5 1/4 Inch Myrtlewood Knotting Tatting Shuttle with Pyrography

 Dave has used pyrography, or burn etching, to adorn both sides of this large myrtlewood knotting tatting shuttle.  This beautiful fiber art tool measures 5 1/4 inches in length, and 1 1/2 inches in width.  An additional photo can be found in the Etsy shop listing for this lace making tool.

Masur Birch Bobbin Tatting Shuttle

Masur Birch Bobbin Tatting Shuttle

This rare and highly decorative wood comes from Finland. Birch trees may be attacked by beetles and produce pitch flecks in the cambium layer. These dark markings can produce unusual grain patterns standing out in contrast against the lighter colored background of the wood. This shuttle is 2 ½ inches in overall length, with a #14 steel crochet/picot hook inset in the nose. Dave has also inlayed a dot of Truestone turquoise in the butt. Truestone is fine powdered turquoise that has been cast with resin making a composite material that can be turned on a lathe or hand worked. The bobbin is a common Class 66 plastic singer bobbin. More bobbins can be purchased at Walmart or any of the many sewing stores. The tension/drag on the bobbin can be adjusted by the brass screw post axle. This beautiful tatting shuttle has been finished with a handrubbed satin bees wax finish.

More photos of this tatting shuttle may be seen at the current Ebay auction.

Rosewood Tatting Shuttle with Fine Silver Inlay

Rosewood Tatting Shuttle with Fine Silver Inlay

Dave crafted this 2 5/8 inch post tatting shuttle from dark East Indian Rosewood. JoAnna made the 99.99 fine silver disc for him to inlay on one side. It has a satin hand rubbed bees wax finish. This tatting shuttle has been initialed and dated by Dave.

Please click here if you would like to visit the Ebay auction for this fiber art tool.

Handcrafted Walnut Tatting Shuttle with Inlayed Ceramic Cameo

Handcrafted Walnut Tatting Shuttle with Inlayed Ceramic Cameo

Dave handcrafted this 2 ¾ inch shuttle out of Walnut. Jo, Good Dirt Jewelry, made this kiln fired ceramic cameo of the Three Muses (or Three Graces) with a pink glaze for me to inset into the shuttle. The burn etched motif is one of Dave's favorites because it looks so classical and also makes the shuttle look like a little musical instrument. This shuttle has a hand rubbed bees wax satin finish. This shuttle has been initialed and dated by Dave. An additional photo may be viewed at the Ebay auction for this piece.

Q&A About Imported Bone Tatting Shuttles

Q&A About Imported Bone Tatting Shuttles

Dave tries to never rag on any other shuttles or shuttle makers, but he has gotten a few questions from patrons asking what they can do about the inexpensive imported bone shuttle they bought that has come apart where it has been glued together. He provides the following information from his experience:

"These imported bone post shuttles are held together with modern CA glue or cyanoacrylates [tradenames: Hot Stuff, Zap, Crazy Glue, etc.]. CA glue is great and I use it on wood and ancient ivory however I do not use it to make a bone post shuttle. Why? Bone is not ivory! Ivory is a modified tooth (tusk) and is formed differently than bone. Bone was a living organ within the animal and filled with blood, marrow and fatty acids and oils. The processing of bone includes a "de-greasing" process which requires soaking in a solvent to remove all the grease. If not completely de-greased all the way through, the bone will continue to oooze oil to the surface, even years later. My guess is that the problem some folks are having is maybe the bone material was not completely de-greased. It would be something like rubbing a little vasoline on the 2 surfaces and then trying to stick them together with glue. That won’t work!

If you want to keep your bone shuttle I recommend you pick up a can of liquid Coleman Stove Fuel which is also called "white gas", put some in a mason jar and soak the bone shuttle parts in it for about a month, changing the solvent a couple of times. The white gas is flamable and should be kept in the garage or outside and away from any ignition sources. Once de-greased and dry you can rough up the glue points on the bone with sand paper and re-glue with CA glue.

A couple of years ago I bought a few bison leg bones from a Buffalo Ranch here in Oregon and started the process of cleaning and de-greasing the bone. What a job! What a mess! It seemed to take for ever changing the solvent time after time before I felt all the oils were all out of the bone. I still don’t use the bone for gluing post shuttles, I only use it to make the one piece side shuttles and Lady Hoare shuttles.

Ivory on the other hand is a different story. Fresh ivory may have some natural oils but I do not use fresh ivory. The ancient mammoth ivory I use has been in the ground or ice for over 10,000 years and any oils have long since been leached away and the CA glue works perfect on an ivory shuttle.
One time I did find that some ivory I bought had been polished in a tumbler using a walnut shell medium. While nut shells polished the ivory it left a oil film on the ivory that would not hold glue. It took me awhile to figure out what was going on and I that had to de-grease that lot of ivory if I was going to use any glue.

You have heard the saying that oil and water don’t mix...well nether does oil and CA glue! I just suspect that the imported bone shuttles are more production shuttles for the world market and in production modes sometimes quality control is lacking and short cuts taken.

Hope this helps answer some of those questions. I figured some other tatters might find this useful."

Dave

Cherry Wood Tatting Shuttle with Tatting Box

Cherry Wood Tatting Shuttle Box Set

Dave made this 2 5/8 inch post shuttle out of Cherry Wood. The Cascade logo is burn etched into the wood. The little tatting box is made from a 4 ½ inch by 3 ½ in oval bentwood craft box. The bottom and top are lined with red imitation tooled leather and we hand painted it with acrylic and liquid gold leaf. The top center piece is a walnut scroll saw cut out Dave had made for GMA by a scroll saw artist friend.

This set is currently up for auction on Ebay.

Oregon Cascades Myrtlewood Signature Tatting Shuttle #15

We've just added number 15 of our signature Oregon Cascades Myrtlewood Tatting Shuttles to our Etsy shop!

What is Oregon Myrtlewood?

Oregon Myrtlewood is a broadleaf evergreen native to Southwestern Oregon and Northwestern California. Although different, Oregon Myrtlewood has a lot of similarities to the Myrtlewood growing in the Holy Land. Oregon Myrtlewood became popular for making gift items back in the early 1900’s. Oregon Myrtlewood possesses a wide variety of beautiful colors and grain patterns and is noted by many as being one of the world’s most beautiful woods. The colors range from blond to black with many shades of honey, browns, grays, reds and greens in between. Oregon woodworkers have developed a small cottage industry making handcrafted Myrtle wood products and gifts for visitors. Many beautiful gifts and works of art crafted out of Myrtlewood. In the Bible, the Myrtle tree is of special religious significance, representing fertility and life.

Thumbelina Matchbox Tatting Shuttle

This is for that shuttle collector who does not have EVERYTHING yet! This miniature ivory shuttle is nearly the size of a thumbnail and fits nicely in the accompanying matchbox which we decoupage’ with the tiny THUMBELINA theme. The shuttle is approx 1 ¼ inch long and I color scrimshawed THUMBELINA hugging a rose that is larger than she is. The ivory is ancient wooly mammoth from Russia. Mammoth have been extinct for 10,000 years. This shuttle is currently up for auction on Ebay.

Hand Carved Bone Tatting Shuttle

Dave hand crafted this little 1 7/8 inch flat shuttle out of bone and carved a total of 4 Roses (2 on each side) on it. It is initialed and dated by Dave, the maker. This little shuttle is currently up for auction on Ebay.

Handmade Colorful Celluloid Tatting Shuttle

Clyde!! Look what Dave did!! Ever since you mentioned that you would like to see a post tatting shuttle made out of celluloid, Dave has been "at the drawing board" trying to figure out how to make one that would meet his strict requirements of clicking ends.

Dave has hand crafted this little 1 3/4 inch post shuttle out of colorful golden/green swirl celluloid. The way that the celluloid is cut the pattern of no two can come out the same. He had noted, that on many vintage celluloid shuttles the blades are thin and very flexible and the shuttle ends tend to open up. To help counter this problem with celluloid, he has made this shuttle shorter with thicker blades that remain more rigid.

This gorgous little shuttle has been initialed and dated by Dave, the maker. You can find this shuttle currently up for auction on Ebay!

Handmade Miniature Mammoth Ivory Tatting Shuttle

I don’t know if this is the smallest working shuttle, but it has to be close to it. Dave made this itty bitty tatting shuttle from ancient wooly mammoth ivory from Russia. It is just 1 ¼ inches long. You can tat with it, use it as a key chain fob or as a necklace pendant (chains not included and are for show and tell only). The design on both sides are hand carved and inlaced with brass. Mammoth have been extinct for 10,000 years.

This itty bitty tatting shuttle is currently up for auction on Ebay with an opening bid of .99!

Don't forget--you can click on each photo to see the original photo!

Handmade Cobalt Blue Celluloid Tatting Shuttle

Dave hand crafted this flat shuttle out of colorful Cobalt Blue celluloid. The way that the celluloid is cut the pattern of no two can come out the same. This shuttle measures 2 1/2 inch long and has been initialed and dated by Dave, the maker. This shuttle is currently up for auction on Ebay!

Tatting Shuttle Showcase on Flickr!

Tatting Shuttle Showcase on Flickr!

**This is the same group as before, only the name has been changed**

I have been looking around Flickr for a tatting shuttle specific group, and when I couldn't find one, I thought I'd start one! So many of us have photos of tatting shuttles we've made or have collected over the years and it's a shame not to have them all in one large collection.

If you are on Flickr and have photos of your tatting shuttles that you would like to share with the world, please feel free to post them in the group! This invitation is extended to everyone--collectors and creators!

Handmade Colorful Celluloid Tatting Shuttle

Dave hand crafted this flat tatting shuttle out of colorful celluloid. The way that the celluloid is cut, no two can ever come out the same. This tatting shuttle is 2 1/2 inches long and has been initialed and dated by Dave, the maker.

This tatting shuttle is currently up for auction on Ebay with an opening bid of .99 cents!

Gothic Style Double Tatting Shuttle

If you collect handmade tatting shuttles you won't want to miss this one. This is similar to the bone double shuttle Dave recently auctioned, except he carved this one out of East Indian Rosewood. After inlaying four mother of pearl diamonds and mammoth ivory center dots, it came out with a very Gothic looking design. It is 3 1/2 inch long, initialed and dated by Dave, the maker.

If you'd like to see more photos, this Double Gothic Tatting Shuttle is currently up for auction on Ebay.

GMA Handmade Cherry Wood Cameo Tatting Shuttle

Dave hand made this 3 1/4 inch Drop Tatting Shuttle from American Cherry wood. It is inlaid with a tiny resin cameo. Dave has also burn etched a lace design into the wood. It is initialed and dated by Dave, the maker.

Carved Bone Double Tatting Shuttle

Dave carved this 3 1/2" flat double shuttle from bone. He has carved an intricate Victorian style motif on the front and back. This piece has been intialed and dated by Dave.

If you would like to view more photos of this tatting shuttle, please visit this item at Ebay where it is currently up for auction.

Pau Ferro Wood Tatting Shuttle with Silver Inlay

This is a new variety of wood for Dave. It’s called Pau Ferro, from South America, and has a rich brown Old World look and feel to it. Dave hand carved this side shuttle and inlayed sterling silver accent dots on each edge. The shuttle is a hair under 3 inches and initialed and dated by Dave.

Pao ferro or pau ferro (Caesalpinia echinata or Machaerium scleroxylum Tul.) is an exotic tree found in Brazil and Bolivia. Its wood is often used for making fingerboards for basses and electric guitars. It has a similar feel and similar tonal attributes to rosewood, but has a slightly lighter colour. The wood may also used for flooring, fancy furniture, and handgun grips. It is also known as morado and Bolivian rosewood, though it is not a true rosewood.

This unique Pau Ferro wood tatting shuttle is currently up for auction on Ebay.

Ivory and Fine Silver Tatting Shuttle

Collect and enjoy the elegance of ivory and fine silver! Dave carved this 3 inch drop tatting shuttle from 10,000 year old mammoth ivory, like the chunk pictured in the photo (the large chunk is not for sale).

This piece of ancient ivory is cream colored on one side and darker brown color on the reverse. Dave inlayed it with a filigree disk of fine silver. JoAnna makes these fine silver filigree inlay discs using Precious Metal Clay. She molds the metal clay and then kiln fires it to 1650 degrees. The organic clay binder burns away melting the fine silver particles into 99.9% pure silver. Dave then carved a round recess into the shuttle and inset the silver disc to a near flush level. This shuttle has been initialed and dated by Dave.

This beautiful one-of-a-kind tatting shuttle is currently up for auction on Ebay. Please click here if you would like to view this auction and more photos of this shuttle.

Handmade Pyro-Art Tatting Shuttle

Dave handmade this 3 inch shuttle from Maple wood and freehand burn etched the floral design using a razor tip pyro tool. Each of Dave's shuttles are one-of-a-kind and have been initialed and dated.

This tatting shuttle is currently up for auction on Ebay.