Wishing You a Merry Christmas

Years ago, we bought a cross from some organization that was raising funds for the Holy Land. It is made of olive wood, supposedly from local trees but looks mass produced.  It is also just one cross. My wife has been after me for some time to make her some crosses for other areas of the house and so with Christmas nearing, I thought it was the perfect time to finally fulfill that wish. I sorted through my scrap pile of small pieces that were too big for me to throw away and picked out some contrasting small chunks in quarter sawn sycamore (lighter wood) and walnut (darker wood). 

In the weeks before Christmas, it is too cold for me to do any gluing or finishing out in my garage so I am limited. To compensate, I did my cutting out in the garage and then brought the pieces inside on days my wife was at work for the actually gluing and finishing parts. Not ideal but it got the job done and kept them secret until today. I also started off with four of them but broke one in a catastrophic failure on the tablesaw that ended with flying chunks of wood.  It happens when one encounters hidden defects inside chunks of wood which is why I practice safety and wear safety gear. I wasn't injured but the flying cross remains ended up in my scrap bucket bound for the fireplace. It is also why I tend to make more than I actually need when it comes to smallish parts like these. 

I was able to complete the remaining three and was happy with how they turned out. I was able to find some leftover picture hanging doohickies that I attached to the backs so my wife can hang them where ever she pleases. The contrasting woods turned out well. Best of all, I learned some lessons so if she or someone else were to desire some in the future, I know what I would do differently.

I wish my readers and their families a very Merry Christmas. My blog will go silent as my family heads off on a bit of a road trip for a week or so. I may find time and wifi signals to read and respond to your posts but if not, I'll get to them eventually upon my return. So I'm wishing you a Happy New Year while I'm at it.