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oscarl48
03-01-2015, 11:42 AM
My next big project is a dragon steam punk themed cabinet I want to use to display a stained glass dragon I built a while ago that I will be wiring up as a lamp. I plan for it to be an evolutionary and iterative process since I only have a general idea of what it will look like. I will allow the creative energies to finalize the design. As part of the design I do want dragon claw and ball feet which I am starting to get a better feel on how to accomplish that. I have a prototype of the feet in the pattern help section. I won't be using those specifically but probably something similar.

The unit will be about 3' by 30" and 2' deep. It will be mostly black walnut and maple with laser engraved granite tiles as accents.

I haven't seen too many large projects on here and thought it would be fun to document my progress and also share the design patterns. They will be in piece parts so you will be free to modify the design if you choose.

First design to share are the side rails of the cabinet. They will be bordered in maple. They will be mirrored looking into the middle of the piece.

oscarl48
03-01-2015, 02:21 PM
More random bits and pieces. First notional header design. Including skull with top hat and steam punk goggles. All credit goes to Poniu for the 3d skull model on Blender swap. The top hat is my model. Quick and dirty. Individual patterns enclosed.

SharonB
03-01-2015, 06:37 PM
This is going to be an interesting thread to watch develop.

oscarl48
03-02-2015, 09:45 PM
Sharon,

I hope it is interesting or at least fun to see me build a monstrosity. I am hoping for a piece of art but I have been known to build a Frankenstein once or twice.

On the long edges I want to put small carving down the edge. I was thinking maybe a dragon eye something like the seeing eye in Lord of the Rings. Here is my first effort. Not 100% satisfied but a first start.

Now back on trying to figure out how to model dragon scales for my legs.

oscarl48
03-03-2015, 09:15 PM
Slightly different claw and ball foot. I'll attempt to do a test carve this weekend. If it comes out half decent this will be the one I go with.

oscarl48
03-03-2015, 09:23 PM
Rough plan of the cabinet. All the squiggly lines are carving areas of patterns I haven't done yet. Also another dragon eye variant.

oscarl48
03-07-2015, 05:46 PM
Got one foot carved. Its not 100% perfect but it does have some unique appeal that I like. Massive static build up on my machine and y and z roller errors with all the debry sticking to everything so a good cleaning tomorrow morning and a second attempt to carve the second foot. It took 3.5 hours so will only use two for the front and basic square legs in the back where they won't be seen.

dbemus
03-08-2015, 03:35 PM
Interesting project! Looking great, watching it with interest!

dbemus

oscarl48
03-11-2015, 08:39 PM
Wow. I am having one of them days. After several hours working on this dragon model and being really happy with the final pattern I checked the dimensions of the door and...not even close. I confused the size of the project with an old one in my head.

Back to the design board but I'll still share this pattern. Still have to go with best bit optimization due to the thin sections and again fairly deep pattern to get the details out of it. Hope someone finds it useful at some point.

CNC Carver
03-12-2015, 06:09 AM
I'm sure they will be useful to lot of people. Great work!

oscarl48
03-20-2015, 08:08 PM
Back to the drawing board. Quality control/supervisor/spouse has rejected the side panel design. She said the dragon looked either dead or puking so it is a no-go. Back to the drawing board. I've finished the front panel door design. I am super pleased and that did get a go. This weekend I will try to finish the second front leg and hopefully a panel or two.

oscarl48
03-20-2015, 08:14 PM
Funky but really gives me the sci-fi steam punk vibe. The clock pattern enclosed.

Possibly a little scary in a dark room ala Chucky. :shock:

oscarl48
03-20-2015, 10:31 PM
What is more steam punk than an octopus wrapped around a gear. Octopus pattern enclosed. Not exactly sure how I will use this but I am going to try real hard.

oscarl48
03-29-2015, 05:17 PM
It was a great weekend. Got a good portion of the carvings done. Door carvings and one side panel done. I still need one side panel to finish and two accent panels (I am going to see if the octopus split in half looks any good). Still have not started thinking about the top. I am leaning to black walnut but still pretty open. Not sure if I want any carving on the top since this will be a working cabinet.

I finished the second dragon foot but in my excitement I glued the second one with the scales going up instead of down like the first foot. So now I have two different feet. They are separated enough that the eye shouldn't see that unless you pay real close attention. I am going with just use square feet in the back. The dragon feet take almost three hours to carve so the two front feet are good enough.

I did have some problems of my own making. One of the Z truck rollers came loose during the left door carving and chewed up the dragon carving. I recently tore the machine apart in trouble shooting an issue and managed to loosen up the bearing nut. It not horrible and I sanded a lot of it but still not really clean but the cabinet is supposed to look steam punk so fits in that its not supposed to be perfect.

Now with three full tool chest of equipment, did I have a flat wrench for the task. Of course not! So tried to keep an eye on it during the carving but still failed to catch it completely. I messed up a cool experiment that I was doing but since it was an experiment not too upset. It proved to be a pretty cool experiment that I will be redoing in the future. I finally found a flat wrench for my router table that didn't quite fit but I was able to wedge in there and tighten the nut. The last carving the face and cogs one came out great. The carving is right out of the CW with no sanding done yet.

oscarl48
03-29-2015, 05:36 PM
A friend mentioned if I could carve a going away plaque with his command emblem and I told him I didn't know. So as an experiment I wanted to see how it would look as an inlay. This is where the problem I have been having with the z truck roller showed up again. About the first half of the carving was going great and then I started noticing the striations in the carving so stopped the carving and tightened the roller the best I could with the wrong tools. I started it again but toward the end you see the z roller loosening up again. I re-tightened and the last bit is again smooth. Not a big deal since this was a proof of concept and that portion worked out great.

I did notice what others have mentioned on the accuracy of the patterns though. There is about a 1/16 gap at the top between the emblem and the maple surround. The rest of the carving is tight. I created the patterns from the same figure so not sure why but doesn't really matter since I will probably put a backing on it. Still really cool experiment (and CW) and it shows I can now make this carving in a future time.

bergerud
03-29-2015, 06:11 PM
Seems like pretty nice piece of wood for an experiment. I bet you could re-carve it like 1/32-1/16 lower and save it.

oscarl48
03-29-2015, 06:24 PM
Thanks that is a great plan. I had thought it needed to be slightly deeper the next go round so this is perfect.

I had a few boards of black walnut and maple boards get caught in the last rain deluge we had here and it got fairly stained so didn't think twice of using it in an experiment but after carving it cleaned up pretty good. I would love to save it if I can so will give it a shot next weekend. I would love to have this on one of my walls once its all cleaned up. I was part of this command a few years ago.

DickB
03-30-2015, 09:10 AM
I did notice what others have mentioned on the accuracy of the patterns though. There is about a 1/16 gap at the top between the emblem and the maple surround. The rest of the carving is tight. I created the patterns from the same figure so not sure why but doesn't really matter since I will probably put a backing on it. Still really cool experiment (and CW) and it shows I can now make this carving in a future time.I suspect what you are seeing is due to the width of the bit. With no bit optimization (the default), the center of the bit will run up to the edge of the pattern.

oscarl48
03-30-2015, 06:00 PM
Thanks for looking at my project and for the advice. That's what odd. I actually have the bit optimization to best on the pattern. I then flipped the cut out to account for the bit width. The cutout is really tight except for the top. Again not a big deal since I plan to use a backer board (1/4 inch plywood). I am very pleased with the outcome other than the z roller issue which seems to be taken care of (I hope). We'll see this weekend on how successful I was to tighten the nut.

oscarl48
04-04-2015, 07:03 PM
Dan,

Great save. Thank you. It had not occurred to me to redo the carving on the same blank. Not the sharpest tool in the bucket at times. I set the carving 1/32 deeper and simply used tape (a lot of tape) to hold it in the original blank and it came out great. Still have to bevel the outside edges and router an edge on the inside but really pleased on outcome.

Oscar

oscarl48
04-04-2015, 07:18 PM
Had a good Saturday. Started assembling the cabinet. It does not have the amount of carvings I initially thought I wanted. The wife stated, "it's too busy and you lose the figures". So I am going to listen and see how it looks (if I need to I can add appliques later). I have learned I am happier when I make her happy. Still have not thought out what the top will look like. Once complete I will post plans with dimensions since I am literally doing the design as I go.

Hopefully you can't tell the scales on the feet are opposite of each other after my glue up issue on I can't remember if its up or down...so I'll just wing it and guess...I have a 50/50 chance I am right. lol. Yup. I am one of them.

I can't wait to apply the poly and see what treasure I have in the wood pattern. I have bits and pieces of purple heart and paduk which I will be throwing in for visual impact.

want2b
04-04-2015, 07:19 PM
Glad it turned out in the end. Detail looks great and should finish nicely. I will try to remember the seond carve as a fix.
Thx for sharing
Rick H

mtylerfl
04-05-2015, 06:59 AM
That is looking really cool. I am enjoying following your build!

oscarl48
04-05-2015, 10:05 AM
Thanks. I am hoping it comes out good in the end.

I am again rained out. It is supposed to rain all today and pretty much the rest of the week and then I am traveling the following week so I will have a pause in construction. Frustrating when I want to finish it now. So I am stuck indoors so I will make rosette patterns today for practice. I'll just load them as I finish them through out the day. Nothing special but want to play with basic 3d primitives and see what I can build with them.

oscarl48
04-05-2015, 05:23 PM
I know the earlier patterns were on the funky side so here are more traditional ones but still funky.

Also want to share my growing amazement in Blender 3d. So made a quick and dirty tile with the blender mascot. It is a primitive in the program so its literally a one button push to create. The tile is made from a basic circle and two squares plus the model. I am including the model separately if you want to play with it for other projects.

oscarl48
04-06-2015, 08:16 PM
I had a half hour this afternoon so jumped on my command emblem project. I am very pleased with how it came out. It is going on my love me wall.

I will be playing more with inlays in the future. I have built a few plaques lately but this one I believe really turned out nice. The maple and black walnut really give good contrast. The nice part is I still have the cutouts that could become a second plaque except for opposite colors. Maple in black walnut (though I will have to carve deeper to get contrast in the maple). Maybe this Saturday I'll give it a try. I know my buddies will be jealous of this one.

mtylerfl
04-06-2015, 08:53 PM
That certainly does look really nice!

oscarl48
04-08-2015, 09:04 PM
Edit: blah blah blah. I had a lot of stuff before you all don't care about so only kept main point (the pattern).

Enclosed are some wings. Many possible uses.

As an example I combined it with a flag I have shared previously for a simple design.

oscarl48
04-11-2015, 05:52 PM
Deferred doing work I had to do to get the project a little further along before my trip. Put a lot of the piece parts together.

Still needs a little bit of detail work. Molding to cover all the inside joints and some reinforcing wood spars internal the case to hold the top. Still haven't designed it yet.

I am still on the fence whether it needs more carvings. At this point they would be appliques that would go on the flat blank areas.

Thoughts? Yes: more carvings! or No: enough is enough.

Once the oil/poly goes on the black walnut will be much darker and really provide good contrast with the maple. Steam punk is a mixture of primitive with modern but I may have missed the mark on the hinges. Maybe okay when the poly is applied.

blhutchens
04-11-2015, 07:40 PM
You are truly an artist!!!! Maybe some hammered copper hinges, wrought iron, or wooden hinges shaped like a dragon head…….or wing

here are some I did a while back. I am sure you can do better……...

oscarl48
04-11-2015, 08:48 PM
The wings look great, thank you.

Looking at it again I agree with completely. The hinges just don't work. I knew I was rushing it and got what was available at Lowes but I should have waited and got what actually matched the design. I was actually amazed how much I got done today in 4 hours. More surprising I didn't screw up something horribly by rushing it so much.

The idea of doing wooden hinges would totally rock. When I get back from my trip I will make an attempt to design some using a dragon head. Thank you for the great idea.

oscarl48
04-18-2015, 03:27 PM
Back from my business trip so jumped into designing some hinges for my cabinet. I finally ended up with some dragon claw hinge design. You will need a scroll saw to cut the hinge knuckles (I had to look up what that part was called) and drill a hole for the center pin. I made the design as a double sided carve but for myself I decided to only do a single sided carve with clean up work on the belt sander or bandsaw. I have not had good luck with two sided carvings.

I am hoping I will have them done by tomorrow so will post pictures on how they look and if any adjustments have to be made. If they work I'll post the patterns.

bergerud
04-18-2015, 04:35 PM
Why don't you make the hinge parts separate? Even if you can cut them apart with a scroll saw, they will be loose.

oscarl48
04-18-2015, 05:12 PM
You have to know what you are doing for precision work. lol.

I am completely winging it. These are my very first hinges I have ever made but I can guarantee these will be one of a kind. I forgot to take measurements of the door stiles so I am hoping they just fit loose or otherwise.

oscarl48
04-18-2015, 07:29 PM
Sometimes dumb luck works for you. I just finished the first hinge and I am very happy with it.

Dan, you were right they are a little loose but it should work. The hinge is bigger than the stile but again dumb luck it looks great. I wish I would have planned it that way instead of it just happening. I did have to use my belt sander to round over the edges of the knuckles. Sanding will be required it you want them clean but this is the perfect look I am going for.

Three more to go.

oscarl48
04-18-2015, 08:39 PM
Not perfect and you should build a jig to align the pin hole perpendicular to the stile. I did it by eye on my drill press so not perfect but I was losing daylight.

Mine definitely have a little bit of wiggle but that is okay for a piece of furniture that is for me.

I used my scroll saw to separate the pieces. I am enclosing the two sided carve which you should not have to do a whole lot of cutting other than a utility knife and then some heavy sanding. I have not tried the pattern so don't know if its any good. I am happy with the one sided carving though it does have more after carving clean up work.

The claw hinge pattern is the one I used for my project. Again, I have not carved the two sided patterns but if you do carve it please post a pic so I can see how it came out.

Did all four hinges in about 5 hours which included design (had a rough idea from day dreaming during my meetings), carving and clean up of the carving. Carving time on the four hinges was 2 hrs 40 min. I am assuming the two sided carve will take longer.

oscarl48
04-19-2015, 02:13 PM
blhutchens, thank you for the great suggestion to attempt to go with wooden hinges. I hung the doors this morning and I am very pleased on how they came out. It looks so much better than the fence hinges I had on there before.

Now to the top to figure out a design and accent carving appliques. That will be next weekend. I used the last board of black walnut on the hinges. I'll have to pick some more up during the week.

Sorry about the bad lighting. With all the rain we have been getting I moved it indoors so it wouldn't get wet.

bergerud
04-19-2015, 02:17 PM
Those hinges really do look great.

Dale
04-19-2015, 04:55 PM
That is one neat looking cabinet, really like the hinges.

Icutone2
04-19-2015, 05:46 PM
Great build looks GREAT!
Lee

henry1
04-19-2015, 07:05 PM
Great build looks GREAT I will try those hinges

blhutchens
04-19-2015, 07:44 PM
Good job Oscar,
I knew you would come up with something.
thanks for sharing !!

oscarl48
04-19-2015, 09:50 PM
Thank you all. Still have a ways to go but it is coming along. Can't wait to finish it and see what it looks like. Still have no idea of what to do with the top. I keep playing with the idea of using tiles for the top but not sure if it would esthetically go with the theme.

oscarl48
04-23-2015, 08:30 PM
I have a friend who is retiring from the Air Force after 27 years and I was hoping they would ask me to make his going away gift. And they did!...but not in the direction I was hoping for. They asked for a stained glass piece and not in Tiffany style but traditional caming. I was hoping for a chance to show off what CW can do now that I am starting to understand its eccentricities a little better but they were specific on what they wanted. So something that should have taken about 2 weeks to build I managed to do in about 4 days which means I cut corners and not the quality I would have like but it was done by the deadline which is tomorrow. :)

Frame is hard maple with a clear lacquer finish.

oscarl48
04-26-2015, 02:52 PM
Finally made the decision to go with tile for the top. 3x18in tiles in a neutral earthy brown with rough texture.

Next step is to design the edge for it. I will be going with black walnut with a carved design. The design will be done sometime during the week.

I also don't like the way the back feet look so I'll be wrapping some black walnut around them to beef them up and also hopefully integrate them better into the design. Right now they just look like I was too lazy to do real legs (which I was).

Final step will be to carve out the appliques to add flourish and more wow factor to the piece.

eelamb
04-26-2015, 03:25 PM
Oscarl48, that is going to be a master piece. Lots of hard work and love is going into it.

mtylerfl
04-26-2015, 08:38 PM
I love watching this taking shape from the beginning. Almost there and getting more anxious with every post!

oscarl48
05-02-2015, 05:49 PM
Final carvings were completed this morning and now putting all the pieces together.

First coat of poly on the base has been applied. Tomorrow morning I'll apply the last coat, install the top and apply the grout to the tile. It will then be all done. Its been a great project and the end is just a day away.

The last two carvings were the top's front and side to cover the plywood base I used for the tile. All elements were previously used in other parts of the cabinet.

I'll post the final pics of the cabinet tomorrow.

For a piece that I designed as I went along it doesn't suck. :D (I am incredibly happy because it could have gone the other way very quickly)

Capt Bruce
05-02-2015, 09:05 PM
Oscar,

You have taken us on a wonderful journey through your thought process on the design to come, your elements being developed and then integrated and the whole build process. Your documentation and pattern sharing made it just like we have been there with you all the way. Thank you so much for sharing this with all of us and we await tomorrow anxiously. A round of applause Sir.

oscarl48
05-03-2015, 10:33 AM
Thank you. Its been a fun project but I am glad its done. Enclosed are pictures of the final cabinet. It is truly one of a kind. Even if someone tries to build one from my rough draft, I did not follow that draft closely. It was more of a suggestion to myself.

On the positive side the wood selection was perfect for the feeling I wanted the piece to convey, which was steam punk. It is supposed to be a cross between steam industrial, Victorian, and fantasy.

Now for the things I should have done differently.

1. First and foremost, I should have developed a real plan and used it to the tee (the build took 3x longer than it should).
2. If you do go with tile, plan the structure to hold and connect the top substrate early. It is heavy. The top alone is around 40lbs the way I build it and I had a heck of time figuring out how to hold it done securely. I ended up with metal braces which is not very elegant and kind of embarrassing as a woodworker.
3. The doors are too small for the cabinet. If you do build it either redesign the doors to be bigger or move them to the ends. It will be hard to use the entire space efficiently within the cabinet with the small opening.
4. Build a cabinet substructure to attach the legs and the sides. (this is hard to do without a plan)

And a final (and on-going) thanks to all on this site and other sites who have shared their wonderful art, skills and time on the patterns I have borrowed to build my pieces. I am getting better but still have a long ways to go.

Bigtyme
05-03-2015, 02:06 PM
Very well done, Oscar. All the work you did is quite evident in the final results. You should be proud of your talents...

dltccf
05-03-2015, 04:18 PM
beautiful job, you obviously used many different techniques to put it all together, from the feet to the sides to the hinges to the top. An all around great job.

dave

fwharris
05-03-2015, 04:41 PM
Oscar,

Outstanding job sir! Even with out a full plan you sure did PUNK this out!

oscarl48
05-04-2015, 08:18 PM
Thank you all for the kind words. It was a fun trip but I think I have an addiction. I am already thinking what my next project is going to be. Maybe...pendulum clock???

CNC Carver
05-05-2015, 06:11 AM
Very nice work. I'm sure it will be enjoyed for many years!
Jeff

blhutchens
05-06-2015, 02:58 PM
Thank you all for the kind words. It was a fun trip but I think I have an addiction. I am already thinking what my next project is going to be. Maybe...pendulum clock???

Fantastic Job!!!!
I agree with you on your improvement points.
I use scetchup to draw 90% of my projects before I start.
It helps me to do material take off, design and think it through before I ever turn a tool on.

I too have considered a pendulum clock, you will probably beat me to it.
I was looking at doing one that the clock itself is the pendulum.

oscarl48
05-06-2015, 08:31 PM
Brent,

I can't wait to see your pendulum clock. I've started planning mine but it will be a more traditional wall clock design. I will be using more traditional tools and just use the CW for the rosettes or other carved design features that I think I will do as appliques for speed purposes. If I plan it right it should be an easy weekend project. I still have to order the clock portion which I think I will use a quartz electric clock instead of mechanical so won't be this weekend. I seem to forget to wind up my mechanical clocks more often than not. This way a set of batteries should last a year at least I hope. I will be using plans I develop this time and I am also using blender to play with the proportions to see what I like. Still in the design phase but this is what I have so far. I am still not quite happy with the proportions. I'll post the final clock when complete in the finished furniture section.

Regards
Oscar

oscarl48
09-25-2016, 04:39 PM
Didn't want to start a new thread for just a some practice pieces so I'll just throw any dragon themed patterns in here. This is sculpting practice piece. Trying to get faster if not good yet.