Single piece crosier – part 3
I want a nice brass tip for the bottom of the staff. The only place I found one large enough was Lee Valley out of Canada. I ordered it but it will take a few days. I need to get the finished size of the tip down to a 1″ diameter so I broke out the spoke-shave and started finessing the elliptical end down to a circle.
Looks pretty good for now but I will have to wait till the tip arrives before I can finalize the end.
Since I have a few days to wait, I decided on a low-gloss Tung oil finish. The oils will really bring out the colors and give the wood a warmer tone. There is also a protective polymer in this oil finish that will soak into the surface and build up with successive coats.
Since the crosier is such an odd shape, this finish will be easier to control and I can wipe away any excess so I don’t get drips and runs.
I think it really looks good after the first coat.
Between each coat, I sand the surface down with 400 grit paper to keep it nice and smooth.
After three coats, the finish is starting to build just above the surface of the wood. Just enough to give it protection and make it easy to clean, but not so thick a coating that it looks plastic.
When it is dry, I buff it up with some crumpled brown paper to give it a smooth, soft feel.
Finish took a couple days because I had to let each coat dry before the next. The tip finally arrived around the time the last coat was dry.
I need to taper the end a bit and step the radius down to fit inside the metal tip. I use a chisel to cut the shoulder in, all the way around, then pare back the wood to the shoulder with the same chisel.
This gives me a nice seat for the tip to rest on.
After locating the tip and marking the center of the mounting hole, I drilled a pilot hole for the screw.
After attaching the mounting screw, I screwed in the threaded insert that will hold the rubber tip.
Then I screwed on the rubber tip.
I think it looks pretty good and it is solidly attached.
the crosier is done and I am really happy with the way the grain looks all finished.
Time to get it ready to ship across the country.
I have never shipped anything this long before so I figured I would make a nice crate out of wood to keep it safe on it’s journey.
I placed a few off-cuts of the wormy maple in the center to prevent the top from being pressed down in the middle. Might be a nice souvenir for someone.
The sides and bottom are glued and nailed, but the top is held on with screws.
This was a challenging but fun project. I was really happy with how it turned out. The cross-lamination of wood has really strengthened the curve at the top. This is the first time I have worked with olivewood and the first single piece crosier that I have made so this one is truly one of a kind.
Just a quick addition, I was sent a few photos of the gentleman who received the crosier.
Midnight Woodworking 