from a scrap of Walnut

These six handsome tall and thin crosses were made from a piece of walnut in my scrap bin.

finished walnut crosses with elm crosses

Pandemic Elm Crosses

As the corona virus pandemic swept through the world, we isolated ourselves at home.  We worshipped virtually, visited virtually, and relaxed amidst the tension from the news.  This gave me an opportunity to spend some time working in our gardens and making some crosses in the workshop.  Enjoy this photo video of the process which I started on 3/17 through staining on 3/24.  Then a couple of coats of polyurethane to finish them.


 Made from elm in Louisiana, USA.

48 Apple Crosses

From my shop attic I found a 6"x6 1/2' piece of 5/4" rough sawn apple.  It was probably from Pennsylvania.  I cut it into 3 pieces and machined one of them, then ripped and resawed it and planed it.  Then I made 48 very nice crosses, 2 5/8" high.  I stained them with a hickory stain resulting in a very warm color.  A couple of coats of polyurethane sanding lightly in between coats resulted in some very nice crosses.

finished apple crosses

drying

dadoed, ripped, ready for cutting before assembling

Jig for cutting crosspiece ends

When making a batch of small crosses, I use a piece of wood usually no longer than 24" and a few inches wide.  I plane it to the desired thickness of the crosses and then determine the optimal lengths of the vertical and horizontal (crosspiece) pieces of the crosses.  Typically I use the Phi ratio for a good looking cross; that is another subject.  On one surface of the board, I draw lines across the board usually alternating between vertical and horizontal pieces and leave "about" 1/16" between for eventual cutting on the bandsaw.  I also mark the width of each dado to guide alignment on the table saw. I cut the dadoes to the chosen width of each piece, and the depth of exactly half of the board thickness. 

layout of cross pieces (single line is center of dado cuts) 

After cutting dados across a board, the board is cut into strips the width of the dado.  Each strip is cut around the dado either to the length of the vertical piece of the cross or the crosspiece.  When cutting the crosspieces on the bandsaw, regardless of how well I have laid out the lengths of the crosspieces, I frequently do not get the exact length on each side.  This jig solves that problem.

the original jig in use

a simple refinement - 1/8" square key stock taped to table

p.68

2020 - Oak for first batch

The first batch of the new year is from a thick piece of oak.  I sliced a 5/16" thick piece 3 1/2" x 18" which yielded 59 crosses 2 11/16 high, 1/2" wide.  From a piece of scrap cypress that I used for setup, I made 9 more crosses.

Some I stained with Puritan Pine, others with a hickory stain, both resulting in a nice toffee color.

nice insect damage

p.67

Special Gift from Mesquite

A friend asked me about crosses, where she could get one as a gift to honor five years of service for a woman leading a church group.  Naturally, I told her I make them gratis and asked her when she needed it.  It was a short lead time, but in a week I made this beautiful 8 1/2" tall cross from mesquite.  Mesquite is a soft pink color, but when stained with Minwax Puritan Pine, it turns a deep rich color.  Two coats of polyurethane make it shine. This is one of the favorites I've made, number 2719.

the finished cross

Here's a quick look at the process: cutting a strip from a slab then joining, ripping with my Grr-Rippers then cutting the dadoes using a Dado Stop jig, both from MicroJig.  I then glue and assemble, sand both faces smooth, carve the corners and sand the edges.  Last, I finish with stain and apply two coats of polyurethane, lightly sanding with fine sandpaper between coats.  Finally, I rub down the finished cross with a piece of burlap.

Giving the cross is the best part.

the slab - wild grain

joining the cut strip

ripping to width - using Grr-Rippers

setting dado width - using Dado Stop jig

cutting dado on vertical piece

ready to glue

glued and assembled

stained

(When making one or a few crosses, I use the Dado Stop.  When making a batch of smaller crosses, I use a dado blade.  See my post of October 30, Hickory - a batch of 75.)

p. 64

Hickory - a batch of 75

I'm in the process of making a batch of 75 crosses 2 13/16" high of 3/8" thick hickory that I brought home from Kentucky in the spring.  It was rough sawn 5/4" boards which I planed and resawed. Hickory is a hard wood with "modest" grain.  These will be nice crosses to share.

the process

after ripping dadoed strips, cut to length on bandsaw

assembled, ready for stain and finish -p.64

finished