Self-made Silver Maple Divination Tools
Posted: Thu May 31, 2018 7:30 am
So I set out a few days ago with the thought, "I'm going to sit under the tree and whittle a pendulum."
...
A few hours later, I found myself with four gorgeous vaguely pendulum-y objects... and wood for another wand, and wood for a slingshot... the fallen branches were just too good looking to pass up. I never planned the shapes/designs/specific functionality of these, the wood was just sort of like, "here, this is what to do with this part, and this part..." etc. I found myself shaking my head like, "These are not pendulums..." and "Haha, no, these are better than your 1-dimensional ideas about pendulums."
To make these I used a sickle-shaped woodcarving knife, fine grit sandpaper, and a simple flat chisel.
The one on the left is the "true" pendulum, in that it's meant to hang from a string or chain for its use. I am thinking that I will borrow my brother's drill and just use a very small bit to drill a hole through the left and right sides of it to pass an attachment through. I could just tie string around it, but I don't think it would be quite as secure.
Second to the left is probably the one i worked the longest on. I wanted a nice smooth drop shape. It's the only one I really used the sandpaper on, because I liked the natural looking cuts on the other wood. This one is meant to be dropped on a flat surface, and the direction it points is the message. Due to its shape and material it can be dropped from only a few inches above a smooth, flat surface and bounce any particular way at all. It's been super neat to play around with this and watch it jump--for "jump" really is the better way than "bounce" to describe its unpredictable movements.
Third (Second to the right) is a spinner-pointer. (If there's a better name for such a thing, I don't know it.) I really enjoyed making this one, and you can't see it, but the tip is a bit hollow, sort of like a hypodermic needle. another fun one to just spin around on a smooth, flat surface.
The last one was definitely not my idea, but it was the first one I made. I was going to make it into a regular pendulum, or even a flat pendulum, but the wood basically said, "Lol, nope, you're making something else." I don't really know what to call this thing. "Divining rod" and "Planchette" sort of approximate its use, though. To use it, I place my thumb in the valley on top and then hold it by curling my fingers underneath. The bottom of the tip of this tool sits pretty evenly on a flat surface, so it could be used as a tool for a Ouija board (which I don't actually own and haven't used since i was a teenager) or some map or grid.
I'm very happy with how they turned out and how little time it took to make them. Usually my woodworking projects take forever (my wand and knife felt like they took a freaking eternity,) but this crescent knife is really nice, and these are all quite small. (the longest about 4 cm) I haven't finished the charging stuff for them yet, so it'll be interesting to see how/if the results change after I do that.
...
A few hours later, I found myself with four gorgeous vaguely pendulum-y objects... and wood for another wand, and wood for a slingshot... the fallen branches were just too good looking to pass up. I never planned the shapes/designs/specific functionality of these, the wood was just sort of like, "here, this is what to do with this part, and this part..." etc. I found myself shaking my head like, "These are not pendulums..." and "Haha, no, these are better than your 1-dimensional ideas about pendulums."
To make these I used a sickle-shaped woodcarving knife, fine grit sandpaper, and a simple flat chisel.
The one on the left is the "true" pendulum, in that it's meant to hang from a string or chain for its use. I am thinking that I will borrow my brother's drill and just use a very small bit to drill a hole through the left and right sides of it to pass an attachment through. I could just tie string around it, but I don't think it would be quite as secure.
Second to the left is probably the one i worked the longest on. I wanted a nice smooth drop shape. It's the only one I really used the sandpaper on, because I liked the natural looking cuts on the other wood. This one is meant to be dropped on a flat surface, and the direction it points is the message. Due to its shape and material it can be dropped from only a few inches above a smooth, flat surface and bounce any particular way at all. It's been super neat to play around with this and watch it jump--for "jump" really is the better way than "bounce" to describe its unpredictable movements.
Third (Second to the right) is a spinner-pointer. (If there's a better name for such a thing, I don't know it.) I really enjoyed making this one, and you can't see it, but the tip is a bit hollow, sort of like a hypodermic needle. another fun one to just spin around on a smooth, flat surface.
The last one was definitely not my idea, but it was the first one I made. I was going to make it into a regular pendulum, or even a flat pendulum, but the wood basically said, "Lol, nope, you're making something else." I don't really know what to call this thing. "Divining rod" and "Planchette" sort of approximate its use, though. To use it, I place my thumb in the valley on top and then hold it by curling my fingers underneath. The bottom of the tip of this tool sits pretty evenly on a flat surface, so it could be used as a tool for a Ouija board (which I don't actually own and haven't used since i was a teenager) or some map or grid.
I'm very happy with how they turned out and how little time it took to make them. Usually my woodworking projects take forever (my wand and knife felt like they took a freaking eternity,) but this crescent knife is really nice, and these are all quite small. (the longest about 4 cm) I haven't finished the charging stuff for them yet, so it'll be interesting to see how/if the results change after I do that.