2622 days
#7 posted 01-25-2013 08:05 PM
Thanks everybody! I feel warm, too, Ivan, from all your nice comments! This really was a great project – working on an “over-the-top” piece rather than the more simple pieces I usually do. It’s great to be forced to stretch a bit! Next I’m thinking of creating a necklace inspired by Alice in Wonderland – we’ll see how it goes.
Good luck to everyone in the contest!
-- www.aaronbarr.com
Brad
home | projects | blog
1139 posts in 2705 days
#8 posted 01-25-2013 08:58 PM
ABarr, excellent work, excellent results and excellent photography. You cover every step to include using an attractive model to showcase your work. Absolutely critical step to selling your work…but then, you know that don’t you :) You should have her wear it to a cocktail party and record the comments she gets. Talk about market research.
-- "People's lives are their own rewards or punishments."
whitebeast88
home | projects | blog
4128 posts in 2155 days
#9 posted 01-25-2013 09:41 PM
great necklace!!!
-- Marty.Athens,AL
Roger
home | projects | blog
20923 posts in 2769 days
#10 posted 01-28-2013 02:52 PM
Very kool. Nice combos of woods. Good luck in the contest
-- Roger from KY. Work/Play/Travel Safe. Keep your dust collector fed. Kentuk55@yahoo.com
maricamp
home | projects | blog
66 posts in 2633 days
#11 posted 02-02-2013 01:53 AM
Fabulous!
Joe Lyddon
home | projects | blog
10046 posts in 4017 days
#12 posted 02-05-2013 07:36 PM
Wonderful project!
HOT job!
Yes, Beautiful…. so is the necklace! <grin>
Thank you.
-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Alta Loma, CA USA - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?ppuser=1389&cat=500"
mmh
home | projects | blog
3676 posts in 3687 days
#13 posted 02-05-2013 10:48 PM
Nicely designed and executed!
-- "They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." ~ Edgar Allan Poe
Have your say...