Octagonal Hand Mirror With Hand Carved Handle
I made this large octagonal hand mirror as a birthday present for my wife. I keep promising to make a wooden bracket for wall mounting. It kind of grew around the beveled mirror. It kind of looks like something a guitar maker would make. I love purpleheart although it is very hard wood and difficult to carve. I carved it mostly with a heavy duty scraper I had made for archtop guitar carving. It's a wonderful wood in that when cut it turns brown but almost immediately returns to purple as it oxidizes. The maple and ebony were just lying around excess from a guitar I had previously made. The mirror was my first use of Tried and True polymerized linseed oil varnish. I wanted to use a finish that is safe to touch every day. This finish thrives on being touched, getting deeper looking as it is handled. The leaf shaped handle just came about naturally without a pattern.
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Paul Norman has two interrelated businesses. Forbidden Fruit Guitars refers to his lutherie (guitar making) business. Forbidden Fruit Designs includes all furniture and crafts that are not guitars.
- MW
M. Wheeler
For Front Porch Rebuild5.0I hired Paul Norman of SherpaDog Renovations to rebuild a large enclosed front porch which had been destroyed by carpenter ants! I was pleased by the variety of cost effective redesign options Paul offered. In the end I chose to add some ornament to my Victorian home. He replaced the exterior plain shingles with scalloped ones, designed a diamond pattern (instead of the common basket weave) for the exterior skirt of the porch, added wainscoting under the interior windows, built a beautiful wooden ceiling and installed casement windows. I was thrilled with the results. Paul's attention to detail and fine carpentry skills resulted in a porch much admired by my neighbors and friends. I recommend him to anyone looking for a reliable, conscientious and creative carpenter. I would definitely hire him again.
- RF
Richard Frank
For Wooden Cover for residential holding tank5.0Very good. No problems, builder took time to ask questions and provide suggested design elements.
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