928 



Popular Science Monthly 



Combining Different Woods to Make 

 Fancy Indian Clubs 



TO make the Indian clubs shown in 

 the accompanying illustration, nine 

 separate pieces and five different varieties 

 of wood were glued together and turned 

 to shape on the lathe. The resulting com- 

 bination was very attractive and the work 

 looked like a job of the very best inlay. 

 No more than ordinary care was required 

 to get a smooth appearing piece of work. 

 Plenty of clamps were at hand, and the 

 best glue obtainable was used in building 

 up the pieces, the glue being given plenty 

 of time for drying thoroughly before the 

 next work was done. 



The center stick was first squared up, mak- 

 ing the surfaces exactly i}/^ in. each way, 

 and 1 8 in. long. To this stock two pieces 

 of walnut 7/16 in. thick were glued, leaving 

 the edges rough and projecting, as shown 

 by the dotted line Fig. i. After the stick 

 had dried in a warm place for 12 hours, 

 the clamps were removed and the edges 

 planed down, even with the stock. Two 

 more 7/16-in. walnut pieces were glued to 

 the other two sides, as shown in Fig. 2, 

 and the rough edges planed as before. The 

 result was a stick 2 in. square. In the 

 same manner another layer of different 

 woods, ^ in. thick was built up. The last 

 layer was used to make the heavy end of 

 the club. Its length is only 12 in. measur- 

 ing from the thick end. 



SURFACE HERE 



^SURFACE HERE 



FIG.2 



F1G3 END VIEW 



FIG. 4 TO FIND CENTER 



Manner of arranging the different woods for 

 making the outside contrasts to the surface 



The piece was then ready to be put into 

 the lathe. Great care was taken to find 

 the exact center of the i^-in. center piece, 

 as illustrated in Fig. 4. Failure to get the 



The appearance 

 of the clubs 

 when finished 



piece properly centered in the lathe will 

 result in unequal faces of wood in the clubs. 

 By using a gouge, the block was quickly 

 rounded. A mark was made about ]/2 i"* 

 from the heavy end, and exactly 17 in. 

 measured off to the end of the handle. 

 At 13^ in. from the handle end the piece 

 was cut in to J^ in., the 

 final size. The ij^-in. 

 part was turned down to 

 a ball iJ4 in. in diame- 

 ter, to form the handle. 

 The base of the club 

 is 1^3 in. thick, and at 

 a point 5 in. from the 

 base the diameter is 

 2^ in. The stick was 

 turned smoothly be- 

 tween these points, giv- 

 ing the shape as shown 

 in the photograph. Most 

 of the cutting was done 

 with the gouge, and the 

 piece was finished with 

 the skew chisel. 



In order that the 

 pair of clubs should 

 match up well, it was 

 necessary to use care 

 in cutting the second one to the exact size 

 of the first. To do this, the finished club 

 was measured every inch, and the diameter 

 of the second was made exactly the same 

 as that of the first club at all corresponding 

 points. 



After cutting to size, all chisel marks 

 were removed with a medium-grained sand- 

 paper, and the piece was finished with 

 No. GO (very fine) sandpaper. While still 

 in the lathe each club was given a coating 

 of linseed oil, which was rubbed in with a 

 rag. Following this, a coating of shellac 

 was put on and dried, then rubbed smooth 

 with No. 00 sandpaper. The club was 

 then removed from the lathe and the rough 

 ends were cut and smoothed. A coat of 

 floor wax well rubbed on produced a high 

 polish and proved to be an excellent 

 finish. 



Good contrasting effects were obtained 

 by the use of the different woods. The 

 clubs in the photograph have a center of 

 sugar maple, a layer of black walnut, and 

 top pieces of red cedar, burr oak, and red 

 oak. Various results may be had by com- 

 binations of other contrasting woods. It is 

 best for the beginner to practice on cheaper 

 woods until he is thoroughly familiar with 

 the lathe. — Dean G. Carter. 



