Little Owl

[Mechanism Man]

Hi folks,
Just thought I'd share a pic of a little owl locket I'm making at the moment (I seem to be doing lots of different ones at the moment). This one is for my wife's Christmas present - she only been asking for one for about three years, seems silly to rush into these things...
I'll post some more pics when is done.

 

[Chippygeoff]

Amazing and so intricate. Your wife will love that. I can see you getting extra turkey on Christmas day.

 

[martinka]

Amazing. I wouldn't have thought the wood would have held up to cutting something so intricate. I think I would be scared of dropping it.

 

[jonluv]

Great piece of work-- too fine for my old eyes very jealous!

John

 

[Mechanism Man]

Thanks!
I'm using 1/8 inch mahogany and it's surprisingly resilient and easy to work on very fine projects like this - the little fella has already been dropped about five times so far onto my concrete for floor with no ill effects whatsoever. However, if you thought cutting it was nerve wracking, you should have seen my furrowed brow as I used the Dremel to hollow out the the back - and he's still intact!

 

[8squared]

At first I thought you had done an inlay, took a while to realise it was the shadow on your palm.

Very nicely done

 

[bodgerbaz]

A fine piece of cutting, well done. The design is attractive and I really hope she likes it.

Great tip about hollowing out the back with a Dremel.

Well done.

Barry

 

[walksatnight]

Very nice well done sir

 

[Samfire]

I am amazed, great work and thanks for sharing it with us.
Sam

 

[Mechanism Man]

After a very busy run up to the big day I finally got him finished at 1:30 in the morning on Christmas Day - nothing like a last minute dead line to focus the mind...
I think that he was worth the effort though, my better half loved him - result! I did actually spend some money on her as well, but Mr Owl was still up there in the top three present rankings with the Hairy Bikers cook book and the pair of very fetching Leopard Print Fluffy Slippers - that's 'gotta be counted as a success in anybody's book!
Merry Christmas to all.

 

[Claymore]

..........

 

[bodgerbaz]

Brilliant gift and very well made. The watch movement looks great and the finish certainly brings out the grain very well. You have every reason to be well pleased with the results. Well done.

Barry

 

[Stooby]

It's amazing, think I know what I have to make before next Christmas! How are the gears etc all held in and is it backed? Not sure I can ever make something that fine.

 

[Mechanism Man]

Here are a couple more photos from some different angles to show how it's gone together. The watch gears and gubbins are simply superglued to a half mm ply pate and then the owl cut out glued onto the plate once an the gears are positioned and varnished. The photo compartment is simply hinged on a fixed wooden pin, but the compartment is held open and closed with little 2mm magnets - it makes a nice snap snap sound when you play with it.

 

[Claymore]

.........

 

[Stooby]

It's brilliant. Where did the watch gubbins come from. Super impressed.

 

[martinka]

even more impressed after seeing the other photos, never seen anything like it but it actually looks like something from 100+ years ago if you know what i mean? bit like an antique clock lovely.

And more to the point, I bet it's still around 100 years hence. That's a really lovely piece.

 

[bodgerbaz]

Yep, a winner. Even better with the picture insert. A lovely family heirloom. Well done.

 

[Mechanism Man]

Thanks one and all. To answer Stooby's question about where to source watch components, just type watch gears into the eBay search box and you'll get lots of results pop up - on average a 100gram pack will set you back about £15, that'll give you enough bits for dozens of projects.
Right, new project beckons.

 

[Ed Bray]

Very beautiful and exceedingly well made.