| Project by drgoodwood | posted 52 days ago | 239 views | 0 times favorited | 4 comments |  |
 |
Here’s a twig sign that I made for an upcoming art show.
The letters and trim are made from hand-split pawpaw wood. I split the pawpaw twigs with a thin knife and a mallet. I smooth the flat side of the split twigs with a miniature hand plane by holding the plane upside down in my left hand, and then running the twig over the sole of the plane with my right hand. This is a barrel maker’s trick that I learned from a cooper in Berea, Kentucky. The twigs are attached with animal glue and brads. The button decorations in the border trim are cross sections of pawpaw twigs. I use Japanese hand saws to cut and fit the twigs.
The letter “O” was made from a slice of a hollow sweet gum branch that came down during our visit from Hurricane Ike last year. I chiseled out the rotted core. The wood was dried and stabilized in a microwave oven. This also will kill any lingering infestations.
The backboard is a piece of salvaged plywood, about 3/4” thick and cut to a 24” by 24” square. I painted the board with homemade milk-paint that was pigmented with natural yellow ochre. After the sign was complete, I sealed it with a diluted tung oil wash. When the tung oil was completely cured, I applied a top coat of high-solids polyurethane oil varnish.
I design my twig signs on grid paper at full scale. I transfer the design to the backboard with a scratch awl. Other than twigs, I also use vines, roots, bark and found objects for my rustic fusion signs.
-- Randy, Rustic Artisan, a family tradition. (No PM's - auto-deleted.) - "I am a seeker, not a follower."
4 comments so far
sharad
home | projects | blog
704 posts in 697 days
posted 49 days ago
Dear seeker, you are great. This is something very novel. Was the pawpaw wood fully dry? Your use of miniature hand plane is unique. The use of sweet gum branch for making “o” is again ingenious. I come across many such hollow branchs but never thought of making use of them as you did. Next time I will preserve them. The button decorations are very nice. You have inspired me to think differently.
Sharad
-- patanjali
drgoodwood
home | projects | blog
381 posts in 1020 days
posted 48 days ago
Sharad:
The pawpaw wood was collected in March and allowed to dry for for six months before I use it.
However, it doesn’t shrink much and can be used when green. I usually leave the bark on pawpaw wood. If I want to remove the bark, it must be done while the sap is flowing in the Spring. Pawpaw is hard to find in my area, so I only harvest it responsibly. This time of year it bears a delicious fruit that tastes like over-ripe bananas. I save the seeds from the fruit and plant them in the areas where I gather the pawpaw wood. Some of the seeds are dried and used as bead decorations. The seeds resemble black almonds. I share some of the dried pawpaw seeds with a Shawnee lady that makes traditional corn and pawpaw seed necklaces.
I collect and use all forms of odd shaped pieces of wood including including hollow branchs, vine twisted, woodpecker pitted and beaver chewed. I use all parts of the wood including bark, roots, leaves, pine and fir cones, and even shelf fungus.
-- Randy, Rustic Artisan, a family tradition. (No PM's - auto-deleted.) - "I am a seeker, not a follower."
flintbone
home | projects | blog
11 posts in 49 days
posted 15 days ago
Nice work.
flint
a1Jim
home | projects | blog
16622 posts in 470 days
posted 15 days ago
cool sign well done
-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon