Custom Orchid Picture Frames - Part final

Hello everyone,

Well this is it folks! The final part of the custom orchid frames. I had a great time with these and I hope my client will enjoy it just as much. 

Dipping the orchid in a rich walnut dye. Dipping the piece allows all the edges of
all the cutouts to be stained evenly. I had to make a shop made container to hold the dye,
since the piece was so large.

To get rid of all the excess stain, I simply place it face up onto some shop towels. This also prevents
excess stain from pooling and drying up in the corners of the cutouts.

I also stain the back of the frame and make sure to stain the interior orchid. 

After the stain has dried, I get the pieces ready to be glued. To ensure perfect alignment,
I made a simple right angle alignment jig.  

To finish off the frame, I veneer the edges. I simply stain the edges afterward to complete the frame.
To protect the frame I apply 3 coats of a spray polyurethane finish.

This completes the project. I hope you will join me for the reveal.

Thanks for looking!

Roshaan

Custom Orchid Picture Frames - Part 4

Hi Everyone,

Welcome back to part 4! We're almost there!

 

Here I am getting ready to rout out a recess for the key hole picture hanger.  I choose to  use one hanger
instead of two since it will be easier for the client to hang on the wall. I made a template out of mdf to get
a nice tight fitting recess. 

The routed out recess...we're not done with it just yet.

The recess cleaned up with the template removed.

To complete the recess, I drill some clearance holes for the head of the screw when hung on the wall.

Thanks for looking!

Roshaan

Cherry Blossom Sideboard Part 8 final

Hi Everyone,

This is it! The final part to the cherry blossom sideboard. In the final part I will be discussing the cherry blossom cut-out on the door panels and the wood coloring and finishing process.

For the cherry blossom design on the door panel I first drew and refined the full scale design on paper. After I was happy with the design, I placed carbon paper in between the drawing and the wooden door panel and simply traced the design onto the panels. What I was left with was a perfect replica of the design on the wooden door panel.

I then drilled strategically placed blade entry holes, to feed the scroll saw blade through. The panel was a bit large for the depth of the throat of my scroll saw, but with a bit of finesse and creative cutting I managed to cut out the cherry blossom without a hitch.

The above photo shows the contrast between just the brown walnut dye (right door) and the combination of both the walnut dye and the ebony stain (left door). I also masked off the center of the door for contrast, when I attach the cherry blossom cut-out at a later stage.

The finishing process of the completed sideboard, was a very intense and challenging process. It was essentially a 5 step process. First I had to put on a base brown walnut color to the entire cabinet and doors, except the fronts of the door panels. This was left to add contrast to the cherry blossom cut-out.

Then after the dye dried, I then apply an ebony stain to the sideboard, again leaving the door panels. This then completed the coloring process. It was then time for the finishing process. I applied 3 coats of a semi-gloss brush-on poly, lightly sanding between each coats.

Then after waiting for about 3 days for the finish to fully cure, I rubbed out the finish of the entire sideboard, by applying a rubbing compound and then using lots of elbow grease to "rub it out". This process essentially gets rid of any debris and blemishes in the finish and leaves the surface nice and smooth for the waxing process.

Speaking of the waxing process, that came next. I then applied paste wax to the entire surface and yet again using lots of brute strength and elbow grease I buffed the wax out to reveal a nice smooth, glassy surface.

Talk about intense! Phew! It is finally done!

Thanks for looking!

Roshaan