HedgeKogs!

I love hearing her say that so much- that I made a second one! The first was made with walnut- really nice to work with, and so deliciously smooth when finished. The second is my mystery wood- I thought it was cherry, and it still might be, but, it is definitely a hard wood, too- slow to cut, but, finishes really nicely.

Every farm needs hedgekogs.

I did set out to make another farm animal, though- I thought she could use horses in several colors. I got a bunch of figured woods in a scrap box, and tried out this one. I thought it might be cherry- and I guess it may be- but, OMG. This is really, really hard- and a true 1″ thick, so it was a beast to cut on the scroll saw. I ended up finishing it on the bandsaw.

Through much effort, I sanded him smooth as can be- and seriously, this wood laughed at my sand paper- it is hard stuff. So, I pop a bit in the drill press and go to give him his eyes. And the stinking bit got STUCK halfway into the wood. It wouldn’t budge- it yanked it right out of the chuck. My sweet husband got it turning with some pliers- and snap. Stupid horse has a drill bit lodged in his skull. Luckily, it’s way in there, no jagged metal to scratch, and it is definitely not coming out anytime soon- but, ugh. As pretty as I think this wood is, I am not working with it again anytime soon!

So, I went back to my walnut stash, and made a really simple little baby owl. Which, I suppose, can live in a barn and be a contribution to the farm. He’s not my favorite, but, my daughter knew it was an owl right away- AND he didn’t eat any drill bits. So, I like him.