Artistic wood work

  If time is taken to add an artistic touch to a workshop project it will increase the uniqueness of the project.  As well I believe that it adds to the project's emotional appeal. 

  Frequently I repair something in the shop, or replace a plastic bit with wood. That is the case with the pants hanger, it only added a few minutes to the project to do a small bit of relief carving. The hanger is now unique and a little bit personalized.  

  The piece of 1/4 inch Baltic birch plywood is about 15 inches square.  I plan to paint it completely with water colour paints and then seal it with varnish. When it is done it will become the cover for a photo album. (not everything is digital).

 To prepare a plywood panel for wood burning is it important to sand it as smooth as possible.  I sand to 500 grit and then use steel wool to further smooth the panel. 

  As I was checking things out on the net I found an interesting video on making a Shave Pony, a smaller version of a Shave Horse.

  Trying to rough out wood before putting it on my lathe is always a clamping challenge. If you do much lathe work you will instantly see the advantage of a Shave Pony and draw knife. This is a project that I will copy soon.  

 cheers Ian W