My partner makes dresses and was talking about getting a wooden clapper/point presser. When I saw what they were - I convinced her that I could make her one. She agreed but stipulated that it had to be from Tulip wood like the Merchant and mills ones.
Here is what I came up with
I didn’t know what this was so here’s a exerpt from Merchant and mills:
Made of hard, eco friendly tulip wood, this is a traditional clapper and seam presser. Made in England.
The clapper is used to flatten bulky facings, collars, edges, buttonholes pleats and hems. Pressing with the clapper after steam ironing forces moisture out and creates a sharp edge. Use clapper to beat or ‘clap’ the steam into the fabric, leaving a superb edge or flattened seam.
I sourced the Tulip wood(also known as American poplar) round the corner in Mitcham(saving on delivery). http://planedoak.co.uk
There were a few plans online but they all seemed to involve screwing the base to the presser so I modified the design to have a mortise for each ‘leg’ half the thickness of the wood.
The initial curves were cut on the bandsaw with some help from @joeatkin2. Thanks!
I then wrapped some sand paper around some plastic piping to clean up the curves, first 80 grit then 120.
The last part was free hand pairing of the ‘bow’ with a sharp chisel which turned out much more symmetrical than i expected.
The wood is left naked to avoid any oils staining fabric when steam is released.