This woodturning is a bronze wire inlaid Christmas ornament made of aspen and walnut finished with shellac. The body is a near sphere. It is solid – not hollowed out except for a 1/2″ hole thru the center. It weighs in at about one ounce. The turning blank is salvaged from an off cut from a green turned bowl.

The finials are also salvaged walnut from another bowl. I was fortunate to find a piece with the grain running along its length for the finial. The bottom of each finial has a 1/2″ tenon and a 45 degree chamfer. These mate to corresponding parts of the body.

I inlaid a bronze wire around the body. I first cut a groove for the wire and cut the wire to be just a little long. After sanding the end of the wire flat and perpendicular, I glued in the very end of the wire to the groove. After the glue hardened, I glued in the remaining wire in sections, keeping tension on the wire until the glue hardened. I trimmed the very end to fit and also sanded it flat and perpendicular. Then it was glued in to complete the inlay.This bell is part of the Christmas Ornament Woodturning Challenge 2012. Please view the playlist at http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4W9FE566kZhU-Mo7smbQgsUb-wpUJGom. Carl Jacobson and I are sponsoring this challenge.