This month, John Lucas came down from Tennessee to show us how he makes hand mirrors. John is well known among woodworking/turning forums such as Woodcentral. John is an excellent demonstrator with a good sense of humor and a wealth of experience.
The hand mirror consists of two turned components – the handle and the mirror body.
Aesthetically, the appearance of the back of the mirror body is very important to the final product. John uses a clear Lucite template, which is the same size as the mirror body. Laying this template on the wood and moving it around allows John to evaluate where best to pull the blank from a piece of wood.
The recessed area for the glass is formed with a concave bottom so the glass will be supported around it’s periphery. It is also important to under-cut the area of the recess where the edge of the mirror sits so the glass will not crack under stress when the wood moves due to humidity and temperature.
Once the mirror body is completed, John turned the handle. Here, John is cutting off the ends of the handle with a thin-kerf saw.
Here is one of many completed mirrors John brought with him to show.
The following is a web address John gave as a source for mirrors:
http://www.displaycollections.com/round-mirrors-p-684.html?osCsid=e17953765f641d815e472bfddbfe2922
He also buys mirrors in large quantities and resells at competitive prices.
John’s email address is johnclucas@charter.net.