[knothole]

and very creative too, sounds like you had alot of fun carving those...Bruce

[Lightningbolt]

I finally got back to finishing the nameplate Christmas presents that I started a couple of weeks ago. Man, have these been a lot of fun to carve, then decorate and to be honest, putting some thought into how I want to personalize each nameplate for each recepient has been as much fun as the carving. I generated a list for each person then jotted down what makes that person "unique" then came up with some art objects to woodburn and paint onto their nameplate.

See if you can get some idea of their story by looking at the nameplates pictured below.They are:

Rusty: He lives in the woods in a log cabin, likes to eat way too much, and is a very big book worm. The little man with glasses is a pretty close portrait of him.

Rosy: She is a very caring and loving person who is a role model "mom" for the over 60 boys who live at our camp. She washes their dirty laundry every day and cleans their messy dishes after every meal. Rosy has a heart of gold and loves the kids like they were her own.

Gideon: He is one of our teachers and our resident naturalist. He loves studying Native Americans and has a vast knowledge of the natural world.

Each December the kids are making birdhouses in the woodshop (homes for our feathered friends) and they really got excited about making nameplates for their own family & friends when I showed them mine. If they got a quality birdhouse completed and had some extra time I helped them to get going on making their own. It's been a long time since I've had a line-up at the scroll saws but there was a BIG traffic jam today!

Merry Christmas!

[AlArchie]

Nice work, Dave, and great gifts! also good projects for the kids. Well done!

Al

[santagibbs]

What a neat idea.. and I love the colors.. They should love them. I have just got to learn how to use my bansaw.. and overcome that fear of getting cut! Who wouldn't want one of those? That's very special..Charlotte

[Lightningbolt]

Thank's for the comments and glad that you liked them!

As for using the bandsaw Charlotte, just build up your confidence in using it gradually but do take steps. It is a power tool that demands respect as I still recall being in a hurry when learning to use it and allowing the blade to barely touch a finger tip and it sliced me just like it were a razor blade. Fortunately it was just a mild contact but it's never happened since.

The main two things to remember is holding the wood firmly and always apply pressure to cut in a way that if you were to slip that your hand would never go towards the blade. I often "plant" my forearms on the table and push the wood with my fingers, then re-position and repeat until the cut is complete. On larger pieces I will ofter get the cut started then when there's enough of the wood on the rear side of the blade I will grasp with both palms and move my arms as "one" unit pulling the wood through the blade.

Actually I cut the nameplates using the scroll saw which is MUCH more forgiving during the event of human error.