One of my latest commissions involved making some juggling spools, which resemble a simple barbell. I made a prototype, to get a better idea of reproducing the piece. Luckily, my client is going to be painting and decorating this, which simplifies my work. Here is the prototype.

I laminated several layers of Baltic Birch plywood, and then squared up the wooden blank. 

A jig was helpful for cutting these blocks to size. 

Another jig aided me in marking the centers of each block. 

With the centers marked, I grabbed a compass and laid out some shapes. 

I tilted the table on the bandsaw, and cut the rough shape out of each block. 

I was down to the last two when the bandsaw blade flew off the wheel. But of course!

Time to drill the center, where the large dowel will be inserted. 

The handles will eventually be turned down to around an inch and half in diameter. These dowels were a quarter inch larger than needed, which gave me a little wiggle room when assembling these blanks. 

Time for turning!

Two down...

This jig enabled me to check the size all of the pieces quickly and efficiently. 

Just a few more to go...

And finally - a dozen spools, awaiting paint and decoration. I'm so lucky to have the opportunity to work on unique pieces like these... only in Vegas!