Question about Sled and two sided Carve

[karns.steve]

I have made a sled and made a nice plaque for a family member. I would like to see about just flipping the board over and doing it again to have the plaque two sided. Attached is pictures of the sled ( I only have the one picture, but I did change it so the cut board is centered)67392
and a picture of the project. 67393

The deepest cut is .250 and the board is .75 thick, so I'm pretty sure that I have the thickness to cut it twice.

One concern would be making sure that I have the bottom on the same side so if it was hanging one side wouldn't be upside down, I believe I have that figured out from the TIPS and TRICKS on Sleds. But a comment to re-assure my thoughts are correct will be helpful.

My second concern would be making the board to thin, where it isn't strong enough to be durable. I believe the wood is African Mahogany, it was part of a "gift" pack from a friend.

I'm sure this has been done before by someone else. Seems pretty simple to me, just hate to scrap a decent project that I am almost ready to say is complete.

Thanks for all the great help you guys provide.
Steve

[DickB]

It looks like most of the board is carved to depth, so if you do as you propose most of your board will be only 1/4" thick. I would not do it.

I probably can't explain how to align the board better than tips and tricks or following the user manual.

[DocWheeler]

Dick and Steve,

Dick - You are probably correct, but I did it anyway - it made a light-weight sign that is easy to handle and hang.
Very good if not used outside. And, I had a 2" banner across the middle that increased the thickness to about 9/16".

Steve - Just remember that the top of the carve will be at the keypad side and you will be fine if the positioning is right.
You might consider reducing the depth a little if it doesn't detract from what you want.

[karns.steve]

Thank you guys for the information. I thought maybe the 1/4 inch remaining thickness would be weak, and have waited for responses before going to carve it. The sign is going to be used while camping, hanging from a post outside their camper. Maybe I can get some 4/4 and carve it so I have 1/2 inch strength and even lessen the depth a little.

Thanks, again the forum is more valuable than it's weight in gold!

Steve

[FWMiller]

I have not done a double sided carve like this but quarter inch seems to me like it should be sufficient (structurally) in mohagany for a sign like this since it's only used periodically for camping. It doesn't sound like it's going to get a lot of abuse. If it were to be permanently outdoors exposed to weather or might gets tossed around a lot I might make it thicker to make it last longer. If you were doing it again anyway, in addition to doing a shallower carving you could also make the frame a bit wider to get a little extra support. Just my thoughts.

Frederick

[DickB]

The potential issue with 1/4" thick hardwood is warping not strength. I sometimes use 1/4" oak boards from the home centers and it is difficult to find one that is not already cupped in the store.

[cestout]

I don't see any problem doing this, just flip the board end for end instead of rolling it over as you normally do. Instead of the left end staying the left end - as I tell people in training - , the top needs to stay the top.
Clint