Valentine's Day 2024... anything special you might have made or done for today?

I glued up and shaped some scraps of exotic wood and this is what I ended up with for my dearest friend, my wife of 47+ years. (2-3/8" across the width (60mm))

It doesn’t light up, but her eyes did. :smiley:

3 Thanks

That’s amazing. I think I only recognise purpleheart. The radii applied really gives it a nice warmth to the shape. Well done!

No way, that’s awesome.

Fantastic Don!

The way I view this work piece, the two halves appear to represent you and your wife facing one another, with the straight scrap at the bottom forming your 47-year bond of friendship!

No doubt it did you old, romantic softy you! :heart_eyes: I can only hope to be as romantic in another 17 years!

Thank you for sharing!

Yep. Purpleheart is hard to forget. … Looking at the right side, the next strip to the right of the purpleheart is osage orange with padauk, the orange-red strip next. The right-most piece of brown is a mystery. I don’t recall its name. It’s not walnut but I have lost track of what it is. It came out of the scrap box marked “brownish”. The centerpiece between the two purpleheart pieces is also a mysterywood. A shade of yellowy-brown.

Note: Pretty much all of these naturally colored woods end up as a gray or brown color in a few months to a year or so. They oxidize with exposure to air and exposure to UV also causes color change/fade. Most clear finishes do not screen the UV out. However, Varathane does make a UV resistant water-based clear finish. It’s an outdoor-rated product. I apply three thin coats of it first, let dry for at least 24 hours, lightly sand, and then spray with several thin coats of clear lacquer.

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to comment. :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

Noice!

What about the UV coatings to protect headlights after unclouding them?

It could be a good alternative. I’ll keep that in mind. I still have a pint left and it lasts a long time.

Not really…I installed BIOS and chipset updates to my motherboard to make sure it ran as smoothly as possible with the new components I added.