Exotic wooden chop cups

It's taken a long time to get to the ton of exotic wood that we have, but some very nice chop cups are now rolling off the lathe. Cocobolo, Lemonwood, Patagonian Rosewood, etc. are all turning out to be gorgeous heavy cups.
I'm making them in 4 sizes, based around a final load. Our final load balls are an exact fit in these cups. I have the following:

• ♣ Mini Size - holds one of our 1 7/8" load balls
• ♣ Medium Size - holds one of our 2 3/8" load balls (lacrosse ball)
• ♣ Large Size - holds one of our 2 5/8" load balls (tennis ball)
• ♣ Jumbo Size - holds a regulation baseball

Additionally we are making Takagi Cups from the exotics with the same profile and finish of our chop cups. The Takagi Cups are built around 2 1/8" load balls we are including with the cup. They function exactly like Shigeo Takagi describes in his book, with the added benefit of neodymium magnets to hold the cup together instead of just friction. Honestly, when you look at our new Takagi Cups, you will see that there has never been a Takagi cup made with the luster, the form, the precision or the design, like these cups. Each and every one is a unique miniature work of art.

The finish on the cups is really something. They look and feel like glass. I've added some details about the finish process to each cup's description that mentions the multiple coats of lacquer that each cup gets, and that certainly helps to fill the pores of the wood grain and smooths out the surface, as well as seals the wood to protect it from moisture and drying. But the key process to the shine on these cups follows the lacquer coating. We are using a process that produces a glossy shine on wood that is simply amazing.

Look at some of the photos in Chop Cups and Mini Chop Cups for examples of this finish. The camera picks up a little of the gloss under the lights, but it doesn't really get the whole picture. You need to hold one in your hand to really see (and feel) the finish to fully appreciate it.

Donnie