Works in Progress

Here is a sample of works in progress in the woodwork shop:

A ball carved within a dodecahedron.  I started this project by cutting a solid dodecahedron, then carving to 'liberate' a ball within.

This project turned OK, but the result is not altogether satisfying, so I have not bothered to finish the carving with coats of varnish.

The major challenge here is carving a near-perfect sphere within the dodecahedron.  There are a number of different ways to approach this sort of thing.  I think it may be best to do the ball and dodecahedron separately, then combine them for the finished product.  One way to do this would be to  cut a finished dodecahedron in half, hollow it out, then insert a sphere carved separately into the dodecahedron.  Another possibility is to build a 'stick-figure' dodecahedron around a ball.  Each approach presents unique challenges, and the idea is to develop a method that results in the best finished product.

Sadly, wood carving has been somewhat neglected for the past few months because of various distractions.  I hope to get back these and other woodwork projects soon because working with wood is one of my favorite things.

Dodecahedron and Mobius

Dodecahedrons and a Double-Twist Mobius

I know, I KNOW, a mobius strip is not a Platonic solid, but that’s covered by the “etc” in the title of this blog.

OK? OK!

Wooden figures of various types have been an interest of mine for a long time. Most of the constructions and carvings I have done over the years are widely dispersed to friends and relatives.

Here are three items I recently completed after taking carving tools in hand following several years of little or no activity in this, one of my favorite hobbies.

As you can see, this is a photo of a carved wooden mobius strip with two identical twists, and a couple of dodecahedrons, one from a piece of light heavily grained wood and a second from a dark wood. The dots of contrasting wood imbedded in the surfaces of the dodecahedrons add a bit of interest to the otherwise common Platonic solid.