Several years ago I started a Christmas tradition in our family. Our daughter and son-in-law always have a live Christmas tree. They want to have a reminder of each tree so they would cut a disk from the base of the tree trunk and put the date on it. I liked the idea of saving a part of each tree but thought I might be able to make it a little more special. I offered to make Christmas ornaments from the trunk of their tree. They liked the idea so now each year when they take down the tree I get the trunk. Not only do I make ornaments for them and their son but I also make ornaments for his family and ours.
This is not a quick process because I have to give the tree trunk time to dry out or the ornaments will crack. I get the trunk in January and turn the ornaments in late November or early December. After I turn the ornaments I then apply a finish to preserve them. That gives me plenty of time to decide what type of ornament to make. I use a small cable to make the eyelet hanger for each of the ornaments. I then glue the hanger into a small hole at the top of the ornament.
The first year I turned Christmas ornaments in the shape of trees. I used a buffing system to polish the ornament followed by wax and another buffing. The buffing system got a little exciting at times because I had to hold the ornament up to a spinning buffing wheel (sort of like a grinder but a lot softer). A few times I did not hold the ornament like I should and the wheel would grab the ornament and send it flying. None of the ornaments suffered any damage and I learned how to hold the ornaments without losing control. I also ware a face shield to protect my face from Unintentional Flying Objects (UFOs) The buffing gives the ornaments a nice smooth and a natural look. I left the bark on some, like the middle ornament. This came about because the trunk was getting narrower and I did not get it perfectly centered. This is a classic case of getting a cool look by accident.
The second year I made snowmen. I got the idea after watching the You Tube channel Rick Turns. After the first one the rest were rather easy to make and I soon had a whole family of snowmen ready for Christmas. I finished them with a satin polyurethane finish giving them a glossy look. I noticed the resin in the wood (the trees are all some form of a pine tree) affected some parts of the finish. That said everyone still liked the look and feel of the snowmen so all is good. I used a wood burner to make the faces and buttons. I also used it to put the dates on them.
Last year I made Christmas ornaments shaped like bells. I got the idea from the same You Tube channel as the snowmen, Rick Turns. They were not the hard to make, in fact the first one I made was from a tree limb from the live oak tree in our front yard. While the live oak is a lot harder to turn than the pine tree the wood does result in a really nice ornament. I would show a photo of it but I got excited and gave it to a friend before taking a photo of it. I watched a lot of folks on You Tube use friction polish so I thought I would give it a try. It resulted in a look and feel between the buffing system and the polyurethane. It was also a lot faster than the polyurethane. I think I like the friction polish the best.
