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Deadpool Scroll Saw Portrait

April 16, 2016 0

I started live streaming from my workshop on Twitch in their creative channel.  Twitch is a video game live streaming service where like-minded folks gather to chat and watch each other play games.  Not too long ago, they opened up a creative channel where Twitch members can show the stuff they make.  They do all kinds of things from pixel art, leather working, sculpting, digital painting and pretty much anything else you can think of.

I decided to throw my hat into the ring and stream some of my shop time.  My first project was a scroll saw portrait of Deadpool.  My wife and I saw the Deadpool movie a few weeks prior and loved it.  So I thought this would be a fun project for my first stream.

The project went well.  I cut the project over 3 sessions (Sundays at 1pm, PST).  I stack cut 3 pieces of 1/8” Baltic Birch plywood.  Normally, I don’t add color to my projects, but this one was screaming for it.  So the black areas, I used ebony stain.  The red parts I used a Sienna Red stain.  It took a few tries as it’s difficult to control the stain.  I used a wood burner to define areas and found that it helped contain the stain in only the areas I wanted.

It was a lot of fun and plenty of folks stopped by to check it out!  Now, on to the next project.  So be sure to join me each Sunday at 1pm, PST.

Deadpool_colored Deadpool_detailDeadpool_rawProgress1

Category: Art, Geekery, Woodworking

Tea Holder

March 15, 2016 0

My wife and I are tea drinkers.  We’re not obsessive about tea.  But we do enjoy 3-4 cups of tea each week.  Instead of keeping bags of our favorite tea in an ugly cardboard box, I made this tea caddy.  I used a cedar fence board.

I cut all of the pieces at the table saw.  The curves I cut on the scroll saw.  I sanded the face and edges with 80 grit sandpaper.  I didn’t want them completely smooth, since I still like the rough saw marks.  I painted the whole thing with blue craft paint and set it aside to dry.  On the scroll saw, I cut out the word “tea” from 1/4” birch plywood.  I purposely didn’t cut out the holes in the “e” and “a” because I liked the way it looked.  Once the paint was dry, I sanded all of the pieces again to strip away some of the paint to leave a nice weathered look.  I glued and brad-nailed all of the pieces together.  Once the glue was dry, I coated the entire piece with walnut colored stain.  This darkened up the raw wood and the paint.  It really made it look old and weathered, which is the goal.  Once the stain dried, I glued the “tea” cutout into place.  Then I coated everything with a furniture wax for a subtle sheen and smooth feel.

I really like the way it turned out.  Now we can enjoy a cup of tea in style.

Tea Holder

Tea Holder Loaded Up

Category: Woodworking

Train Bank – Part 1

June 8, 2010 0

I’ve been promising my son I’d make a Train Bank for him for awhile now. He’s been collecting money in anticipation of having someplace to put it. Since I got some good shop time in last weekend, I thought I’d get started.

The Train Bank is from Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts Holiday 2008 and was designed by Paul Meisel.

First I photocopied all of the patterns from the pattern insert. Since it was so large, I had to tape the copies together to get the complete pattern. The design calls for 3/4″ material that is glued up in 4 sections to create the body of the train. I think he used pine, but I went with MDF since it was going to be painted anyway. The roof and window accents were in 1/4″ MDF. I spray-mounted the pattern to the wood and got everything lined up.

I used my scroll saw for all of the cutting on this project. I used a #5 scroll reverse to cut the pieces. I had to cut each of the train bodies individually, but I stack cut the windows and roof details. I wasn’t too concerned about accurate cuts. I figured once I got everything glued up, I’ll finesse the lines with my spindle sander. That way all 4 layers will be even.

And now for the glue-up. Since the outside pieces are slightly different than the outside peices, I glued up the inside pieces first. Here’s a little tip to keep things aligned: Tap in a small brad into two corners. Don’t go too deep, just enough for it to stay in the wood. Then with some wire cutters, snip off the rest of the brad. A little bit of metal will remain proud of the surface. Place your next board on top. When you have everything aligned, press down. This will create a little dimple into your mating piece. Now when you glue it up, you’ll find your mark and your wood won’t slide all around while clamping.

So I finished gluing the body of the train (with perhaps too much glue). I didn’t add the accent pieces just yet because I wanted the body of the train to sit flat on my spindle sander while I smooth everything out. The photocopies of the patterns must have been off, because nothing fit very well. I was about to throw the piece away, but I decided I’d try sanding it and see if I could salvage it. Lucky for me, I was able to get everything to line up with a lot of sanding. The end result was pretty far from the pattern, but nobody will notice.

After I got the edges sanded flush, I added the accent pieces as well as the round plugs at the front of the train. Then with some hand sanding, I eased the edges.

Now I’m at a stand-still. The belts on my drill press were ruined from misalignment from my last project. So I’m waiting on UPS to bring me my replacement belts. Then I can drill the hole in the bottom, a mortise for the train’s smoke stack, and the hole for the axle and wheels.

Category: Woodworking