String Pendant

Grab a drink, sit back and let me spin you a yarn and weave a tale of Mr. Peter Brown with cabin fever during the start of the pandemic lockdown, for which there was only one vaccine… making something!

After rummaging through his shop hunting for the right material, he ran across a spool of multicolored twine that a viewer once sent him.  Existing within this vibrant cordage was a thread of an idea just waiting to be pulled.

Peter’s thought was to combine this tangle of hues and a dark resin to create a nice pendant with flecks of color throughout. 

Several pumps of resin and hardener along with a couple of drops of resin pigmenting liquid resulted in an intense black goo that would send even Lt. Tasha Yarn running.

Once the jumble of string was submerged in a cup of this foul mixture, it was off to the pressure pot to cure.  After the resin had been given plenty of time to set up, it was easily demolded and sliced with his bandsaw. Using a pencil on the base when it was fully running, Peter was able to draw out several concentric circles to help obtain a proper alignment.

It was then mounted to the lathe using a big helping of hot glue.

Using a variety of lathe tools, he coaxed the resin puck into a rounded disc shape then finally turning to some Yorkshire Grit to obtain a nice polished smooth surface.

Once the main surface was gussied up, it was time to create the hangy hole for the pendant. Instead of just drilling out the hole and calling it a day, Peter reattached the pendant to the lathe with a slight offset.

This allowed him to bore out the hole while using more lathe tools and sandpaper to put a classy bevel in as well.

The final product was a stylish black talisman with hints of green and red. The intensity of the black pigment permeated all other colors resulting in a more muted effect. While Peter’s initial string theory may have been a bit off, it was knot a problem as this project satisfied every creative fiber of his being at the time. The solace and comfort of making something provided a necessary respite from the world’s troubles if only for a short while.