The Second Cup -- Finale

Now the cup is finally done sanding, so now it's on to staining the cup. Since the cup is going to be used for drinking from, we need a natural stain; Olive oil works perfectly for this!

First, just pour some olive oil on the cup, and spread it around using your fingers. I suppose you could use a paint brush, but olive oil is so good for your skin, so why pass up the opportunity? It's obvious where the oil has stained already, so just make sure to spread it evenly around the whole cup.

Next is to stain the inside of the cup. Pour some olive oil in, then work it in with your fingers. Don't be shy with the amount of olive oil you use, it's amazing how much the wood absorbs. Keep adding layers of olive oil until you have about 5 layers, letting it "dry" each time in between layers.

Here you can see I just added another layer of olive oil, but it's already being absorbed on the front side. Don't forget the handle holes, by the way!

So now, the cup is essentially finished, it just needs another layer or two of olive oil, then it's ready for use! Perfect for trips in the woods, coffee for deer hunting, water when hiking, or just standing for show.

The Second Cup -- Part 4

Today we found a new attachment for the ball drill, which was something like sandpaper, used for shining wood. I tried it on the inside of my cup, and with only 10 minutes work on the machine I saved myself at least 3-4 hours of hand sanding. I still had to sand the inside of the cup afterwards to make the last little rough spots go away, but this machine really did a lot of work for me!

Here the cup is finished on the inside, so now I have to work on sanding down the outside with fine sandpaper. This goes pretty fast, as the outside of the cup is easier to work on than the inside. I sanded the outside for about 1 hour today.

The next step is to drill holes in the handle. You can see in the picture above that the handle is the only thing left I haven't sanded, and that's because you have to drill the holes first in case of chipping. Also, you would essentially be sanding it twice since the insides of the holes themselves need sanding.

After the holes were drilled, I used the little belt sander to shape out the handle as I wanted it. I decided to put a bit of a rounded edge on the sides, which proved much harder than I thought. It's nearly impossible to get both sides even, at least with the little experience I have. When it was as good as I could get it, it was on to hand sanding again, this time the insides of the holes. This is my least favorite part, because I always end up scraping my weak, "pretty" knuckles, or get slivers!

Now the cup is very nearly finished, only a little more hand sanding to smooth out the rough edges, and then it's on to staining. It should be finished next week, making this a record-fast cup for me (under 14 hours work)!

The Second Cup -- Part 3

Snowy greens

 Today my walk was graced with snow, but you could still spot a few signs here and there of the passing seasons. When I got to the workshop, I worked for about 1 hour on the sanding machine, then spent the rest of the time sanding by hand, before venturing out into the snow again.

This is the sanding machine I was using today. There are two sanding options, the wheel on the right, and the belt on the left. I decided to use the belt and platform to finish shaping the outside of my cup.

I love this orange table!

Almost finished on the outside, you can see I was a little reckless and cut too deeply into the one side. This also happens to be when I broke the sand paper on the belt, so we had to fix that, too.

Now I need to use the huge belt sander from last week to finish off the bottom, rounding out the sides as you can see they're uneven. I forgot to take a picture when it was done...oops!

You can see a bit more of the outside, I've finished it off. Now it's on to hand sanding the inside, which takes longer than the rest of the cup. Didn't someone once say "patience is a virtue"?

The Second Cup - Part 2

My walk to "work"

This is the place I go to work on my cup. It's called Snekker'n, which means The Carpenter.

Today I carved a little more by hand, but the cup became too deep to use hand tools further. So I used this Kulebor, or Ball Drill, to finish hollowing out the middle and expanding the sides. It's a neat little machine, but sawdust flies everywhere!

Here I am, using the Ball Drill and covered in sawdust. Black is maybe not the best color to wear while working with wood, if you care about that kind of thing. Make sure to keep your fingers out of the way!

Here the cup is finished being hollowed out, and is ready for some shaping.

I had to have help on the heavy machinery. I don't know what it's called, but I call it the Finger-Chopper-Off-er. Here, the outside of the cup is being roughly formed, cutting away the excess wood along the guide lines I had drawn on earlier. The next step is sanding, using the huge belt sander pictured below. This is a rough sanding, also to give shape and flatten the bottom of the cup.

The Huge Belt Sander

Here is the cup after I used the belt sander, as well as another circular sanding machine to give rough shape to the outside of the cup. This is as far as I came today, but I was only there for 2 1/2 hours, so that's pretty good, considering. Next Monday I will  be using yet another sanding machine to give final shape to the outside of the cup, then it's on to sand paper and hand sanding both the inside and outside.

The Second Cup - Part 1

Step 1

 Ok, so this isn't really the first step, I lied to you. First you must choose a suitable piece of wood; one without cracks, knots, or other deformities. Then you draw the rough shape you want for your cup, leaving plenty of room between the outer and inner edge, as it inevitably becomes smaller the more you chisel the middle. Here I've drawn the cup as seen from the top, with a roughly drawn out handle. Keep in mind, this is the second cup I've ever made.

Step 2

 The next step is to use a chisel and rubber mallet on the inner lip of the cup, creating a track of sorts so you don't end up carving where you shouldn't. Then you gently chisel away the inner circle, creating a hole, until you reach the bottom of your track, and have to make a new one. When the middle gets deep enough, you no longer have to create tracks, and can simply carve away.

3 Hours Later

This is how far I got after 3 hours of chiseling. It actually went really quick, much quicker than the first cup I made. I had help to shape the block of wood, to make it easier to work with. A saw and a belt sander were used, taking away the bark, and giving a rough rounding to the corners to get an idea of what the cup will look like head-on. I have some more work to do carving out the middle, but I think I'm about half way there.

I only get 4 hours each Monday at the workshop, so more pictures next week!

Handcrafted

A cup hand carved from a single piece of wood. Stained with olive oil, so it's safe to use, and will keep for years. Perfect for taking with on hikes, fishing trips, or any outdoor adventure. Can be used for both hot and warm beverages.

I enjoyed making this piece, I haven't worked with wood before outside of shop class in 7th grade. My next project will be another cup, so we'll see how that goes! I'll try to take pictures while making it, so you can see the whole process. Whether it's a success or failure, it will be good fun and experience! After that, my plan is to carve a bowl out of a single piece of birch.