Aztec Sun Face

[JR]

A gift for my sister's 40th wedding anniversary. They live in Tucson, so I was looking for a sun face with some intensity.

It's redwood, finished with spray shellac and a touch of Minwax Sedona Red to set off the face. About 36" in diameter.

It was fun project that caused me to take the way-back machine to high school geometry.

[BadeMillsap]

Nicely done

Very cool! Unique and made by your hands ... she will treasure it I am sure.

[tommyt654]

Now thats cool,great job

[cabinetman]

Very artistic looking. Nice selection using Redwood. A clock like that would be cool too.

.

[Bruce Cohen]

That is really nifty, how long did it take?

[LCHIEN]

how come everyone says it looks cool?

Looks smokin' hot to me!

[chopnhack]

That is awesome!! Really nice work and unique.
Do you anticipate any issues with temp and humidity change with the project going to arizona? How are you going to ship it there?

[Crockett]

Remarkable work there JR!! Certainly one of a kind! That had to take some serious time and patience. I also was intrested in knowing how you get it there - if you have to ship it.

[Pappy]

Unique piece of artwork, JR!

How did you set it up for mounting on the wall? I would think a keyhole slot would work best, assuming the back is solid and flat, so it would mount flat against the wall. Routing it horizontal to the face would allow side to side adjustment for balancing it and keeping it straight.

I like C-Man's idea of adding a clock face, too.

[JR]

Thanks for all the kind comments.

It was really a pretty easy project, except for the glue-up. I had done the design a few weeks ago and was able to implement starting last Monday, finishing on Friday.

The glue-up just didn't go as I thought it would. I expected to be able to run a strap clamp around the whole thing and be done with it. That was too slippery and slidey, though. I had to glue a pair of rays together stuffing the point in between two bench dogs. Then take a pair and mate it with the next pair, and so on.

I made a couple of templates for the two lengths of ray, and after cutting close to the line, used a top-bearing bit to shape them. A 1/8" roundover to soften the edges. A broken 1/4" blade on the BS caused a little bit of a bump in the old heart beat, but after I found the culprit loose lower wheel I was able to move forward again.

The face was cut with a 1/16" straight bit in my small router. It's technique I have worked on over the last year and I get pretty consistent results. The head-band magnifying glasses with LED mounted on the visor looks pretty goofy, but I'm a one-man shop so I don't get TOO much grief.

JR

[NewDIYer]

This sun will shine for a long time..

This is a fantastic project and the love you have put in making this sun is shining through.

Wish you continue to make many such anniversary projects.

[jdon]

Nice project- esp. like the face. I can't tell from the picture- is the face an inlay, or routed out recess from the surface?