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View Full Version : June 2015 Project of the Month - The Curious & Wonderful Tower of Faces!



mtylerfl
06-02-2015, 04:57 PM
Hello,

And now, for something completely different! This project features three face relief carvings applied as onlays to a small
3-drawer tower cabinet. The faces are derived from antique head figures hand-carved at the Joachim Jungwirth studio in the late 19th century.

The front of the heads were converted to shallow relief models from full-3D laser scans. I used several software programs to accomplish this, including the CarveWright Sculptor software to "squish" the thicker 3D STL face versions into 0.75"-thick versions and the CarveWright STL Importer to export the final STL faces to the CarveWright PTN format. (See the photo of the original carved heads below)

The project is designated as “Intermediate” only because many of the components will be cut out using your table saw. The project is not difficult to do. The MPC components are carved and cut out using just the 1/16" Carving Bit and the 1/8" Cutting Bit. No other bits are required. The finished dimensions are about: 6.125" wide x 7" deep x 14.25" tall.

Main items you will need:
1) The Project Files (included):
• Faces_Onlay.mpc
• Drawer_Fronts.mpc
• Side_Panel.mpc

2) Boards with the following dimensions:
Faces: 0.75" x 5.5" x 19"
Drawer Fronts: 0.5" x 5.5" x 24"
Side Panels: 0.75" x 7.2" x 20.5" (Two)
Do not use boards that are smaller than specified above unless using an appropriate jig. Larger boards are fine in all cases.

You will also need to cut the following parts with your table saw (see pg. 7 of the PDF instructions for more details and assembly diagrams):

• Six: 0.5" x 3" x 3"
• Six: 0.5" x 3" x 5"
• Three: 0.125" x 4.5" x 5" (ply or hardboard)
• One: 0.75" x 5.625" x 12.75"
• Two: 0.75" x 1.125" x 4.0625"
• Two: 0.75" x 5.875" x 6.125"


3) Wood glue, clamps, sandpaper, wood stain and/or paint and clear finish

4) A Dremel-type rotary tool with assorted sanding wheels and bits to sand small details in preparation for finishing.

Apply your choice of finish. Here’s what I used on my own “Tower of Faces” made from Select Pine:

• Applied Rust-Oleum Wheat stain to the drawer fronts, faces and the exterior of the tower. I left everything else natural color.
• Several coats of Krylon Clear gloss acrylic spray overall (including faces and drawer fronts), sanding lightly between coats.
• Applied Black acrylic craft paint to the faces, then immediately wiped off with a rag (dry and damp), leaving some paint in the crevices to accentuate the details of the face carvings.
• Applied two more coats of Krylon Clear gloss acrylic spray onto the faces and drawer fronts to seal the paint.

Smoken D
06-02-2015, 06:06 PM
Very cool project. Should be a winner:D

farmer
06-03-2015, 04:15 PM
Just downloaded it! Great project Michael. My daughter and friend already want one, they were looking at it as it came off the printer.

mtylerfl
06-03-2015, 10:39 PM
Thank you! The project is fun and easy to do, plus the result is a real conversation starter when people see it! The back-story about the origin of the carvings being from the 19th century is kind of interesting, as well. The original carvers had no idea their work would be resurrected over a century later. what a great time we live in to be able to do that!

I decided the simple parts were best cut on a regular table saw because it was just faster and more efficient overall. Those particular parts are just simple rectangles, so a person could very easily layout the rectangles on their own MPC's if they really want the CW to cut those out too. (As you see, I provided all the dimensions for the rectangles.)

Lots of room for customization/modification of the project. Enjoy!

CNC Carver
06-04-2015, 06:02 AM
Very nice. Gives me wonderful ideas to make a scrapbook supply carrier my wife has been asking for. Probably 16 drawers like this.

Jeff

mtylerfl
06-04-2015, 08:07 AM
Very nice. Gives me wonderful ideas to make a scrapbook supply carrier my wife has been asking for. Probably 16 drawers like this.

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

That is a great idea! You might need to change the name to a "wall" of faces!

You've inspired me with an idea. I have several more of those antique carved heads (6 or 7 more I think). I probably should convert those to relief PTN's too and post them up to the Pattern Depot, as well as the three faces I've already done for this project. That way, folks like yourself could have the option to incorporate even more variety of carved faces for larger projects like you are planning.

I'm in the middle of prep work for the upcoming CW Conference, but I'm going to try to squeeze in some time to do the conversions during my "breaks".

SharonB
06-04-2015, 11:52 PM
Would love to see more of your faces in the Pattern Department Michael. Looking forward to carving the ones from this months POM.

mtylerfl
09-28-2015, 07:19 PM
Very nice. Gives me wonderful ideas to make a scrapbook supply carrier my wife has been asking for. Probably 16 drawers like this.

Jeff


Would love to see more of your faces in the Pattern Department Michael. Looking forward to carving the ones from this months POM.

Hi Jeff and Sharon,

I have added six more Face models converted from 19th century antique wood carvings. I posted them on the carvebuddy.com website, as well as the CW Pattern Depot. I think you'll get a better idea of their actual appearance if you view them on the new CarveBuddy website. (No offense, but I feel the Pattern Depot has a kind of weird "shadow effect" for the way all patterns are displayed...sort of like a flashlight shining under your chin in the dark!) You can use the search term "face JW" to find them all at either carvebuddy.com or the Depot.

We are still very busy populating the new CarveBuddy website with all the various models/projects/catagories, etc., but thought I would at least get those face models posted as soon as possible, just for you two!

SharonB
09-29-2015, 01:11 AM
Thank you Michael. I was looking at the older patterns the other day and was wishing there were more. Will be checking the new ones out soon. Good excuse to check out the new CarveBuddy website. I'll be back in the shop soon now that the garden and outside work is almost done.