Something for Nonnie

[Charlie E]

I borrowed @dgman’s idea from the Spring scroll saw challenge and made this for my wife, Connie, who the grandkids call Nonnie. She fills our yard, porch, patio, etc with beautiful flowers and has 3 bird feeders, a hummingbird feeder, and a bird bath. 

[wombatie]

Love it.  Well done. 

Marg

[daveww1]

nice job

[jerry walters]

Well done Charlie, well done.

Jerry

[dgman]

Nice rendition Charlie!

[MarieC]

What a sweet gift!

[Charlie E]

3 hours ago, dgman said:

Nice rendition Charlie!

Thanks for the idea. She’s usually pretty underwhelmed about what I make but she really likes this one.

[Matthew Simmons]

Nice job!

Nobody loves the wings on those birds (from the pattern). Working on the same project, also inspired by @dgman's post, but I'm going to do the wings even if it kills me.

 

[Matthew Simmons]

Charlie, could you explain a bit how you added color? I assume it's paint vs some sort of stain? Please use small words, as if explaining to a small child who's only ever used spray lacquer.

[Denny Knappen]

That is way cute.

[Charlie E]

23 hours ago, Matthew Simmons said:

Charlie, could you explain a bit how you added color? I assume it's paint vs some sort of stain? Please use small words, as if explaining to a small child who's only ever used spray lacquer.

I used Folk Art Ultra Dye. I’ve gotten it on Amazon as well as Hobby Lobby. I like it because it doesn’t hide the grain. 

[Matthew Simmons]

On 6/25/2024 at 4:47 PM, Charlie E said:

I used Folk Art Ultra Dye. I’ve gotten it on Amazon as well as Hobby Lobby. I like it because it doesn’t hide the grain. 

Nice! I may have to pick up a bottle.

I think I've finally gotten the wings figured out, and can see why others have skipped them:

1. 1/16" material: I don't have a thickness sander, and doing it on the planer seems like a recipe for explodey bits, so I did it on the table saw. I made 2" x 6" pieces of walnut and cherry. I won't describe how, because honestly I'm surprised I still have fingers after all that.
2. Cutting the wings part 1: My first attempt was to scroll cut the entire wing, but that's just madness. The blade is waay too aggressive on 1/16" material, and the wings are too small. So the first pass was cutting out finger-shaped wing pieces (imagine the nail is the wing). The only line I worried about was the lower edge of the wing (the part that that doesn't align with the bird's back). And even then I cut wide and used the strip sander to finish it up. Cutting out whole-finger-sized (or at least up to the 2nd knuckle) pieces let me keep control of the work.
3. Cutting the wings part 2: With the lower edge correct, and no more need for a giant handle I cut the finger way back. I cut a straight line for easy control, maybe a quarter of an inch away from the highest part of the top edge of the wing. Note that during all this the pattern is still attached to the wing pieces.
4. Attaching the wings: I glued the wing to the body, using the pattern to help with alignment. The wing piece sticks up above the bird's back.
5. Cutting the wings part 3: I put bird+wing in the vice, and used a Dremel + sanding drum to bring the top of the wing down flush with the bird's back.
6. Remove the wing pattern.
7. Final touch up.

Steps 5 and 6 can be swapped so you don't have bits of paper flying off when you sand. I don't have pictures yet because I'm still between steps 6 and 7, waiting for the mineral spirits to dry.

[Mike Crosa]

Love it.  Great job. 

[rjweb]

Charlie, that is great, RJ

[rdatelle]

That came out great Charlie.