From: Clint Russell
Location: Texas
Amateur or Pro: Amateur
Finish Used: I applied 4 coats of shellac. This was my first time using shellac, and it was a nice experience. The short cure time is especially nice when holiday deadlines are pressing :).
Wood Species: Birch ply for scroll work and unknown species for the frame.
Project Description:
I made 6 of these scroll portraits to give as Christmas gifts to members of my wife’s family. The portrait is of my wife’s gradfather who passed away in March. He was an amazing man. He is the one who got me hooked on woodworking, and gave me my first saw and several other tools. I took a photograph of him that we had, scanned it into the computer, did some photoshop work to create a pattern that I used to do the scroll work. The scroll work is done in a 11x14x1/8″ piece of birch plywood. The frame is made from wood reclaimed from a barn that was on my property, so I’m unsure of it’s species, but I would guess that it is some type of pine.
a great family gift
most thoughtful
thanks
This one has my vote too! Seriously this is great, and it strikes a chord with me, because my grandfather passed away in 2004, he was a woodworker (sadly, I didn’t get into myself until much later) and he was the patriarch of a very large family and extended family. This is a great idea for my aunts and uncles. I’d love to hear more specifics of the process.
Frank,
Sorry it’s taken me so long to respond — I’ve been out of town… As far as how I created the portrait, I’d point you to a great book that got me started: “Scroll Saw Portraits” by Gary Browning. I found it at my local library. He steps through all the details of converting a photograph into a pattern much easier than I could do here. If you can’t find the book, let me know and I’ll try and pull something together.
Clint.