munzieb

I'll look around and see what's out there,

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The B-24 was the greatest produced aircraft of WW II. Between 5 different locations, 18,500 including 4,600 at the Ford Willow Run facility were manufactured. The initial order was in 1939 and were produced from 1940 to 1945. Compared to the B-17, It flew faster (297KTS) and more range (1,500 to 1,800 Miles) It did fly 2,000 feet lower than the B-17 and was hit more often by enemy flak. It was operated by the USAAF and Navy along with the RAF, RAAF and Indian AF. The aircraft was multi mission to include bombing, antisubmarine and transport and flew the “Hump” over the Himalayas from India to China. More info on Wikipedia. Some notables to fly on the aircraft were, Walter Matthau, George McGovern and Jimmy Stewart. This was a fun project and I had to add some bridges on the fly as I cut. It is 17 x 12” on 1/8” BBPW with ¼” Backer. Shellac and Gloss Lacquer finish. Font is Umbria and is easy to cut because there are no bridges. I may need to give the aircraft a rest for a while and do some boxes or fret work again.

Fantastic cutting. A fitting rememberance for a great artist.

Thanks Paul. I always appreciate your feed back. Pictures are great but the back story fleshes it out.

Lockheed Jet Star II Thought it was time to visit the “Way Back Machine” and look at the Jet Star II. Back in the mid 70’s and 80’s I worked as an aircraft mechanic at White Plains, NY (HPN) It was a major hub for business aviation aircraft 45 minutes north of NYC. One of the most familiar aircraft on the airport was the Jet Star I and Jet Star II. Companies like Xerox operated a fleet of these aircraft along with Reader Digest, Avco Lycoming and Texas Gulf Sulfur. It had 4 Honeywell 731 Turbo fan engines and fuel capacity of 18,000 lbs. with a range of about 2,500 miles. It could carry 10 passengers and 2 crew. It had inflatable leading edge boots on the wings for deicing. The original Jet Star I (P&W JT-12 Engines) was first produced in 1961 as part of a Gov program and the Jet Star II’s were produced from 1976 to 1979. A total of over 400 of both models were manufactured. The Jet Star I model has been retired but there are still some Jet Star II’s still flying.

Fantastic cutting! Its well worth a award!

It amazing you can do such beautiful work in that brutal heat. The colors really pop. We have several cardinal pairs in our back yard and enjoy watching them in our feeder. Hopefully things cool down soon for you.

Beautiful work. What type of wood?

I cut a fret work box a few years ago that I really liked. It was made out of Bubinga wood and had a great looking redish color. I have used up most of my Bubinga and come to find out it has become very hard to get. I had some 1/4" Mahongany left over from another project and decided to give a try. The pieces I had were not as wide as the original project, so I had to go a little smaller. Lots of repetitive cuts and I liked adding the funiture style feet. I dadoed the edges 1/8" on all side but the top for a stronger fit and glued in place with CA glue including the bottom. I recessed the hinges 1/8" on the base and flush on the top and used my 2 sided tape technique for positioning the hinges. Waxed and pretaped the screws and then ground down the screws for the top so they would not pass through the the 1/4" material. Finish is Shellac and Gloss lacquer.

I guess the first one was "Sub Par" Ha! This one looks great!

I thought it was time to try another plane. The British Mosquito since it was made mostly out of wood. Interesting tidbit. General Hap Arnold was in England looking at production of the Mosquito days prior to Pearl Harbor and was very interested and recommended it to the Army Air Corp. The P-38 was already in production and decided it could do the job. The Mosquito became a very successful high speed medium bomber and night fighter because it was hard to detect by radar. It helped it also had 2 Merlin engines. I cut this plaque on 1/4 BBPW (ran out of 1/8" stock) 3/16 backer, shellac and lacquer finish. Original print was on 8.5 x 11 but took it to copy store for a slight enlargement. A-1 paper may be large enough. The greyed out areas are for bridges that can be painted later.

Thanks Marge, Home projects have kept me away from the shop for a while. Still healing from my back surgery also.

Hi Gene, The technique is fairly simple. Those areas that require a bridge but may look awkward like a tire or bridges or lettering like a D or A or O, I will used the same coloring as the backer. I mostly use black acrylic since it dries fast. Anything from a craft store is OK since I brush it on . I use a super fine brush to paint over the bridges and fill in the lettering to give a continuous look. You might see one of the painted bridges on the front tire. Here is the original. Paint the areas that are light grey or just connect the lines in the drawing with the paint. Have fun.

My Lawn guy has a early 50's Chevy Pick Up he keep "rustic" pristine and he is very proud of it. Thought I would surpise him with this plaque. 1/8" BBPW with 1/4" backer finish is shellac and lacquer. Used my "paint In" method on the tires and grill.

Paul is right! Stop Beating Yourself Up! Even with you mentioning the issues, I couldn't see them. It came out great and I like the rope frame. It's very original!

Thanks Paul, It's taking a while. I can't stand too long at the saw. I like the look of this Porsche more than the standard models. The hood is more lower and flat rather than the hump in the middle.

I have a friend that has a "thing" about James Dean's 550 Spyder Porsche. It was time to do another car with a portrait. Dean was an up and coming movie star of the mid '50's with a love of fast cars and racing. He had several popuar movies under his belt including "Rebel with out a Cause" and "Giant" and took his earnings to purchase the 550. He was on his way to a race in California when the accident occured. There are several stories regarding the accident and the remains of the car and make for interesting reading. The car design was taken from a photo and the Keith Wood portrait of James Dean came from SSV pattern library. The car pattern was not too difficult but the portrait was more involved, especially the mouth. Cutting was on 1/8" BBPW and I made a separate frame from molding purchased from Lowes. Finish is Shellac and Gloss Lacquer.

That came out great. Really like the contrasting colors!

Dropped off the Impala to my neighbor and he was very surprised and duly impressed. I had done the 67 Camero for his son last year and he keeps that car in a separate garage and occassionaly takes it to car shows. My neighbor said he had a 59 at one time and wishes he still had it. BTW, he also had the same Dr. that did the back surgery and said it took a good while to get back to normal but now will occassionally play some golf. ( I miss that) Next project: James Dean's '55 Porsche 550 Spyder

I had my back fusion surgery (L4-L5) 12/13 but have not been scolling since late November. This is my first attempt since then. I scoll standing so I can't do it for too long before I have to take a break. I have a neighbor that is always talking about the '59 Chevy Impala his dad used to have so I thought I would surprise him. The funny thing about the 59 is that both the front and back are interesting with the big grill in the front and the wide "V" shape in the back. I did the front with elements of the V back also. If he likes it the other way, the back is actually easier to cut and I'll do that too. My wife greyscaled a picture I found and added some bridges. Frame is 16 x11 on BBW with shellac and gloss lacquer. I'll update once I get it to him.

Without diving too deep, he has another business that can justify the cost. He can trade/sell his existing aircraft along with depreciation, and can offset costs.

Its been about 5 weeks since my back surgery (MIS TLIF) and though things are getting better, they are not back to normal yet. Its going to be a few more weeks until I can back in the shop to start cutting again (too cold also). Before my surgery I had some interesting discussions with my surgeon about my procedure and aviation. It seems that he is a pilot of the Cirrus SR22 single engine aircraft. This aircraft has be out selling Cessna aircraft for several because of all the latest incorporated technology. He has some business in the midwest and he can make it nonstop there but he would really like to upgrade to the Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet. It's the least expensive single engine jet, fastest selling single pilot jet on the market today. It has the most advance avionics and also an emergency parachute system and a automatic navagation/landing system that will take the aircraft to the nearest airport and land. It seats 5 with a 1,200 mile range and max altitude of 37K'. It goes for about 2+ million. I made it before my operation and gave it to him on my followup visit after my surgery. He was amazed and really surprised I made it for him. Maybe I can bum a ride some day.

Thanks for your kind thoughts.

Thanks Barb. Have to wait 3 month for PT. Big thing is to walk. Definitely doing laps around the inside of the house. Lucky we have hardwood floors.

Thanks for you insight. It is encouraging to hear your journey.