Dad’s Urn – Part 2

• Originally published June 16, 2018.

I started cutting the walnut today. I’m doing as much as I can with hand tools and I started by cutting it to size. I’m sometimes asked how I can do precise work with just hand tools. The first photo shows one trick. The reflection has to be perfectly aligned.

Nice reflection, eh?

Saw from all sides and meet in the middle. A quick few passes with a sharp plane and it will be smooth and square.

I cleaned up one face of the walnut and splashed some mineral spirits on it. That shows what it would looks like finished and then dries in a few minutes.

That’s some beautiful grain.

I was worried about the wood warping when cut into smaller pieces. I first cut it in half with my bandsaw and there was no movement at all. This is a sign of stable and dry wood. Walnut can be especially stable if it’s been dry for a long time.

The grain inside is looking good.

Then I cut each half in half again. There is still no warping.

This is really nice.

There’s my stock to make the urn. It’s a beautiful piece of wood.