Revealed! - The Mystery Wooden Object's Secret Identity!

"Now let's see who the Mystery Wooden Object really is!"
"Why it's old Mr. Wilson - the caretaker of the amusement park!"
"Jeepers!"
"Yes, and I'd have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for you meddling kids..."

*****

Oops! Sorry, that was from the Scooby Doo edition of this post - don't know how that snuck in here...

Okay - are you ready?

(Click here first if you haven't read the previous two relevant posts)


The Mystery Wooden Object (MWO) is...










...a Pakistani Cow Amulet! Yes! What?

Congratulations Regis! You are the clear winner:
"Looks like a cow bell. Maybe that darker square insert in the back holds the "bells" inside. Or an ornament to put around an animal's neck."How did you come up with that anyway? Email me your address and I'll send you your prize!

Okay, so when Kaija called me, she had just been to a little store back East, which she describes as being a "woodsy/crafty/chotsky with a smattering of international groovy stuff" type store. While perusing the goods, she came up short in front of a small tray full of MWOs! The accompanying signage simply stated, "Pakistani Cow Amulets."

Here's what she saw:


Well, after talking to Kaija, I called the store to pump them for information. They didn't really have much. About all they knew was that they were some kind of amulet worn by cows to help keep them safe. Hmm.

Armed with this new knowledge I called Uncle Google and had a long, long chat. It took awhile, but here's a summary of what I found out:

(And remember - "It's on the internet, so it must be true!")

Mostly associated with the Swat Valley in Pakistan (but covering a much wider region of Pakistan and Afghanistan, at least according to some sources) these amulets are believed to protect and identify livestock - possibly cows, but more likely goats or sheep. They are worn around the neck of the animal. Some are very simple, with no carving and just the hole at the top for the cord to pass through. Others are carved in ancient patterns (said to be Buddhist designs by one source). Still others go to a higher level of protection - incorporating a small chamber containing a prayer or blessing from a local religious leader. Apparently, after the animal is slaughtered, the amulet is used on another animal - which means some of the amulets are very old. Types of wood mentioned were cedar and rosewood.

Well, that explained just about everything I (we) had noticed about the MWO. I was right about the wear pattern inside the through mortise, only I was picturing it upside-down with the rope or fabric at the bottom, while in reality the amulet hung from the cord, not the other way around. And the square of wood in the back was not a cut off tenon - it is the plug to the hollowed-out chamber. Cool!

Kaija graciously went back to the store and picked up a few of the MWO's cousins for me. Here is a set of "reunion" photos:






You can see the range of details. Only one has a plug. Only two have any carving - one with a triangular design (upper left - the same one that has the plug) and one with a simple series of kerfs cut in the sides (lower left - five kerfs on one side, and six on the other). One has almost the exact same shape as my original, but no plug, no carving and is generally more "rough". In fact, all of these seem a bit more primitive than my first one.

Of course, I have a ton of new questions. Who makes these? Are they made by a specialist (town woodworker or carver?), or by the church, or are they made by the owner of the livestock? What kind of wood is it? It sure doesn't look like cedar (well, N. American cedar isn't really cedar anyway, so how would I know?) or rosewood. Are they still being made/used? How did these end up here? Why weren't they reused? How old are they?

If you have any insight, please post a comment. But for now, I'm satisfied - and the MWO is no longer a MWO. It is a Pakistani livestock amulet.

Finally, I have no idea if these things really work, but it just might explain the increased frequency of this kind of occurrence at our house:

Solved! Mystery Wooden Object Identified - Teaser.

"Make Way! Blow the trumpets!" The Mystery Wooden Object has been identified! Yes!

I've said before that I love mysteries, and I love them even more when they get solved. This one took over two years, which only makes it that much sweeter.

Back in July of 2008 I wrote a post about the Mystery Wooden Object and asked readers for help in identifying it. Some interesting ideas were bounced around, but there was no breakthrough.

Then, a couple of months ago my niece Kaija (of Kaija's Project fame) called me from the East Coast with the big news: she had a hard lead on the answer, in fact she was standing in front of a small pile of my Mystery Wooden Object's cousins!

Well, after talking to her and doing some additional research, I now know quite a bit about the MWO - which I will share in a future post.

I thought it might be fun to see if anyone wanted to take one last shot at identifying it. As an incentive, I'll send my spare copy of Making Authentic Craftsman Furniture to the first person who pegs it, or to whoever gets closest before I spill the beans.

Here are some newer shots to mull over:







And one of the prize:



Good luck! And one hint - forget about the East Coast connection. It's more than a bit of a red herring...

"Bonus Fun" Answers

Okay, here are the answers to the "bonus fun" challenge from the last post (click on image for a larger view):


#1 - Vise Grips
#2 - Hand Screw (Jorgensen type)
#3 - Miller Falls #2 Hand Drill
#4 - Generic "eggbeater" Hand Drill
#5 - Vaughan "Bear" Japanese Style Saw
#6 - North Brother's "Yankee" 2101 8" Brace
#7 - Adjustable "Crescent" Wrench
#8 - Sock
#9 - Irwin 1/4" Auger Bit
#10 - Stanley #40 Scrub Plane
#11 - Stanley #5 Jack Plane
#12 - Extra Large Gouge
#13 - Parting Tool
#14 - Bowl Gouge
#15 - Spindle Gouge
#16 - Half Round File

Thanks to all who participated - particularly Clarke and Brian, this challenge's Ubergaloots! I salute you!

Making A New Turning Saw - Part IV - Now With Bonus Fun Attached!

Well, the new turning saw is almost finished. There were only two things left to work on, the tensioning mechanism, and the blade (or web) assembly. Really pretty straight forward - which of course, in my shop, just cannot be tolerated! It was time to make things "better".

My first idea on improving things was by changing the way the rods that hold the blade were attached to the knobs. On the couple of turning saws I've made before, the rod was simply epoxied into the knob. Very easy to make and works fine - or did, until the epoxy lost its hold on the rod in the prototype saw. This started me thinking; could the rod be mechanically fastened to the knob? I played around with numerous versions including threaded inserts, jam nuts, all thread, etc. etc. I even build a mock-up to test a couple of these ideas:


Finally, I decided to just use a carriage bolt that passes all the way through the knob. By squaring the hole with a chisel, the squared shank of the bolt (just under the head) will keep the rod from turning independently of the knob. I didn't however, like the look of the bolt head - especially the raised three letter part code. So, as frequently happens, one solution created another challenge. I ended up heating the bolt head red hot and peening it in the pritchel hole of my small anvil to create a "hammered" look. Then I tried something new, which I had only read about - darkening the steel with an oil patina.

Here's what I did. I put a thin coat of Tried and True Original Wood Finish (linseed oil and beeswax) on the bolt heads. Then, holding the bolts in a machinist's vise, I heated the shank below the head with a torch until the oil began to smoke and darken. It took a little practice to get the heating just right. Too much heat (the first time, I heated the bolt head directly) and the oil burnt off completely - too little and it just looked bad and didn't harden. In the end, I had bolt heads that were black, with dark amber highlights. Cool! I really like it when a project takes me into new territory - especially when it works out well.




At this point I should have been almost done, but after looking at my curvy, rounded saw parts, and the straight, faceted design of my knobs I knew it was time to break out the spring pole lathe and make some rounded knobs.

Here's a shot of my spring pole lathe in storage:


And here it is in action:



Several years ago I started building a fly-wheel treadle lathe ala St. Roy. It was slow going and mid-build, eager to see if I even enjoyed turning, I converted it to a spring pole set-up. I rigged up a shock-cord spring on the ceiling and built an overly complex (hmm...) treadle. It worked well enough for me to make the shaker pegs for the peg board coat rack that now lives under the medicine cabinet; and I haven't finished the fly-wheel part - yet.

After turning the knobs, I drilled the holes for the bolts, cut the knobs to length, created a square mortise for the carriage bolt shanks, and they were ready to go:






Now all that is left to do is cut the slots and pin holes in the rod ends to hold the blade, cut the blade to length, and mount it. Then wrap the cord and use the toggle stick to create tension. That's it!

Oh, well that, and actually test it and see if it even works! Details, details...

Continued and CONCLUDED (I swear!) in Part V.

BONUS FUN!

While you are waiting for Part V, here's a random tool shot and a bit of fun. Can you name the 16 hand tools visible in this photo? Ubergaloot status granted to the first commenter with the correct list! Or the closest list; this might be harder than I think. Click on the image for a larger view and give it a shot!