backstory: i made this on friday, at tutorial (study hall). i had an english reading that i needed to finish before seventh period, and i didn’t want to stay in my class so i walked up and joined R in the woodshop. naturally, i didn’t get any work done – i just started planning out what my unicorn washi tape holder was going to look like. with about 15 minutes of class left, i decided to show R, who is also into sewing, the point turner that sarah kirsten made. i told her that i wanted to try making one too. after the usual what’s the point just use a chopstick argument, she agreed that it would be quite easy to make in the woodshop, but argued that a miter saw (?) should be used instead of a band saw. now, i’m not great with tools and wood and such. sophomore year i got it in my head that i wanted to carve a wooden bowl so i asked Mr. M, the engineering teacher to teach me how to use the lathe. i used it about three times, only carving a weird candlestick looking thing out of a block of wood before getting too busy with schoolwork and such. R took the band saw course, so that was why i knew about that. the lathe and the band saw were the extent of my current woodworking tool knowledge.

R went to show me why she thought the miter saw would be a better option when Mr. M saw us wandering around that area and started talking with us. i showed him the picture of sarah kirsten’s point turner and he said, you could make that right now. do you want to?

completely forgetting about my english homework (james baldwin can wait right?), i took the chance. he chose a piece of wood for me and we used a tool i can’t remember the name of to flatten the wood by taking off the top layer, if that makes any sense, so that the piece would be the right thickness. he showed me how to use the band saw to cut the corners. that part was so cool. i don’t get why R is scared of the band saw – it’s freaking awesome! and it’s not that difficult to use to make a point turner, you just adjust the cover thingy and guide the wood in along the line. i used an electric sander thing to sand out the point, then cut the curved edge using another type of band saw. all that’s left was to sand it and then i was done! in 10 minutes! that was pretty cool and special. moments like that make me love school.

i took my point turner with me to maths class and showed it off to my friends who were all very confused as to what it was, but they could tell i was really proud of it, so they complimented it anyways. actually, my friend M thought it was a large, un-proportional wooden pencil at first lol.

i came home and decided to make a pouch with my new point turner to test it out! this scrappy little coin pouch is inspired by elbe textiles use of scraps and i love it! i actually hadn’t planned to make this scrappy, but the upholstery suede scrap i was using for the bottom had some holes in it, so i covered those up with fabric patches and added other lines of stitching for aesthetic.

my point turner worked pretty well. i still think a chopstick is the best way to poke out those stubborn corners, but this was a close second. it was just a little fat to fit into this small pouch, so my next point turner will be longer and skinnier. yes, there will be a next time! Mr. M even let me keep the wood i used for a future time, which i am very grateful for. i can’t remember the type of wood this is though – i know, bad woodworker right here. R and i used the same wood for the backing of some of the stamps and i’ve heard the name before but i can’t remember it for some reason! ahhhhhhhhhh. oh well, i’ll have to ask Mr. M next time i can get away from my tutorial.