Chester Revealed!
This is Chester! Get ready! - this limited edition figure goes on sale next Tuesday October 29 at 12 noon Texas time.
Chester Process Shots - Tung Oil
Below are shots of what the wood looks like before and after the Tung Oil is applied. Love that smell. Don't worry - if you dont like the smell it goes away. After the oil dries our special formula bees wax is applied. I prefer finishing the wood this way as it has a more of a natural look with a matte/satin finish as opposed to a high gloss finish so the piece still feels like wood.
Chester Process Shots - All of the Pieces
Below is a shot of all of the pieces used to make the figure. There are 17 individually cut pieces in total. You might only count 16 here but as I mentioned a few days ago - the body is comprised of 2 pieces laminated together with matching grain patterns. The body, eyes and bow tie are Walnut, the antlers, and teeth are Maple, the face and arms are Cherry, the dowel rods are Oak and the tongue is Padauk. More tomorrow!
Chester Process Shots - Face and Arms
Here are a few more process shots for both the face and arms of Chester. The bottom and top of the face are cut from the same pieces so the upper and lower grain patterns match. The holes for the eyes and bow tie are routed out so pieces can be laid into them. The top of the arms are drilled out using a jig made so I can do 4 at a time. The body holes are drilled using a another jig. The Arms are secured in to the body with oak dowel rods in the drill holes, the dowels are not seen but keep the arms secured to the body much better than if they had been just glued on only. More tomorrow!
Chester Process Shots - Body & Antlers
Chesters body is actually comprised of 2 matching pieces of Walnut that are laminated together with the front face routed out. The top of the body is slotted on each side to allow the antlers to slide in and attach sort of like a mortise and tenon on furniture. I've designed the antlers with a lip on the front that fits along top of the body, this allows for more stability as that space can be glued there as well, they are made from hard maple giving a little extra strength. Each antler needs to be custom fit for each slot. The curve of the body is cut on the band saw using the jig in the last photo so that they all come out roughly the same. Stay tuned for more next week!
