Carved Wood Stained Plaques

[Kenm810]

Here's Something I thought would be fun to try,
A bit like Stained Glass carved on the CW and CC Machines.
You can use water or alcohol based transparent stains to color the Patterns
and top it off with a few layers of gloss clear coat if you want. :wink:

Just use your Imagination !!

[Pratyeka]

That is truly awsome!

[want2b]

Great idea!! I can just imagine those as raised panel doors in a kitchen or furniture doors. They would make unique panels inserted into the front door of an old victorian house. Guess I better not let my wife see these.
Thx for sharing, Rick H.

[James RS]

Ken,
Great job! I would like to know where you got the stains you used

Thanks,
Jim

[HighTechOkie]

I think the "stain" came from Photoshop. As for actually doing it. Lowes and Home Depot both carry a good selection of colored stains. They come in opaque or translucent. For the stained glass effect you would want to use the translucent stains or really thin down an opaque stain.

Really cool idea though.

Rob

[fwharris]

Ken,

Your words of wisdom and wit are only out done by your talents in the finishing and designs you do. Even greater that you share them all will us.

Thanks!!!

[DocWheeler]

Ken,

What can I say? That is beautiful.

[Rocky]

Ken, really nice. I wonder if I have the patience and steady hands to paint all the colors. :)

[Kenm810]

Hey Guys thanks for all the nice comments,
I"ve been a little house bound for a while, did a good Job of (Sprained my left Knee)
and between the leg brace and learning to walk with a cane on the Hardwood and Tile floors we have
the Grand kids say it sounds like Captain Ahab pacing the deck on his Whaling Ship -- any way,
I had some time today to play with my CW designer software and one of my Graphic/Paint programs,
to come up with an idea I thought might look neat to do.
Being at home and machine being 35 miles away at my shop I had to use my imagination to see what the Plaque/Panels might look like.
Both the Rockler and The Woodcraft stores have all the color stains you need,
plus with a little practice you can mix and match some to make a few of your own new colors.

Ps. Rocky it's easy,-- kind of like painting by the numbers -- with out the numbers

Besides no paint brushes today just the Pc and Mouse

Here's another one :wink:

[PCW]

Ken


We really appreciate you sharing your beautiful designs. They are great. Dan

[Kenm810]

PWC,

Thanks but I can't take credit for the Patterns,
Their free all over the net, just look around for some you like
and soon you'll be drawing your own !! :wink:

[HighTechOkie]

I took a few minutes and converted Gothic Wheat into a vectored mpc. Carve time is 1:06. I have not ran it on the machine yet so proceed at your own risk :).

Rob

[Kenm810]

Thanks Rob, that should save a ton of Time,
plus the Wear and Tare on the Machine and Cut Motor. :wink:

[fwharris]

Rob,

Same here! looks great!

[HighTechOkie]

Here is Don Quixote.mpc

Rob

[SteveEJ]

Is the conversion done manually or automatically through a graphics program? I am waiting for a part and have time for research.

Thanks,
Steve

PS Nice Work.. Giving me some ideas!

[James RS]

Steve,
Raster to vector can be done manually as well as auto in Coreldraw and Adobe Illustrator both have autotrace functions, or you can take a piece of white paper put it over an image and use a sharpie marker and white out for mistakes then scan the image in. If you do a google search Raster to Vector I believe there are some free programs and some good info I have seen. Here's one on the sharpie technique http://www.cuttingedgesandcarving.com/Whit%20Fink%20Hand%20Trace%20Tutorial.htm I belong to the glassetch forum also

[SteveEJ]

Thanks!

Steve

[RayTrek]

Ken,
I enjoy your projects immensely that is exactly the Idea I was looking for to do a crane bird design for my sister’s medicine cabinet door. If I can get the QC working properly I am going to carve the gothic wheat pattern today Thanks for all the cool projects and ideas, Cheers to you.
Ron, I tried opening your vector project but it crashed every time not sure if it is on my end or not good idea though may have to make my own to learn how I have illustrator have not worked with it much.
Good day and thanks for the learning.
Ray 1.132

[SteveEJ]

Ray,
They opened OK here. It might be something on your end.

Steve

[HighTechOkie]

Is the conversion done manually or automatically through a graphics program? I am waiting for a part and have time for research.

Thanks,
Steve

PS Nice Work.. Giving me some ideas!

The conversion was done through custom software that takes a jpg, bmp, png graphic and either centerline or outline traces the image and converts it into a MPC, TrueType Font (TTF) or DXF. We have a few more things to finish and will start beta testing this week hopefully.

While CoreDRAW and Adobe Illustrator can trace a bitmap/raster image and create vectors, Designer can not import vector graphics files. We have created a simple one step bitmap to vectored mpc conversion without the need to buy and learn expensive graphics programs.

Rob

[SteveEJ]

Need a Beta Tester? I'm in.. I have tested hardware and software for MS, Sling Media and a few others. NDA signing is not an issue either.

Thanks,

Steve

[Router-Jim]

Ken that is well thought out and opens up new possibilites. Congrats on a job well done. :cool:


HighTeck Rookie. Nice job on the conversion. I'm interested in hearing more about your process as it develops.


Jim

[Kenm810]

Here's another one,
this is getting to be kinda fun.

Also here's a little info on Wood Dyes
www.briwax.co.nz/WoodDyes.php (http://www.briwax.co.nz/WoodDyes.php)
Remember a little goes a long ways

[Digitalwoodshop]

Excellent projects..... Top of the line work !!!!

AL

[RayTrek]

Ken,

That is assume I am going to send a pic to my sister I believe that is exactly what she is asking for Thank you very much you sure do have a way with the arts and I have learned much from you.
I carved the Gothic Wheat today for a small cabinet it is carved (Normal) 18.5” board with a carrier board (sled) about 2.5 hours – good job on the pattern I only changed the size and I cant wait to stain it with the info I received here, Thanks again Ken way fun
Ray

[mtylerfl]

Beautiful work, you guys! Very, very nice.

[Kenm810]

Looks Great Ray,
Team work that it, -- Really Make me feel good to see folks working together
on some new ideas, and kind of neat Projects. :wink:

[FINGERS]

One of the older member posted a tip some time ago about using food color to tint clear stain, it works great and you save big bucks.

[Kenm810]

Hi Mike, Good Idea

I also remember that post about using food coloring for staining wood,
I sometimes just mix a little in to my water borne Sanding Sealer or Top Coat
for a hint of color or the bring out the wood grain a bit.

Ps. Lots of egg dying kits will be going sale after Easter,
4 and 6 color kits are 50% off already at some Craft and Meijers stores
around here. :wink:

[Dan-Woodman]

Ken
Ijust finished your Gothic Wheat Pattern from post # 1.
It turned out great, but the machine missed 3 lines. I double checked the mpc and they are on the pattern, they just didn't get routed. I also checked to verify the bit had been applied and the depth was correct. all good, I quess the machine just missed them.
later Daniel

[Kenm810]

Hey Dan, they must have been on the next Page -- :wink:

In the mean time I'll give you another Lion to carve, to make up for the others.

[Dan-Woodman]

Ken
Thanks for all the great patterns. Since I don't have Corel or Adobie I'll have to print it and trace it, til I can get something to convert it.
I just did a search on stained glass patterns and came up with lots of free one and also scrollsaw patterns.
later Daniel

[oclatta]

Any trick to keep the stains from wicking thru the veins of the wood and getting into adjacent areas?

[Kenm810]

I sprayed a coat of Lacquer on mine to seal everything,
after it dried I sanded the surface to the bare wood and then dabbed on the colors.
I imagine most Sanding Sealers should work the same way.

[FINGERS]

Thank's Ken these patturns are great, I own you a cup of coffee.

[Kenm810]

Here's one,
For any of you Dead Heads out there,
that can still remember. :cool:

[SevenCubed]

Thanks for sharing the technique! I always over-complicate my project designs... Sometimes keeping it simple can have VERY nice results! Inspiring work.

[RayTrek]

These projects have been fun for me; usually I like the 2.5D relief projects and have not tried this kind of project before. The patterns were free from a stain glass site, I changed them in the edit software to just outlines and in designer outline all and assigned a 60^ V bit at .060 depth and got rid of the pattern this gave me a vector carving with a tile like mosaic, the frame was made with the connect line tool with a assigned bit, the two carves (routing) took about 50 min in normal with the 60^ bit only. The staining, I first sprayed on some poly and let dry then brushed in Brazilian rosewood gel and let dry next sanded the top stain off and added colors I made using 1 TSP of water based pre stain wood conditioner and 3 drops of food color also had some neon food color and let dry then I re stained with antique maple when dried sprayed on some poly.Note; there are some hidden outlines you can say OK and they are egnored in the routing.
My favorite is the fairy the angle guardian is a bit busy.
Thanks Ken for sparking some ideas the lion was painted the same way but I did not put the first coat of poly and there was a little more bleeding.
Good day to all
Ray ver.1.134

[PCW]

Ray

They all turn out great. The stain grass project is on my list of things to do. The food color really worked good and is allot cheaper than having to purchase all of the dyes/paint. Well done

[fwharris]

Ray,

Thanks for sharing your tips on converting to vector lines and finishing tech. As usuall your your finished work is tops!

[mtylerfl]

Beautiful, Ray! Those are great decorative items that really show off your artistic talent - again!

[Kenm810]

Nice Job Ray,
And I do agree they are kind fun to do.

Here’s one my Grandson picked out to do for his Room, after it’s carved he wants to add all the colors himself.
It looked pretty nice outside today so took him and his Sister out Geocaching this morning
(Kind of like - GPS Treasure Hunting) and found 4 Caches before Noon.
Thought the exercise would be good for my bum knee, and have a little fun at the same time,
--- well Grandpa’s relaxing on the lazy boy recliner now with his feet up
--- I guess I should’ve known better, think them kids tried to walk this old man’s legs off today. http://forum.carvewright.com/images/icons/icon6.gif

[geekviking]

Ken, love the viking helmet pattern! Would you be willing to share it?

[brdad]

Nice Job Ray,
And I do agree they are kind fun to do.

Here’s one my Grandson picked out to do for his Room, after it’s carved he wants to add all the colors himself.
It looked pretty nice outside today so took him and his Sister out Geocaching this morning
(Kind of like - GPS Treasure Hunting) and found 4 Caches before Noon.
Thought the exercise would be good for my bum knee, and have a little fun at the same time,
--- well Grandpa’s relaxing on the lazy boy recliner now with his feet up
--- I guess I should’ve known better, think them kids tried to walk this old man’s legs off today. http://forum.carvewright.com/images/icons/icon6.gif

Hey, I'm a Geocacher, too!

These all look great, and since my wife is into stained glass, it has appeal there, too. Makes me wonder what a combined project would be like... So many ideas, so little time!

[RayTrek]

Here is one that I am going to carve today and wanted to share the MPC with you thought it might make a fun project for the young ones to stain their own colors in.
They are fun for me to though just young at heart.
Ken, two knee surgeries I feel your pain don’t know how much having those body parts working in a good manner is until you cant use one of them just putting soaks on can take awhile. The bicycle helps me strengthen mine
Again thanks for this thread and thanks for the comments that all have made
Cheers
and Happy Easter
Ray

[Kenm810]

Sorry geekviking -- http://forum.carvewright.com/images/icons/icon11.gif,
I forgot to post it, Here ya go :wink:

Ps. Ray, -- Heavy Duty Sprain of the Medial Collateral Ligament of my Left Knee,
(in layman terms) it causes major limping with a cane
plus makes hard not to walk in large circles,
also a bit tuff trying to keep up with my 8yr old Grandkids. :???:

[Kenm810]

I just played around a bit with some water base acrylic paints,
I masked off where I didn’t want it to go, and shot it through one of my airbrushes.
Mixing it thin and using short bursts of air made the colors semi-transparent
and it dried very quickly before it could bleed into other parts of the project.
I tried it because I remembered using some of the Grand Kids water color paints on a project once,
and after I put a clear top coated on it, it looked pretty good.

If you want to try it, ---
Harbor Freight has air brush kits that can be used with
caned air or a compressor for about $8.00 to $10.00


http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47791 (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47791)

[FINGERS]

It was fun doing these I used some acrylic paints on these and when it gets warmer I'll spray them with some ploy, Think I'll give them to my kids,Thank's Ken.

[Kenm810]

lookin Good Mike,

It's kind of neat the way you can use any color or combinations of colors you want,
plus change the original pattern to suit your neededs.

Here's one I modified a little, to look just like my wifes Dog "Phoebe"
We call her our little "Bearded Lady." :wink:

[Dhaffner]

These look great. Creative use of food coloring for sure! I always enjoy the variety I'm seeing on here. Great job.

[chebytrk]

OK guys.......... so what's the technique in making a "stained glass" wood carving? Maybe "Bud" can make a video instruction on how to do it? hint... hint

[geekviking]

For the viking pattern, I hope your knee feels better!

[AskBud]

Sorry folks,
I'm not an artist, and I hate to paint.
However, I've looked at some of the posts and there seem to be two schools of application.
I've carved the Lion & lamb, and it is purely a Raster carve with the standard carving bit, except for the edge carve (I don't remember if I added that or if it was on the post).

The Easter Egg post is using a 60 degree bit with a depth of 0.060 on the outer frame, and 0.050 on the actual egg & flower design.

My guess, and this is just a guess, is that some of these have come from a book (or Site) and that the CW person has just scanned the image and used it as is, or modified to suit their taste.

The raw image would lend itself to the Raster cut as in the Lion & Lamb.

I suspect that the Egg took more work on the part of the Designer/Artist. If you click within the Egg portion, you see numerous carve sections, and by clicking on the Bit Selection you see the 0.050 setting for the 60 degree bit.

I think, if I were to do a design, I would select the method used on the egg even though it requires more design & thinking to develop. My guess is that the pattern was applied as in the Lion & lamb, but then the Designer/Artist laid out the various carves by tracing each path with "Connecting Lines" and then altering some paths as necessary (or wished).

If you look at the Egg post/pattern, you also see that the Designer/Artist separated the "Frame" section as a stand-alone portion, which means they may intend to keep that portion for other later works. This leads me to think that any picture, or coloring book becomes an avenue for Stain Glass Art.

Sorry to say this is not an AVI Video. However, perhaps my words paint the picture we all needed. Maybe the first owner of the Egg Pattern will confirm, or deny, my theory.

Here is a link to the Egg Pattern:
http://forum.carvewright.com/showpost.php?p=85994&postcount=46
AskBud

[ajk]

I Will Use To Make An Antique Closet Doors With Moldings And Antiques Appliances.

[Kenm810]

Buds absolutely right,

There’s dozens of free Stain Glass patterns on the web, that you can down load for your own use,
plus you can modify the size, shape, or change the colors around to suite your needs.
You just have to use a little of your Imagination.
I like to down load and save the patterns as PNG files so I can load them directly in CW’s Designer to carve as a Raster carving,
or you can use one of the graphic programs like Coral or PS Illustrator to convert the pattern to a V-Groove Vector carving if you like.

Art skills are not mandatory,
My Grandkids have colored a few with water base markers and they look terrific, (at least to me they do) :wink:
It’s all about experimenting and having a bit of fun with these little carving machines.

[RayTrek]

Hello,

AskBud, You are pretty much on with your explanation and that is the method that will work and one that I considered.

The Frame; was created in designer with the connecting lines tool and each completed path was assigned a bit selection 60 degree V bit and 0.060 depths, All the paths were grouped for a stand-alone frame that I can use later, you can right click the group and “select all” then right click again on any of the high-lighted areas and select “copy” this copied everything in the group and the group you can now open your project virtual board and right click any ware on the board and select paste at this point you can resize with the triangle areas on the outer most areas also with all selected you can change the depth and bit of all the paths at one time.

The Egg; any single line drawing will work like a color book drawing and needs to be transparent except for the lines themselves a png or gif file will allow transparent background also you may import a jpg with a white background and lower it so that only the lines are left the lines need to be complete. Now that you have a pattern made of the lines put it onto your virtual board set the feather to “none” and select "invert" size the pattern to your likening and right click on the pattern and select “outline pattern(s)” now you have many paths.
In your “carving list” select “group” right click the group and select “all in group” right click on the highlighted paths and “select bit” assign the bit and depth there. Next select the original pattern and “hide” it or remove it. Note with all the paths selected you can change the depth in the upper menu.
You can remove paths to your likening I like to hide them so that I may put them back easily if I want.

Thank you for your explanation BUD and Ken I know that it has helped many for those ho are learning designer I hope my attempt is as easy to understand as yours.
Good Day
Ray

[Hexe SA]

Hey Dan, they must have been on the next Page -- :wink:

In the mean time I'll give you another Lion to carve, to make up for the others.

Thanks for the pattern Ken. I finished it out with "Gallery Glass" paint and liquid lead.

[Kenm810]

Very Nice, I like your finish
Really looks like Lead and Glass! :grin:

[Icutone2]

Great job! No sharp edges to get hurt on lol.
Lee

[want2b]

Hey Dan, they must have been on the next Page -- :wink:

In the mean time I'll give you another Lion to carve, to make up for the others.

Finally got time to do the Lion&Lamb, carves great. Realised very quickly that the art of finishing it was a whole lot more important and harder than the carve.

Dan,

Hats off to you, suspected there had to be a reason projects like this weren't sitting on shelves everywhere. Your finishing talent is awesome, the way you blend/shade the colors to make the 'stained glass' look is obviously the difference between looking great and a painting. Am posting my attempt and letting you know I tried to copy your color scheme but realised my color senses weren't up to it.
Again, Thx, Rick H.
ps. I tried the Crane first and it went into the trash, decided something smaller was probabaly a better bet.

[Kenm810]

Looking Good,
I have to agree with you on the Carving verses the Painting,
most days I'd pick the Carving as easier than the Painting by far.

[Griz64]

Ken,
I thought I would share one I did several weeks ago. I must say I am jealous of your finishing. I used acrylic paints to do mine. I was really happy with the way it turned out but after looking at your work I see that have a hell of along way to go. Nice work Ken and all of you actually.

[Kenm810]

Griz64,

Really Nice Job,
They are a lot of fun to do, with a great range of experimenting you can try
plus tons of subject matter to pick and choose from. :grin:

[chebytrk]

Hi Mike, Good Idea

I also remember that post about using food coloring for staining wood,
I sometimes just mix a little in to my water borne Sanding Sealer or Top Coat
for a hint of color or the bring out the wood grain a bit.

Ps. Lots of egg dying kits will be going sale after Easter,
4 and 6 color kits are 50% off already at some Craft and Meijers stores
around here. :wink:

Hey Ken,
I'm playing with some of these stained wood projects and just wanted to make sure I understood you right (above). Just a couple of drops of food coloring in to some Sanding Sealer and that's it? Thanks......

[Kenm810]

Hi Jerry,

I've done it several way, --Mixing the Food Coloring or Dye
with water (Raises the grain) --Denatured Alcohol (Lots of Stirring the mix but the grain stay down)
Sanding Sealer (Quick Penetration -- A little Color goes a long ways),
White Vinegar (Project smells like a Salad or a soiled Diaper),
Plus a few others, Remember to try a couple of test runs on a piece of scrap from your project. :wink:

[want2b]

Ken;
Carved the Crane again about 6 months ago, started to finish it but just never seemed to feel right about what I wanted it to look like. Thursday I gave it to my 12 yr old granddaughter and told her it was her job to finish it. Should have dome that a long time ago. Gave her the box of acrylic paints and a spot on the work bench and here's the result. Really impressed with how she made the 'pond' effect. Looks like I'll be busy when the carver gets back from Sears, she wants me to teach her to use the designer so she can make her own from scratch. May find myself going into business whether I want to or not, the enthusiasm of youth is refreshing.
Rick H.

[Kenm810]

Hi Rick,

Thanks for Posting your Stainglass project Photo,
your granddaughter did a Great painting job on it.
Our grand kids never cease to amaze me too,
it's always Quality time well spent.

[LittleRedWoodshop]

Here is my project using the "Gothic Wheat" pattern

http://i34.servimg.com/u/f34/14/04/28/42/02110.jpg

view more pics here http://cutscarvesandcolors.ning.com/photo/albums/cabinet-redo

[Digitalwoodshop]

Wow !!!!

Al

[mtylerfl]

Very impressive, Jason!!