The_Woodworker_and_Woodturner_-_October_2019

http://www.getwoodworking.com October 2019 The Woodworker & Good Woodworking 61

THE HEAD  PART 2  SNOUT & NOSTRILS
Hippos are well known for their big noses and
so Henry’s features need to be built up a bit
more. To do this, take more offcuts from the 9×1
tulipwood and then cut out two snouts from
the template. These look like circles, but should
roughly match the end of Henry’s nose (photo 17).
Next, apply PVA to one side of the snout piece
and also the end of Henry’s nose. Then using a
couple of large F clamps, glue these into place.
If you have shallower clamps you may be able
to get away with using G clamps and mounting
them to the inside of the top jaw, clamping one
side at a time. Leave these to dry overnight.
You can then move on to shaping the snout.
Again, using the angle grinder and sanding discs,
round over the edges of the pieces just added
to the nose. While you are doing this part of the
head, you can also put a slight arc into the top
gum line, before adding the nostrils. This is done
using a bench drill fitted with a 20mm Forstner
bit, although you could also use an electric power
drill if you don’t have a bench drill (photo 19).

23 Ready to install the lower two teeth 24 Lower teeth, once installed

There isn’t really a precise place to put the

nostrils, just as long as they match up either

side in position. You can then open out each

nostril using a Foredom or equivalent fitted

with a 25mm Saburrtooth burr (photo 20),

but you may want to skip this stage. Henry

will still look pretty effective with round nostrils.

THE HEAD  PART 3  TEETH

Now we come on to the really fun part: the

teeth. Hippos don’t have many teeth and so

I felt four was an appropriate number. All four

are made from two beech rolling pins (you want

solid rolling pins not the ones with a hole drilled

through the middle). If you don’t have access to

these, you can also use tulipwood or any timber

that turns well. I filmed the process of how the

teeth are made, which can be seen on the online

version of this article (see sidebar on page 57).

Turning the teeth

Start by placing the rolling pin between centres

and then divide the pin into two equal halves

(if you are using a chuck to hold your pin, you’ll

need to take a small amount off that end when

you work out where the centreline is, as this will

be parted off). Once you have marked a line, take

a narrow parting tool and make an indentation.

Now take a spindle gouge and start rounding the

ends over to make a point. Both points of the two

teeth will face each other, so it’s easier to make

them both identical in shape. Next, give them a

sand before parting off in the middle (and at the

chuck end if using one) – you should now have

two teeth. Repeat the process again for the two

lower teeth but this time make sure they are

approximately half the length of those you’ve

just made, but the same diameter (photo 21).

Painting

Now paint the teeth white (as it will be very

difficult to do once they are installed in the

mouth). This is also a good opportunity to spray

paint the inside of the mouth black if you haven’t

already done so (photo 22). I sprayed mine before

chiselling out the housings for the teeth.

Installing the teeth

Now comes the really interesting (and painful)

part – we’re about to perform a bit of amateur

dentistry! As you have your four teeth, you’ll

now need to fit them into the gum. As the teeth

on hippos are set into their very thick gums,

you’re going to have to do quite a bit of work

getting them into their final place.

The top teeth (the longest ones) will require

a lot of chiselling in order to make them fit. I found

this easiest to do while locked into a wide jawed

vice. Take a shallow gouge and start removing

the corners of the inside of the mouth. You’re

trying to achieve a semicircle in the gum. For the

bottom two teeth (the shorter ones), I found my

Foredom fitted with a 2.5cm round Saburrtooth

burr much better. As I was removing less wood,

this didn’t take as long.

Gluing the teeth in place

Now, using a lot of PVA glue, glue the teeth

in place. The lower two are very simple to do

as they have gravity working with them, but

the other two will be a little more tricky.

I found that the larger teeth are best glued

in place once the lower two are fixed in position.

These will stick out over the lower jaw, so a

housing needs to be carved into the outside of the

lower jaw to allow the teeth to clear (see Fig.3).

22 The inside of the mouth once spray painted

20 The nostrils once carved 21 The four teeth (two upper and two lower)