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There are many types of woodwork that make great gifts; a hand carved sign is one of them. As I mentioned elsewhere in this web site, I don’t work wood for money or for favors. There are some people in my life for whom I will work wood as a gift. This project was one such example.
This sign was carved out of a slab of Honduras mahogany that was eight inches wide and two inches thick. The hump where the pineapple sits was cut from one end and glued on top. Being wider than my jointer, I had to flatten this sucker with hand planes, then run it through my thickness planer.
Once the wood was prepared, I cut the curve on the hump with my bandsaw, then glued the hump to the main board. One great tip that comes from this is to save the cutoff from cutting out the hump. I took great care to cut it all without relief cuts as I wanted it in one piece. The cutoff was then used as a clamping caul to keep the clamps from slipping off while the glue set.
After gluing, I shaped the hump with files, then drilled out the corner details using a Forstner bit and my drill press. I ran the face through my router table to make the edge detail which I then finished up by carving in the corners on either side of the hump with gouges.
The design was transferred with carbon paper and I used a router to remove the material around the lettering and the pineapple to a depth of ¾ of an inch. I did this in three passes for both my safety and the safety of the sign.
The next step was to clean around the edges of the raised lettering with gouges, then carve the scalloping. The pineapple came last.
I highlighted the handwork by spraying a few light strokes of flat black spray paint on the sign, then using some 180 grit sandpaper to lightly sand the gouge marks. This makes them stand out. Then I sanded the flat surfaces with my palm sander and the sign was ready for finish.
I make these signs to go outside, the finish is supposed to last outdoors. Unfortunately I’ve never made one yet that anyone has allowed outside so I never know if my finish will work properly. I am planning some tests to check on this, but I have been assured that this finish should work well outdoors. I’ll probably write more on that when I have everything figured out.
In the meantime, the sign was very well received. I think the new owner was quite shocked, actually. These projects are a lot of fun to make, don’t take that much time, and impress your friends and family. I highly recommend carving for its therapeutic value but a gift like this is truly appreciated; you can tell by the recipient’s reaction.
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