Cobra on a Ball
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An ‘audacious’ item incorporating steam bending and wood turning techniques. Curvy ‘Cobra’ or ‘Fish’ shape residing on a sphere embracing melon shape split in half to expose orange ‘fruit’ and a black ‘nut’. Round bumps indicate hours. Fish shape: oak/ash, outer husk: walnut, inner fruit: hedge (Osage orange), nut: ebony, sphere: marble. A: paper patterns for the husk shapes laid out on a walnut board, ready to be cut out on a bandsaw. The curvy shape in the background is the form for steam bending the cobra shape. B: Two melon halves glued and clamped together. Note two ‘fruit’ pieces’ and round walnut bases. C: At first the thought was to glue the two halves together with regular yellow glue, then cut them apart on a band saw. Hence the dorsal fin like appendages design to provide a stable base for sawing. I later hit upon the idea of using reversible hide glue, far better solution. The hollow space is reserved for the clock movement. D: The two halves glued and clamped together with hide glue. Just a half might be turned on the lathe, but it the fact that it would be unbalanced would present a challenge. E: Shot showing the two halves with the hedge ‘fruit’. F: A screenshot from sketchup giving an indication of the process by which a final 3D rendering may result. G: First concept sketch. H: Rendering of final design. Size: 8”W x16”H x 5”D
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Studio 285 Clockworx, dba
