How a Napkin Holder Produced a Shopsmith

My intro to woodworking was as a small boy shadowing my dad on his various home improvement projects, including the complete remodel of the kitchen in one of the houses we lived in.  I'm not sure when he first got his Shopsmith, but I remember thinking it was one of the coolest things I had ever seen.  I remember when he got the scroll saw attachment and let me use it to make Christmas ornaments for each member of my family.  Ever since I wanted one of my own.  They always seemed too cost prohibitive (a new one is a few thousand dollars)

Last winter my wife mentioned the desire to have napkin holder on the table.  To me it sounded like the perfect time to justify the purchase of a scroll saw.  I figured I was going to need to spend about $500 to get a decent one (Dewalt), so I consulted my dad.  In discussing it with him, he told me it was definitely worth the money to get a quality tool (which he has always said) and then the idea struck him that sounded crazy to me at first but it took root.  He said that for the price of shipping (I'm east coast - he's west coast) I could have his old scroll saw attachment if I found a Shopsmith or power stand for it.

Sure enough, I started looking on Craigslist.org and found a used Shopsmith for $500.

It ran great and was basically only being used as a drill press, so I bought it and my dad shipped the scroll saw attachment.  I couldn't wait to use it.  I found a guy that sold air dried hardwood at a reasonable price and bought a cherry board that he planed for me (I don't have one yet).  This would become the napkin holder, and the rest could be used for any number of projects.

Carved vs. scroll saw cut-out

Beginning to carve

Sept Progress

Before the napkin holder was complete, several other projects were made with both the Shopsmith and the cherry board (including clocks, toys for Christmas, wooden spoons, bowls, lots of lathe trials, etc.  Those projects will get posted later.)  I don't think I could have bought a more expensive napkin holder, but I had fun along the way and learned a lot, too.

About the napkin holder:
It took me nearly a year but the napkin holder is finally finished.  The idea came from a internet search for dolphin napkin holders.  I didn't like any of the designs, but found a tattoo design that I modified to use on the wood.  The original idea was to cut it out of the scroll saw and attach it to the base and be done.  Since my cherry wood was 3/4" it looked too blocky. I decided to put my Dremel tool to use and carved it.  I'm not trained in carving other than the carving merit badge I got twenty some years ago, so there was a lot of trial and error. It may not be perfection, but I'm pleased with the result.  The carving was pretty much done in October, but the dreaded sanding just kept getting postponed.  The finish was simple.  I used boiled linseed oil to bring out the beautiful grain and let it dry.  After about a week I finished it with several coats of spray shellac.  Screws through the base are countersunk and the base was covered in felt.  It was satisfying to finally finish this small project, but the best part is that she loves it.

Stay tuned for my Christmas projects and future projects.

My YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYbVLavLl50&feature=share&list=UU8ZF1gGzrTMPPGpWkxANveg