How to Turn a Holiday Ornament

TRANSCRIPT

Hi, my name is Louis, and today we’re going to turn a holiday ornament. This is a project for an advanced or experienced intermediate woodturner. It involves chuck work, spindle work, drilling and assembly, so you’ll get to use a range of tools and skills.

We’re making this ornament from two types of wood. The finial starts as one piece, which we’ll turn and then cut into a top and bottom. The main body starts as a cube.

It’s important that the block is a true cube. This one measures 1¾ inches on each side. We’ll drill holes in four of its six faces, and they need to be well centred. Otherwise, the ornament will be crooked. Once we’ve drilled the cube, we’ll mount it on a pen mandrel and shape it.

For the finial, you can use a pen blank or another small, square piece of wood. We’ll mount it in the chuck, turn the top and bottom sections, and part them off. Then we’ll put everything together. The only problem with these ornaments is that turning them is addictive. You may find yourself making dozens to give away, sell or auction. They do take a little tool control, so let’s set up the lathe and get started.

We’ve mounted a chuck with number two jaws on the lathe. The cube fits directly between the jaws, with its corners gripped securely, so there’s no need to make a tenon. Pay attention to the direction of the grain. We’ll be applying pressure as we shape the piece, and we want the grain oriented so the block doesn’t split.

With the block seated in the chuck, we’ll drill a shallow chamfer on each end of the centre hole. The chamfer will let the finial sit neatly against the rounded surface of the ornament without leaving a gap. If you don’t have a suitable bit, you can use the corner of a skew chisel to make a chamfer of about 45 degrees. For drilling, we’ll run the lathe slowly, at around 500 RPM.

Now that the block has a small chamfer on each side, we’ll drill all the way through it with a 7 mm bit, like the one used for pen turning. This hole will take the shaft of the pen mandrel while we turn the ornament. Go slowly and clear the bit as needed.

The centre hole establishes the vertical axis of the ornament. Next, we’ll take the block out of the chuck and drill the other four faces to create its side openings. We’ll use a 1-inch, or 26 mm, Forstner bit. Drill each hole a little past the centre so all four openings meet inside the block. Keep the holes centred and at an equal distance from the edges.

With the four side openings drilled, we can turn the cube into the rounded body of the ornament. We’ll pass a standard pen mandrel through the 7 mm centre hole. You can use nylon pen-turning bushings or make your own bushings that fit into the chamfers. Tighten the assembly enough to hold the block, but don’t overtighten it.

We can begin with a roughing gouge to remove the corners, then refine the shape with a spindle gouge or skew chisel. I’m wearing safety glasses; in my own shop, I would normally wear a face shield. Make sure nothing loose is hanging near the lathe. We’ll bring the speed up to about 1,200 to 1,400 RPM and let the lathe reach full speed before cutting.

I’ll place the tool on the rest and rub the bevel against the wood first, without cutting. Once I know where the surface is, I can raise the handle slightly and begin removing material. Take light cuts. If the block starts to spin on the bushings, stop and add a little more pressure to the mandrel, taking care not to crush the work.

As I cut, I keep the tool close to my body and move with my hips rather than reaching with my arms. The openings let me see how much wood remains at the corners. Don’t try to make every part of the piece a complete circle: you could cut through the thin areas around the openings. Judge the shape by the corners and check it frequently with the lathe stopped.

The roughing gouge has taken us most of the way. I’ll switch to a spindle gouge to shape the ends. I use an underhand grip, with a finger beneath the tool rest, and rotate the tool while raising the handle. I’ll work a little at a time on each side.

At this stage, there’s a rounded area at either end and a flatter section between them. You could keep that as a design feature. For this ornament, I’m aiming for a more ball-like shape, so I’ll continue taking small cuts. Be careful with the last cut; it’s often the one that goes too far and breaks through the piece.

I’m watching the profile at the back of the turning piece to see the result of each cut. I’ll reduce the top slightly and give it a dome. Once I’m happy with the shape, I’ll sand it while it’s on the mandrel without pressing into the openings. After removing it, I’ll use soft sandpaper to ease the edges inside the holes.

Now we’ll turn the finial. A pen blank works well, but choose wood with fairly straight grain. A delicate finial can break under sideways pressure if the grain is irregular. This piece is torrefied maple. It looks a little like walnut, but it’s maple.

I’ve mounted the blank in spigot jaws. You could turn a finial between centres, though that makes the final shaping trickier. First, we’ll make the blank round. If you’re comfortable using a skew, a peeling cut works well. Keep it firmly supported on the tool rest. You can also use a roughing gouge. Near the chuck, I turn the gouge to use its flatter side and form a shoulder, which helps me avoid running the tool into the jaws.

We’ll shape the finial from right to left, moving toward the chuck. I’ll start its long curve with a spindle gouge. To make a smooth arc, I use my hip as a pivot point and move my body with the tool. We’ll form the tip first, then work toward the rounded detail and bead. I’m leaving the tip attached to the live centre for now so it has support while I shape the rest.

Next, we’ll create a bead near the top and angle the section that will meet the chamfer in the ornament’s body. We also need a shaft, or tenon, that fits the 7 mm centre hole. You can judge the size by eye, but a 7 mm open-end wrench makes a handy gauge. The tenon needs to be long enough to reach into the cube and meet the other finial section. I’ll use a parting tool to bring it down to size, aiming for a length of roughly ¾ to 1 inch. Stop the lathe before checking the fit if you aren’t comfortable holding the gauge near the turning piece.

I’ll refine the shoulder so it sits neatly against the ornament. Then I can move the tailstock away and make the finial’s tip more pointed. This part is delicate: pushing too hard could break it. If you prefer, remove the piece from the lathe and shape the tip with sandpaper or a small drum sander.

With the shape complete, we’ll separate the finial into its top and bottom pieces. You can use a parting tool; for a piece this small, I like to use a small saw for one of the cuts. I’ll support the piece with my hand as I finish parting it off.

All the parts are ready for assembly. The ornament body has been sanded, including the edges inside the openings. The finial sections fit into the 7 mm centre hole with a snug fit.

You can leave the openings empty or add a small decoration inside. Store-bought ornaments, little balls, a tiny gift or another piece you’ve turned could all work. Choose something that fits the size of your openings.

At this point, I’ll finish the ornament. I find spray lacquer from a can to be a quick way to reach all its surfaces. You can choose a gloss or matte finish. Hang the ornament, spray a couple of coats, and let it dry.

I hope you enjoyed the project. It brings together chuck work, drilling, spindle turning, detail work and careful fitting. There’s plenty of room to change the shape and what goes inside. Keep turning—you may end up making dozens of them.