Pine plaque

[pyrodenis]

Just thought to share this. It's great to let the wood guide the process.
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[petemil]

Wow! It's simply superb. Loved the design and the way the wood is carved to form a perfect design to wrote up those beautiful words. The words are just indulging into those woods giving a freshness to who ever seeing the plaque. Would love to hang or wall-mount it on my room to have a luxury feeling. I have seen similar works from Hoult Hellewell, who makes trophies and plaques in Toronto (http://www.houlthellewell.com/services/).

[Chuck Keysor]

Denis, that is a very nice plaque indeed. First, am I correctly assuming that this is V-carved? (The characters are so perfectly uniform, it looks more like it was printed instead of carved, it is that good!)

As cuts of wood go, that looks like it should have been a rather unruly board, that would have had lots of internal tensions, making it hard to stay flat. (Even when using a 60 degree v-bit, any "out-of-flatness" of the material will create noticeable/objectionable variations in the character stroke widths. And your characters as previously noted, appear to be exceptionally uniform.) Or is this a very large plaque, (if so, the character with variations are more forgiving)????

Can you comment on how you filled all the cracks, and assured that they were perfectly level with the surface of the wood?

Thanks, Chuck

[pyrodenis]

Denis, that is a very nice plaque indeed. First, am I correctly assuming that this is V-carved? (The characters are so perfectly uniform, it looks more like it was printed instead of carved, it is that good! Thnx for the compliment Chuck. Yes, it was Vcarved with a 30° centurion bit.

As cuts of wood go, that looks like it should have been a rather unruly board, that would have had lots of internal tensions, making it hard to stay flat. (Even when using a 60 degree v-bit, any "out-of-flatness" of the material will create noticeable/objectionable variations in the character stroke widths. And your characters as previously noted, appear to be exceptionally uniform.) Or is this a very large plaque, (if so, the character with variations are more forgiving)???? Yes, unruly is the word. The piece is 16"x19"x1.875". I surfaced front and back, cut a pocket in the back to relieve some stress, warmed it to 140° for an hour to set the pitch (white pine) and to let it misbehave a little. Then, I resurfaced the front and scraped, then wet sanded, between coats of poly. All that, before engraving.

Can you comment on how you filled all the cracks, and assured that they were perfectly level with the surface of the wood? Epoxy with tinting, sliced with a sharp chisel before it's set, then wet sanded.

Thanks, Chuck
​Thnx agsain, Denis

[pyrodenis]

thnx Pete, Yes, I enjoyed it.

[phil_o]

Very well done.

Phil

[Chuck Keysor]

Thank you Denis for the added detail. I think just posting a picture, without any commentary is a lost opportunity. People, not knowing what is involved in getting good results, just naturally assume it is easy to do. Then when they try it themselves, and get poor results, they can be easily discouraged thinking, gee, I can't even do something simple.

So your providing the added detail on what went on behind the scenes to get such a good result not only helps others to understand what is involved, but I think it also helps people to set realistic expectations.

I'll have to buy a 30 degree Centurian bit and play with that. Mostly I have used the 60 degree CMT "Laser" bit and been pleased. But the sharper angle of 30 degrees would help over-come character stroke variations due to variations in stock thickness. I did purchase a set of Amana engraving bits, with the interchangeable knifes, which had sharp angles. But unfortunately, they all simply had the tips snap off within the first few minutes of cutting MDF! So I just stuck with my CMT "Laser" bit.

Thanks so much for posting the picture your fine work and providing the added detail of the work required to make it so successful. Chuck

[Designer]

I will have to agree with everyone's complements. This is outstanding work!!!!!!! Am I assuming correctly that you added some type of paint after engraving, sanded, and then refinished with poly? I will also have to get a 30 degree bit. I am using the 60 degree bit now and your engraving with a 30 degree bit sure looks a lot better. Again, extremely nice. Thanks for posting this.

[pyrodenis]

thnx Phil,
On the final finish.....
I went back to my roots in antique repro/restoration......before carving the text, I burnished the final coat of poly with 0000 steel wool, then paste waxed. I then carved and "stained" the letters with latex-based, semi-gloss, dark opaque deck stain, with a little black pigment added for good measure. A damp and dry cotton cloth wipes the surface clean.