We've got a lot of new scrollers here who might find themselves being asked if they could make things for friends. Without a specific pattern to hand, that might be a daunting prospect. One way to approach the problem is to pick the brains of other scrollers, which is what somebody has done and which is why I thought it might be a good idea for us to discuss how to do it.
The task is to design a door plaque with an aeroplane motif. Here's how I would go about it...
Firstly, you need to decide what material the plaque should be made out of. Scrollers tend to be mavericks amongst woodworkers and it wouldn't surprise me if many people decided that it should be made out of plastic instead of wood! It would certainly be durable and we need a durable wood to survive outdoors. For that reason I would choose oak if I was making it out of wood and wanted the wood to be visible. If the plaque was to be painted I would probably opt for exterior grade plywood.
What shape and size should the plaque be? As it happens, over the years I've accumulated a number of pre-fabricated plaques from craft suppliers such as Wood Craft Shapes. There are plenty of similar retailers online, so search engines can be a scroller's friend here
. I wouldn't use one of these plaques for my project but use it as a template instead. In fact, I would fasten it to the wood I intended to use, then follow around it using a router with a profile cutting bit. However, not everyone has a router so perhaps they would trace around the outline of the plaque onto their workpiece and cut it out with a scroll saw.
Rather than buying pre-fabricated plaques to use as templates, it is worth considering household items which may already be at hand instead. For instance, you could use a plaque which is already hanging outside a neighbour's house. (It's probably best to ask first for permission to borrow it, though .) Or how about that old sweet tin left over from Christmas or a dinner plate or an oval tray? You could use them as templates.
Next, I would decide if the door plaque was have a house number as well as a motif. If so, I would be inclined to print the appropriate number from a word processor and use that as a pattern, then cut out the number separately. Of course, there would be a bit of trial and error printing the number because you would have to find a size that looked right on your plaque. I'd prefer to do it this way rather than cutting the number out of the plaque itself because it would look better. You want the motif and the number to jump out at the viewer. Moreover, it avoids the need for bridges if you were to cut your motif and number out of the plaque as if you were making a shadow portrait. That would make it look stenciled, which would not be presentable.
Finally, there's the motif to consider. Without knowing what sort of aeroplane is required, it's difficult to know what image to choose, but I would be inclined to search on the internet for open source or royalty-free aeroplane clipart. Then it would simply be a matter of choosing the image, printing it and using it as a pattern.
Does my approach sound fair enough to everyone else? I'm sure there are lots of people out there with great suggestions.
The task is to design a door plaque with an aeroplane motif. Here's how I would go about it...
Firstly, you need to decide what material the plaque should be made out of. Scrollers tend to be mavericks amongst woodworkers and it wouldn't surprise me if many people decided that it should be made out of plastic instead of wood! It would certainly be durable and we need a durable wood to survive outdoors. For that reason I would choose oak if I was making it out of wood and wanted the wood to be visible. If the plaque was to be painted I would probably opt for exterior grade plywood.
What shape and size should the plaque be? As it happens, over the years I've accumulated a number of pre-fabricated plaques from craft suppliers such as Wood Craft Shapes. There are plenty of similar retailers online, so search engines can be a scroller's friend here
. I wouldn't use one of these plaques for my project but use it as a template instead. In fact, I would fasten it to the wood I intended to use, then follow around it using a router with a profile cutting bit. However, not everyone has a router so perhaps they would trace around the outline of the plaque onto their workpiece and cut it out with a scroll saw.Rather than buying pre-fabricated plaques to use as templates, it is worth considering household items which may already be at hand instead. For instance, you could use a plaque which is already hanging outside a neighbour's house. (It's probably best to ask first for permission to borrow it, though
.) Or how about that old sweet tin left over from Christmas or a dinner plate or an oval tray? You could use them as templates.Next, I would decide if the door plaque was have a house number as well as a motif. If so, I would be inclined to print the appropriate number from a word processor and use that as a pattern, then cut out the number separately. Of course, there would be a bit of trial and error printing the number because you would have to find a size that looked right on your plaque. I'd prefer to do it this way rather than cutting the number out of the plaque itself because it would look better. You want the motif and the number to jump out at the viewer. Moreover, it avoids the need for bridges if you were to cut your motif and number out of the plaque as if you were making a shadow portrait. That would make it look stenciled, which would not be presentable.
Finally, there's the motif to consider. Without knowing what sort of aeroplane is required, it's difficult to know what image to choose, but I would be inclined to search on the internet for open source or royalty-free aeroplane clipart. Then it would simply be a matter of choosing the image, printing it and using it as a pattern.
Does my approach sound fair enough to everyone else? I'm sure there are lots of people out there with great suggestions.
