Progress!

I have been making scroll candlestick holders and backscratchers lately to prep for the May Market Fair.  My goal will be to learn a lot making the same thing over and over again and also to build up some inventory to sell at the Fair.  I plan to have a dozen of each by May.  I would also like to have 20-30 hooks done as well, but I haven't really started on those yet.

The last few weeks (through the holiday break) have been big for me in terms of progress.  On the backscratchers, I figured out how to make the twist on the handle finally.  I started out trying to twist the two ends around each other and then realized it was way easier to bend the piece and then grab the loop to make the twist.  That knowledge saved me huge amounts of time and I ended up being able to make one in 30 minutes this week, which pleased me.

I have learned a tremendous amount on the candlestick holders as well.  I learned the following things related to the pipe portion of the project:

1. Don't cut the pipe with the hardy cut off - the pipe will get smashed and be unusable for the next time
2. Cut the pipe with a hacksaw and begin the cut rightat the end of the fullered portion because otherwise you will end up with too much material for the rivet
3. Stand on a piece of 4x4 or something else to make yourself taller when hammering the pipe in the fuller in the vise - I did this a few times standing on the ground and I ended up getting way too fatigued and the fuller job wasn't as nice because I was rushing to get the whacking over with
4. Buy short pieces of pipe because it is hard to use them again after making a cup off one end (requires cleaning the end up with a hacksaw cut to start egain)
5. 1-1/4" pipe is too big for most candles, so I have switched to 1" to give that a try

I learned a tremendous amount lately and will post more as time permits.