February saw us welcome Danielle Flowers as our guest demonstrator.
Danielle is based in Ludlow and specialises in contemporary crafts using British hardwoods and her demonstration for us was a baby rattle using Ash and Oak.
Danni started with a spindle gouge turning the handle out of Ash, she used a damp cloth to raise the grain before sanding to give a good finish and also as this item is likely to get damp when going in a baby’s mouth this would help keep the smooth safe finish.
The rattle itself was then turned out of English Oak. She uses spindle gouge for shallow forms on her smaller work, watching the ‘ghost’ profile to form the shape. A self made gauge was used to check the depth of the rattle and small glass beads were used for the rattle element.
Ash was used to make the ring, making sure of the size, that it was not able to come over the handle, and a firm bond using gorilla glue and usually left clamped overnight to ensure a secure fixing.
Things to remember when making children’s toys;
Make firm bonds so items do not come apart.
Size – beware of chocking hazards.
Finishes – use toy safe oil as items are likely to go into the mouth.
Adhere to British Safety Standards for Toys BS EN 71
Danielle brought along some samples of her work for us to see;
A display table showed some of the members recent works.
Our next meeting will be on Thursday March 28th when we will be holding a ‘Hands On’ evening.
Look forward to seeing you all then.