Finishing eyes

Eyes are turned from beech wood and a hole is drilled for the pupil. In this case a hole is drilled for the brass rod at the rear and a hole drilled through the diameter for the pivot.

The eyes are only 8mm in diameter so a former was made to ensure accurate placement of the holes for the axle.

The eyes were painted with acrylic paint. The central holes is painted black for the pupil.

Glazing resin was used to give the eyes a glassy appearance. Only a small amount is needed for a few eyes so the mixing cups provided are not useful. It is too expensive to needlessly mix a large amount. I use a nylon rod to mix 2 drops of resin with 1 drop of hardener. This was enough. The eyes were dipped in the resin mixture and left overnight to harden.

It is very satisfying when an idea works perfectly first time!