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MakinganAntique-styleBabyRattlebyFredHolder

SeveralyearsagoIwaswatchingamovie,AustralianIbelieve,wherethebabyinthefamilyhaddied.Thetimeperiodofthemoviewasthe1800’s.Themotherwasputtingawaythebaby’sthingsandthelastthingshelaidinthetrunkwasawoodenbabyrattle.Thisinspiredmetomakeonewithasimilarantiquelook.

I’veusedabouteverytypeofhardwoodfortheserattles,butIfindthattheharderandcloser-grainedthewood,thebettertheringcuttingtoolswork.TherattleImadeforthisarticlewasmadefromachunkofplumwoodandIusedtheRobertSorby¼-inchsetofringcuttingtools.Thewoodhadbeencuringforabouttenyears,soitwasverydry.Irecommendthatyouuseaslightlymorewetwoodtomakeyourfirstfewbabyrattles--itturnseasier.IusedmyTeknatoolNovaDVR3000lathe.ThewoodwasturnedroundandsizedtofittheSuperNova2chuckonmylathe,seeFigure1.

Figure1.Herethewoodhasbeenturnedroundandtoabout1-1/2”indiameter.

Ibeginbyreducingthestocktoabout1-1/4to1-1/2inchindiameter.Inevermeasureitbuttheyjustseemtocomeoutaboutthatsize.Imakea“V”cutwiththeskewclosetothetailstock,butfarenoughawaysothattherewillnotbeaproblemwiththecenterholewindingupintheendoftherattle.Don’tcutthis“V”toodeeprightnow.Another“V”isnowmadetotheleftofthefirstoneabout5/8-inchcentertocenter.This“V”isthebeginningoftherecesswheretheringswillslidefreelytorattle.Cutthisabitdeeper,about3/8-inchdeepshoulddothejob.SeeFigure2.

Figure2.TwoV-cutshavebeenmadenearthetailstock.Thespaceinbetweenthecutswilldefinetheknobontheendforteething.

Now,takethe¼-inchbeadingtoolandcutabead.Therightsideofthetoolshouldjustcutintoyour“V”.I’vefounditworksbestifyougentlyrockthetoolhandlefromsidetoside.Thistoolisbasicallyascraper,soitshouldbetippedslightlydownwardalso.Don’ttrytocuttooheavilyoryoumaybreakoutpiecesofyourring.Igenerallycutinwiththebeadingtooluntiltheringhasjustcleanedup.SeeFigure3.Theonlysharpeningyouneedtodoonthebeadingtoolistohonethetopface.Youshouldnevergrindtheotherpartsthatweregroundtoshapeatthefactory.

Figure3.Herethetopofthering-to-behasbeencutwiththeSorbybeadingtool.

Theskewchiselisusedtowidenthespaceoneachsideofthebead.Youneeda3/8to½-inchwide“V”oneithersideofthebead.Igenerallycutstraightinoneithersideofthebeadwiththelongpointoftheskew.Itdoesn’treallymatterwhichsideofthebeadyouattackwiththeringcuttingtoolsfirst.I’vedevelopedthehabitofcuttingontherightsidefirstandthencuttingtheringloosewiththeleftsidetool.Ittakesalittlepracticetousethesetools.Asteadyhandandalittlecareisallthat’sneeded.Youdon’thavetobeagreatwoodturnertocutaveryacceptablelooseringwiththesetools.Theinstructionsthatcamewiththeringcuttingtoolssaidyoucancutringswithoutusingthebeadingtoolfirst,butI’vefoundmyringsarebetterwhenthebeadingtoolisusedtocutthetop.

Figure4.Heretheringisnearlycutloose.Ifinallycuttheringloosewiththetoolontheleftsideofthering.

Herearetheinstructionsforcuttingaloosering(takenfromtheWoodcraftcatalog):

(1)cutabeadwithabeadingtool,(2)cuttodepthbesidethebeadwithapartingtool,(3)usetherightringtooltocuttherearrightofthering,(4)usetheleftringtooltocuttherearleftofthering,whichwillalsoseparatethering.

Oncetheringisloose,Itakea3/8-inchspindlegougeandmaketherecessdeepertoallowtheringtofloatfreely.Makeasecondlooseringwiththerighthandsideofthebeadingtooljustcuttingintothe“V”ontheleftsideoftheringrecess(seeFigure5).Thisisdoneinexactlythesamemannerasthefirstring.Usethe1/4-inchspindlegougetocleanupandsizethebottomofthe

ringrecess.Igenerallycutthisdowntoabout1/2to3/8inchindiameter.Againit’snotcritical,noneedtosizespecifically.

Usingtheskewchisel,Icuta“V”about1/2inchtotheleftoftheringrecessandanotheroneaboutoneinchfurthertothelefttodefinethefarleftdimensionoftherattle,alsotheendofthehandle.Formabeadbetweenthehandleandtheringrecess.Makethisbeadsmallerthantheringdiameters,butlargerthantheinsidediameteroftherings--youdon’twantthemtoslipoff.

Figure5.Startingthesecondloosering.

Formthehandleandputintwodecorative“V”cutswiththeskew.AtthistimeIcutthe“V”attheendofthehandledowntoabout1/4inch.Ithenshift

tothefarrightsideandturnthepiecebetweenthefirst“V”cutandtheringrecessintoapleasingknobshape.Babiesliketocuttheirteethonthisknob,atleastmygrandsonusedhisforthatpurpose.Againleaveabout¼-inchofmaterialontherightend,also(seeFigure6).Now,youcansandtherattle.Igenerallydon’tgofinerthan280or320grit.Remember,thisisgoingintoababy’smouthand,iftheyarecuttingteeth,itwillnotbesmoothforverylong.Ipersonallyfindthemmoreattractiveiftheyaren’ttoohighlypolished.

Figure6.Herethepieceisprettymuchreadyforsanding.

AfterI’msatisfiedwiththesandingjob,IcuttheV’sateachenddowntoabout1/8-inch,justenoughtostillholdeverythingtogether.Iprefertoseparatetherattlefromtherestofthespindlewithaknifeorsaw.Iuseaknifetopareofftheexcessandthenhandsandtosmootheachend.

Figure7.TheRobertSorbytoolsusedinthisproject:(toptobottom)Righthandsidetool,beadingtool,andlefthandsidetool.

Addacoatofnon-toxicoilandyouhaveacompletedrattle.IusedtheMahoneyWalnutOilfinish,whichworksverywell.Thefinishedbabyrattleisnottoolarge,butitmeetstheminimumsizerequirementforbabytoys.

Figure8.Thefinishedbabyrattle.