Most of the pieces, including the pot are Elm, though the spoon is Beech and the fork is Pear.
As it happens the same colleague is retiring after 31 years service so it fell on me to make him a presentation plaque. The old axe was acquired from ebay a while ago and just needed de-resting and cleaning.
It was then taken to the local chromer's for coating.
Meanwhile I selected some English Oak to make the plaque. This was simply squared off and edge routed with a moulding bit
This is the plaque finished, unfortunately the photo was taken with my phone.The axe is mounted on the plaque via 5/8" Oak dowels.
Finally for now here's another little project I did for a friend
When I make these I first compose and print the font on the computer. I then trace the outline of the letters onto the timber using Saral. I then rout to a depth of about 4mm using a 2mm bit. Tight corners and details can be crisped up using small gouges and chisels. Before painting the letters I apply sanding sealer to stop the paint flooding into the grain around the letters. This is particularly important when using an open grained such as I have done here with this Oak. Finally finish with the preferred medium; in my case about 5 or 6 coats of Danish Oil.
I'm doing a bit of demonstrating tomorrow so I'll try and think on and take my camera to take a few snaps.