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Washington Evening Journal
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Washington, IA 52353
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Jeffries makes handicrafts in free time
The home of Jim Jeffries is adorned with intricate clocks, plaques and other artwork all made by the host himself. Jeffries, who resides in Washington, spends much of his free time in his garage and in his basement drilling, sawing and gluing together pieces of wood. Jeffries uses a scroll saw that can fit tiny blades ? no wider than the tip of a pencil ? whose fine teeth cut the wood so finely that sanding is often
Andy Hallman
Sep. 30, 2018 7:29 pm
The home of Jim Jeffries is adorned with intricate clocks, plaques and other artwork all made by the host himself. Jeffries, who resides in Washington, spends much of his free time in his garage and in his basement drilling, sawing and gluing together pieces of wood. Jeffries uses a scroll saw that can fit tiny blades ? no wider than the tip of a pencil ? whose fine teeth cut the wood so finely that sanding is often unnecessary.
?These are small enough blades that you can almost turn it in its own curve,? said Jeffries.
Those tiny blades allow Jeffries to craft elaborate clocks that stand three feet tall and feature a multitude of layers. Jeffries?s clocks appear to be painted with different shades of brown, but that is an illusion created by the different types of wood he uses. Oak wood is a light brown color that is complemented nicely by a much darker walnut wood.
Jeffries also enjoys crafting plaques. He made one a few years ago that was a few feet long and more than a foot wide with the Lord?s Prayer engraved upon it. The font, or style, of the letters changed after every four or five words, and around the outside of the verse Jeffries carved angels. Jeffries said the design was provided to him from a template, which is a paper pattern placed on top of the wood to show the craftsman where to drill the holes and make the cuts.
?Some of these things on the side are very intricate,? said Jeffries. ?To cut something like that, I use drill bits that are smaller than 1/32 of an inch.?
When asked if he?s worried about breaking drill bits that are so small, he said that his drill bits hold up pretty well, but they do break from time to time. Jeffries said he is fortunate that he has never injured himself on any of his saws.
?When you have to turn quite a few angles, the blade will go dull on you and it can snap off,? he said. ?Usually, it breaks and winds up underneath the board.?
For the full story, see the June 22 edition of The Washington Evening Journal
