When I decided to make a necklace for Paula from a piece of cocobolo wood that I had found in the scrap bin at the local lumber yard, I had no idea how it would turn out. All I knew was that I had a unique piece of wood and a workshop full of tools.

I used an ancient technique for transferring a sketch onto a piece of wood called “whacking the edge with a pencil.” It was taught to me by an old man back in mainland China over 50 years ago. Or was it 500? Either way, Kung-Fu was involved. Pretty much you just cut the sketch out and whack the edge of it with a pencil. I find that it gives a nice, accurate transfer that can be traced along the hash marks.

The process of making this pendant can be boiled down to five steps: cut, sand, drill, wipe, and wear.

Step 1: Cut

Here I’m roughly following the shape of my sketch on a 1/4″ piece of bocote wood. Since my dinky bandsaw doesn’t make the greatest cuts and has a hard time staying accurate, I like to finish the edges of small parts on my belt sander.

You may notice that I’m wearing some protective gear. I advise you to do the same.

Chop, chop – I try to keep my fingers out of the “danger zone” that is the yellow throat plate.

Here’s some time-traveling photography showing the part that’s already sanded.

Here’s the rough cut necklace blank – notice the irregular edges.

Step 2: Sand

First, I’ll use the sander to bring the edges of the piece in-line with the sketch that I drew. A quality mask is important for power sanding! This spot on the sander is my favorite – there’s no backplate, so the sanding belt forms a slight curve when I press down on it. Perfect for shaping the pendant.

I’m very good in the overdo-ification department, so a quick glance throughout the sanding process keeps me from overdoing it and ruining the piece.

The next step is a little more tricky and dangerous. YES! Danger is my middle name. I start by sanding a bevel around the face of the necklace. This helps me see where I’ll place the front edge of the finished necklace. From that point, I’ll gently work the bevel toward the center until all the edges meet, hopefully eliminating any flat spots in the center. (Danger is not really my middle name. Yes it is.)

Now I’m working the bevel inwards. I’m going for a conical shape instead of a true radius – similar to the edge of a Macbook.

Be careful here! With this much contact on the belt sander, watch your knuckles and finger tips, and be ready for things to fly if it gets out of control. It’s much faster to cut out another piece of wood than grow fresh knuckle meat…trust me, I’ve tried both. Thin parts are in danger of getting stuck under the fence as well, which make cool looking potato chips that taste like wood.

Try not to allow your eyeballs absorb too much sawdust and splinters. I like a moderate amount, but it can get uncomfortable quickly if not controlled.

I use a small piece of 320 sandpaper to sand away the scratch marks left by the 60grit belt sander. I’m not too worried about getting it perfectly smooth…some of the natural wood texture in the finished piece is nice.

Step 3: Drill

Looking at the edge, you can see the irregular curve of the top surface. I really like the way that looks, as it shows the character of a handmade piece, instead of the perfection of something manufactured.

I usually use a combination of laser vision and inner rage to bore the hole, but that gets tiring. I use a drill press now. I think this was a 3/32″ bit.

Step 4: Linseed Oil

A Tung oil finish tends to looks nicer, but the long drying time keep me from using it. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with boiled linseed oil which goes on easily and dries quickly. Although it seems to take a few coats to keep the wood looking rich, the natural look of the wood after the oil had soaked in is appealing – much more than a noticeable coat of polyurethane. Here, you can see the stark difference on the bocote wood after the oil is applied.

Cocobolo getting the same linseed oil treatment.

Here’s the linseed oil soaking into the wood. A quick buff after it’s dry returns some of the luster .

From left to right (as well as top to bottom on the stack behind the pendants): Bocote, Cocobola, and a rough cut piece of Cocobola wood.

Step 5: Wear

Yes, you are correct. That is a genuine Sanrio plastic tool box. Nothing but the toughest for real men.

Here are the bits and pieces that I used for the necklace chain. Resist the urge to eat them. I cannot, but I’m hoping you’re better than me.

Voilà! Here’s our friend Tina wearing the Wabi Necklace in Bocote.