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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Latest from the Shop, Turned Birdhouses. Part 2 (Updated)

10/31/09 12:30AM ATZ:

Listings updated again.

Only one still available at this time are: 7

The last one! You want it, you know you do!

I have the following reserved:

#1 Mensley (confirmed)

#2, 20 Janiece (confirmed)

#3 Nick from the OC (confirmed)

#4 Joe (Confirmed)

#5 JanN(Confirmed)

#6 Melissa (confirmed)

#8 Cass_M (confirmed)

#9 Nzforme (confirmed)

#10 Kelly (confirmed)

#11 Karl (confirmed)

#12 Mike (confirmed)

#13 USAF Wench (Confirmed)

#14 Chris Gerrib (confirmed)

#15 Lauren (confirmed)

#16, #18 Nocurling (confirmed)

# 17 AnonGF (confirmed)

#19, #22 Pam Adams (confirmed)

#21 AIM (confirmed)

Update: Everybody who has reserved a birdhouse has confirmed via email. Electronic invoices have gone out via email to everybody, you should have gotten yours by now. If you didn't, let me know, and I'll send you another one. About half of you have paid, thank you very much. That rest of you deadbeats...ur, I mean honored customers and beloved readers, cough it up.

Packages will go out Monday. Everything ships via USPS priority mail. That’s usually the best and least expensive route out of Alaska. And you get your unique handmade genuine Jim Wright work of art in about 3 days (if you’re in the lower 48. If you’re in Canada or some other strife torn socialist nightmare with universal healthcare, the metric system, and happy people, it could take longer just on principle). If the post doesn’t work for you, let me know before you submit payment – because if you want it UPS or FEDEX it’s going to cost more. Probably a lot more. Alaska is far, far away from you, in another country, on another planet. Really.

And I'll be in the shop, making more.

Thanks//Jim


As promised, birdhouses.

The previous batch of birdhouses I made were turned from exotic hardwoods, mostly South American. This time I moved north of the equator. Most of the wood in this batch is native to North America – though I did use some Brazilian Rosewood and Jacaranda for accents in several pieces.

As before, If you would like one – so state in the comments. Each one is numbered. First come, first served, note in the comments section which one you want by number. Put your selection on the first line of the comment, for example: “#59, please,” so that everybody can see which ones are taken. Periodically I’ll try to update the post, but I expect to be busy as hell tomorrow and may not get to it. Again first person to comment gets the piece. One each. If they don’t all go, you may have two or more. I’ll let you know when.

As always, I prefer PayPal. If that doesn’t work for you and you just have to have one of my birdhouses, email me and we’ll make alternate arrangements.

I’ll post a summary of who gets what. Once that’s up, send me your email address and I’ll send you a PayPal enabled invoice. Note: you don’t have to have a PayPal account to use the electronic payment method.

I know, one of these days I’m going to have to come up with a better method for doing this, today is not that day.

There will be more. I have plenty more stock, and plenty more on order. Figure about every two weeks I’ll have about twenty or so – depending on how much other work I have to do. Prices are determined by the cost of the wood, and how much effort went into the piece. I’m trying to create a range of prices, so that everybody can afford something, and I’m trying to keep prices as absolutely low as I can afford.

Shipping and handling for all pieces is $10. If you end up with more than one, I’ll combine them in the same package, S&H in that case is still $10.

As before, though I consider each piece a unique work of the woodturner’s art, each birdhouse is fully functional and can be hung out of doors for small nesting birds. They are finished in bird safe oils and waxes, but they will fade over time if hung outside in the elements. They are wood, they will weather – it’s OK, I’ll be happy to sell you a replacement each season. I’ll include a card with each birdhouse telling you how to care for them.


Birdhouse #1: Walnut and Birch. $50

Sold: Mensley

The body is American Walnut, dense, rich, and hard. The cap and perch are made from white birch colored with red aniline dye. I’ve been experimenting with dyed woods lately, mostly for bowl turning and I had a batch of red dye made up. I thought the color made a interesting contrast. I may do more of this style in the future.

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Birdhouse #2: Walnut and Jacaranda. $60

Sold: Janiece

The body is American Walnut, the cap, skirt, and perch are Jacaranda, a beautiful South American hardwood.

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Birdhouse #3: Cedar and Oak. $60

Sold: Nick from the OC

The body is red cedar, and the cap and perch are white oak. The hanging finial is made with a captive ring (a free ring of wood, held held captive on the spindle – something all woodturners love to make, some with greater success than others).

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Birdhouse #4: Walnut, Jacaranda, and Birch. $60

Sold: Joe

The body is American walnut, the cap and skirt are Jacaranda, and the upper and lower finials are Alaskan birch.

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Birdhouse #5: Walnut and Oak. $35

Sold: JanN

The body is American walnut, and the cap and perch are red oak. This is a small, simple design. The wood of the bottom and finial is highly polished – unusual for natural walnut.

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Birdhouse #6: Walnut and Jacaranda. $40

Sold: Melissa

The body is American walnut, the cap and perch are jacaranda. The cap on this one is a bit different, it’s a square bowl type turning – what turners call a knuckle buster, because the square corners will give you one hell of a clout if you’re not paying strict attention. This one is blood free, no worries.

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Birdhouse #7: Walnut and oak. $40

The body is American walnut, the cap and perch are red oak.

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Birdhouse #8: Walnut and oak. $40

Sold: Cass_m

The body is American walnut, the cap and perch are red oak. This piece of walnut, like the one in #5, comes from a knotted area of the original walnut slab I cut the blanks from. The grain is dense and strange and dark and highly polished.

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Birdhouse #9: Cedar and Oak. $45

Sold: nzforme

The body is aromatic red cedar, the kind of wood they make cedar chests from – the whole shop smells like cedar when I’m turning it. Cedar is a type of Juniper, and this wood came from the Great Lakes region. It’s some of the most beautiful cedar I’ve ever seen. The cap and perch are hard red oak. There is a small captive ring on the hanging finial.

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Birdhouse #10: Cedar and oak. $40

Sold: Kelly

Red Cedar, red oak. This one sort of reminds me of those old water towers that used to sit alongside the rail lines.

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Birdhouse #11: Cedar and oak, with a rosewood perch. $35

Sold: Karl

The hanging finial on this one is called an acorn turning, for what should be rather obvious reasons.

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Birdhouse #12: Cedar and oak. $40

Sold: Mike

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Birdhouse #13: Cedar and oak, with a walnut perch. $40

Sold: USAF Wench

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Birdhouse #14: Cedar and oak, with rosewood perch. $40

Sold: Chris Gerrib

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Birdhouse #15. Cedar and oak. $40

Sold: Lauren

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Birdhouse #16. Walnut and oak. $40

Sold: Nocurling

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Birdhouse #17. Sassafras and rosewood. $40

Sold: AnonGF

The body is sassafras, an aromatic tree that grows around the great lakes region and in parts of the North Eastern US and Canada. The wood is dense, yet light – and the roots smell wonderful. The roots and bark are used for tea, and to scent soap and candles. I used to love the smell of sassafras when I was growing up in western Michigan. I love the golden yellow of the sassafras wood. The cap and perch are Brazilian rosewood for contrast.

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Birdhouse #18. Sassafras and birch. $40

Sold: nocurling

The body is sassafras, the cap is dyed white birch. I thought the vibrant green was a excellent compliment to the gold of the sassafras. Again, I will do more of this style, if people are interested. This is another acorn turning.

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Birdhouse #19. Sassafras and Brazilian rosewood. $35

Sold: Pam Adams

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Birdhouse #20: Sassafras and Brazilian rosewood. $35

Sold: Janiece

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Birdhouse #21. Sassafras and Brazilian rosewood. $40

Sold: AIM

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Birdhouse #22: Sassafras and Brazilian rosewood. $25.

Sold: Pam Adams

I’ve marked this one down significantly. There’s nothing out and out wrong with it, but the sassafras was cut from near the heartwood and it has grayed a bit. Frankly I don’t think the color is all that great.

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Twenty two. And that’s going to do it for this batch. Hope you like them.

54 comments:

  1. #9, please.

    (Glad I stayed up late. But with the pick of the list, it's so hard to decide which one I like best!)

    ReplyDelete
  2. #3 looks very pretty. Yes, please

    ReplyDelete
  3. #2 for me, please! Paypal payment OTW.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So far:

    #2: Janiece
    #3: NTSC

    #6: Melissa
    #9: nzforme

    #12: Mike
    #14: Chris Gerrib

    The post is updated to reflect which ones are sold.

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have nowhere to put a birdhouse, being in a condo and all, but I just wanted to say they're beautiful work, Jim.

    ReplyDelete
  6. WOW, these really are gorgeous!

    I'd like #21, please.

    And if they don't all sell, then #1, 4 or 8 - in that order.

    Thank you!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Correction. #3 was supposed to be Nick from the OC.

    That's what happens when I load the database prior to coffee. Apologies.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Here I was waiting on the other thread with a lame riposte and you flanked us with this!

    #11 please. :)

    I can pick up and pay cash, even.

    Beautiful stuff!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Whoa, I really need to drink a couple cups of coffee before looking at posts like this.

     
    Corrected
    Summary so far: 
    #2: Janiece
    #3: Nick from the OC
    #6: Melissa
    #9: nzforme
    #10: Kelly
    #11: Karl
    #12: Mike
    #14: Chris Gerrib 
    #21: AIM 


    I’ll update the post shortly if possible. I'm working from the BlackBerry and editing posts like this one are no fun.

    ReplyDelete
  10. oops, someone got in ahead of me.

    change mine to #18 then, jim.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nocurling, I'll switch to #1 if you want 21. I was torn between them anyway :) Your call.

    ReplyDelete
  12. AIM, thanx for the offer, but i was torn as well and i'm good with #18.

    ReplyDelete
  13. #15, please, Jim.

    These are very very pretty!

    ("Christmas is coming,
    the goose is not so slim,
    please, oh please,
    make the bird houses, Jim!")

    ReplyDelete
  14. OOOh, I want that one, and that one, and...... [runs out to buy lottery tickets] and that one.

    Sigh. When I have a minute, I'll see what's not bought up.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'll look again tomorrow when I am not high and nauseated from Percocet. Hard to think...

    ReplyDelete
  16. No no no, NeuronDoc, stoned on percocet is perfect. Just send me your PayPal password and I'll take care of it...

    ReplyDelete
  17. #8, please. Thanks, Jim! These are beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sorry, Mensely, Cass_M has already reserved that one.

    #16 is similar though.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oops, Cass beat me to it. Sorry!

    ReplyDelete
  20. All, I'm trying to get the post updated and a list of who has what so far.

    Unfortunately, my ISP has picked this very moment to have intermittent service.

    And I'm also currently on hold with customer service for a product I've now ordered twice. The original arrived broken, and now the replacement has arrived broken. Same breakage. Appears to be a lack of quality in the manufacturing process and a complete lack of intelligence in the packaging department, and then there's the retailer - who obviously isn't much smarter. I'm highly irked at the moment. Unless the service rep offers to paint my house for free or provide Phillies tickets for sexual favors (heh heh, I'm joking, please don't arrest me) there is going to be one hell of a scathing review of their service and products tomorrow.

    Joy. Give me a minute.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oops, Cass beat me to it. Sorry!

    Well, I meant to warn you about that, cass_m has been nothing but trouble since she first arrived...

    ;)

    ReplyDelete
  22. #1, please.

    Oops, Cass beat me to it. Sorry!

    Well, I meant to warn you about that, cass_m has been nothing but trouble since she first arrived...


    If I didn't like troublemakers, why would I hang out here?

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hey I resemble that LOL

    ReplyDelete
  24. #1 it is.

    Who you callin' a trouble maker?

    O.O <- wide eyed innocent look.

    Just because I damn near ruptured the space time continuum over there on whatshisname's site?

    ReplyDelete
  25. It's this damn netbook, I'm tellin' ya. Not only do I not get a full screen and miss previous birdhouse request posts, with this tiny keyboard I can try typing "birdhousemakers" and it *somehow* comes out "troublemakers," he said unconvincingly.

    ReplyDelete
  26. #17,please.
    Anon GF
    How do I paypal you?

    ReplyDelete
  27. Woot! It's Anonymous Girlfriend! Long time, no see.

    AnonGF, you don't paypal me, I paypal you. Or something. Don't tell Nathan.

    Directions are now at the top of the post, but the short version is: send me an email at the stonekettlestation@gmail.com address and I'll return you a paypay enabled invoice. Savvy?

    ReplyDelete
  28. 16 or 19,please.Pam

    ReplyDelete
  29. Oh yeah, and if no one else wants the Charlie Brown Christmas tree birdhouse,(#22), I'll take it as well.

    Pam

    ReplyDelete
  30. if pam takes #19, i'm in for #16 as my second one.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Correction

    Pam, are 19 and 22 okay?

    ReplyDelete
  32. I'm late to the party. But if you do another like number 18 - sassafras/birch with a dyed green cap - I'm all over it! :)

    ReplyDelete
  33. Okay, you convinced me. I'll take #20 also, if no one else wants it. I haven't paid for #2 yet, either, so let me know if I'm "in," and I'll send you the BIG BUCKS.

    ReplyDelete
  34. I, too, like the one with the green cap. Can I have one like that in the next round?

    ReplyDelete
  35. Could you do more light-colored ones? I liked the white birch ones from the first batch. Also, both people I have in mind as recipients are light-colored-wood type people.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Janiece, #20 - so noted in the post. Send me money, Senior. ;)

    Jeri, Doc - got it. Green roofs. I like those too.

    MWT, light colored wood people?

    Kidding - the next batch will have a number of light colored wood people type pieces.

    ReplyDelete
  37. The money's on it's way, greedy.

    And at some point, I may even get off my ass and make some apple butter, seeing as how I owe a bunch of folks jars. I owe so many, in fact, that I may have to make TWO batches.

    Better that than disappointing Michelle's Grandmom, though.

    ReplyDelete
  38. But don't put the apple butter in the birdhouse.

    ReplyDelete
  39. For the next round, I would like one of the fancy jacaranda ones.

    Paypal out tomorrow- or late tonight if I stay awake long enough.

    Pam

    ReplyDelete
  40. Jan

    #5 it is.

    I was actually going to reshoot the picture of that one, Jan - the posted picture just doesn't do it justice. But the wood is so dark and polished that I was having trouble getting a decent shot of it. The figure of the walnut is incredible.

    Did you want to pick that up in person? or do you want me to ship it to you?

    ReplyDelete
  41. Wrestled PayPal to the ground and learned some new stuff. If you do more with like 2 or 6 I would be interested:)

    ReplyDelete
  42. #2 and #6 are apparently a popular design. A number of folks have asked about them.

    I will happily make more for you.

    ReplyDelete
  43. That would be because I screwed up your email address, Melissa. I sent it firstname.lastname@someemail.abc instead of lastname.firstname.

    I'm fixing it now. Consider yourself undeadbeated ;)

    ReplyDelete
  44. jim, hasn't anyone commented that adding a 'perch' to a birdhouse only invites predators, and that real functional birdhouses should never include a perch?

    The birds don't need em, and it can get them killed.

    They look nice and cute, (humans always want to add some cute), but in this case, the cute might be not very cute at all.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Well, that depends. Maybe I like the predators better.

    ReplyDelete

Comments on this blog are moderated. Each will be reviewed before being allowed to post. This may take a while. I don't allow personal attacks, trolling, or obnoxious stupidity. If you post anonymously and hide behind an IP blocker, I'm a lot more likely to consider you a troll. Be sure to read the commenting rules before you start typing. Really.