The History

HOW IT STARTED

About 20 years ago, I started making little wooden crosses as pillow agape for Walk to Emmaus Weekends.  For men's weekends, I made just a simple wooden cross to be used as a pocket cross.  The women's crosses were made into refrigerator magnets by adding a magnetic strip on the back.

A few years later, crosses were sent to Africa with a group from San Angelo.  The leader came back and said that they really needed a hole in them, because the technology was not available in Mozambique.  That started the process of drilling holes in them, making possible the making of cross necklaces.  

In 2011, on a trip to Jopin, Missouri, to help in the aftermath of the tornadoes there, the Lord gave me a vision which launched this as a ministry. I tell that story here.

Along the way, I have learned many lessons. I wrote about one of them here as well. 

ABOUT ME

I'm a retired teacher from Sundown, TX, now living on Lake Brownwood, TX. You can also visit the blog about my lakehouse and small rental house here.

HOW THE CROSSES ARE MADE

 

The process starts with "tickers" from Home Depot or Lowe's.  These boards are approximately 

2"x4"x 4'.   I cut them in half with a motorized miter saw so that they are easier to handle.

Then, with the table saw, I cut them into 3/4 " wide strips.  Now, they are the same width as the width of the finished wooden cross.

Then, I take the wooden pieces to the motorized miter saw to rabbet/dado both ends in order to cut away the waste to reveal the wooden crosses.

Now, you can see that the crosses are cut into the wooden pieces, and both ends are ready to be cut off with the motorized miter saw.

The motorized miter saw is set up with a stop block jig in order to cut off both ends of the stock.

Cutting off both ends now produces a very thick cross which can be cut into several crosses, much like slicing baloney, with the band saw.  Here, on the left, you see several crosses already cut apart from the larger, thick cross.  On the right, they are being sanded so that the face of the first cross is finish sanded.

The cross 'books' now go to the band saw to be sliced into separate crosses.  The individual crosses fall into the bucket shown in photo on the right.
The bucket fills up with the individual crosses cut apart with the band saw.  Now, they are ready for the hole to be drilled at the drill press.

The process of drilling the hole in the cross is done with a drill press and a #44 drill bit.  Notice the block of wood on the base, serving as a jig to ensure that the hole is drilled in the right location.

Here you find the finished crosses have been transferred to a plastic ziplock bag.  They are ready for delivery aCross the world.

20,150 crosses and counting.

Part of antique tool collection.

Sometimes I can work and sit.

My collection of plans.

This is Texas!  Notice the fan!