One of my projects over the last couple weeks has been to make some 10'' square bats. I bought a half sheet of 1/2'' plywood and had the Home Depot guy cut it in to manageable strips for me. When I got home Brian set up the big saw while I sanded the strips, and then donning goggles I cut the strips into squares. After making a template from the pins on my wheel head, I marked & drilled 2 holes on the underside of each square. Then came a couple coats of sealer, and since that raised the grain, another sanding and a bunch of coats of polycrylic. These will work, but I think next time I would sand them more or put even more coats of polycrylic so the surface is smoother. That will be easier on my hands.
A stack of finished bats. The one standing up show the holes on the underside.
The holes in the underside fit over pins on the wheel head.
Since they're square I can cram a lot more stuff on a shelf more easily. I won't be able to use then for anything big, but they're great for yarn bowls.
Speaking of, my friend Bonnie, who is half of the
Stitch Sisterz is interested in taking yarn bowls to fiber shows to sell. So in preparation for that and for winter holidays, I'm going into production mode:
10 yarn bowls. The large bowl in the back is part of a wedding gift.
And last, I have an idea about how to take advantage of the cold spots in my kiln. Next time I fire I'm going to experiment a bit.
