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My wife has been asking for a simple cross to hang on the wall for quite some time now. Her birthday today was the perfect opportunity to oblige. Material is 3/4" Black Walnut from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I've had several boards sitting around waiting for the right projects. I made a simple half lap joint by nibbling away at it with the miter gauge on the table saw. Glue and a few 5/8" brads hold it tight. Ran a 1/4" chamfer around the edges after glue up. Before assembly I used the keyhole bit (love that bit) to route a mounting hole on the cross member. The fourth picture shows how I used a piece of tape to determine the plunge and pull points.

Finish is one coat of Minwax Dark Walnut and a few coats of spray on satin poly. I added a few felt pads to keep it from rattling on the wall or sticking to the paint.

The ratio for a cross (after doing some google searching) is that the cross piece is centered 1/3 of the way down the center piece, and the two extending portions of the cross piece are equal length to the top. The third picture shows a ruler with the appropriate layout. My stock was 2" wide and the overall length of the upright portion is 14".

Gallery

Comments

· Registered
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19,753 Posts
Nice work Matt this is a super looking cross.
 

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50 Posts
Nice work. As should be expected from your research, nice proportions.
 

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841 Posts
Very nice work!
 

· In Loving Memory
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10,077 Posts
Great looking cross. Thanks for researching the correct relationship for the dimensions. That is what I use because it just "looked right" but I was always concerned that it wasn't "correct".
 

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4,054 Posts
Nice Cross build. Thanks for the correct spec's : )
 

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2 Posts
Nice cross I have made a few of these with solid oak and I love my keyhole bit as well
 

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513 Posts
Beautiful work and thanks for the ratio.
 

· In Loving Memory
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196 Posts
Beautiful cross. Neat idea about using the tape for references. I have used this bit often and fought with the entry/exit points.
 
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