Between March 2-11 from a 516" thick piece of mesquite, I made 25 3" tall crosses from 3/8" wide strips.
Crosses made during Lent |
layout |
dado cuts |
ripped strips |
assembled, corners carved |
staining with golden oak |
finished, 3 coats urethane |
In September of 2010 in my new workshop, I completed my first "batch" of crosses made from apple. I set a goal to make thousands of crosses and give them away. Having surpassed the goal, I will continue as long as I can. It is a joy! (This blog focuses on the material aspect of making crosses rather than the best part - the spiritual act of giving them away.)
Between March 2-11 from a 516" thick piece of mesquite, I made 25 3" tall crosses from 3/8" wide strips.
Crosses made during Lent |
layout |
dado cuts |
ripped strips |
assembled, corners carved |
staining with golden oak |
finished, 3 coats urethane |
I really enjoy making crosses from the beautiful piece of mesquite from Texas that was given to me years ago by a great artist in New Mexico, John Geldersma. The natural color of the wood is pinkish; it sands so nicely. A coat of Minwax Golden Oak stain brings out a very rich, deeper color. These 24 crosses (2 9/16" high) were made in a couple of weeks, including 3 coats of Arm-R-Seal satin urethane.
The original board. Used one piece. |
Resewed to result in 3 pieces, 5/16" thick after planing. |
One piece results in 24 crosses |
Layout using a story stick |
Cutting dado |
Ripping strips 1/2" wide |
Sanded with corners cut |
Staining with Golden Oak stain |
Using beautiful antique cypress from Jenny Royer, I made 22 crosses 2 1/2" high, 5/16" thick, and 1/2" wide pieces. This batch brings my total number of crosses made since 2010 to 4006.
The great thing is that I have had the opportunity to give most all of them away - locally, around the country, to India, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, France, the Netherlands, and who knows where. To the wealthy, to the poor, to the healthy, to the sick, to those celebrating, to those grieving, to those in new homes, to those whose homes have flooded, to those celebrating new life, to those remembering lives lost, to those at church, to those without a church. I will make them and share them as long as I am able. I am thankful to have been called to this ministry.
Back on August 21, I started 60 crosses from two of the boards I milled in August. I finally completed them on January 13 2024. They are 2 5/16" tall, the width of the pieces is 3/8". Half were stained with Puritan Pine, the rest with Natural because MinWax no longer makes Puritan Pine.
Using the Thin Rip Guide, ripped five 1/2" wide pieces using antique sinker cypress. I made ten 6" high handsome wall crosses. Stained with Puritan Pine which looks so good on cypress and applied 3 coats of urethane.
Milled an old piece of sinker cypress given to me several years ago by Jenny Royer to 1 5/8 x 3 x 19 5/8. Resewed it and planed it to 4 pieces 5/16" thick.
I had the opportunity to share 100 crosses with my friend, Diwakar, who is a pastor in Mumbai. He will share them with many.