This panel is a piece of a larger project, but it involved so much effort that I figured I could post it as a project on its own. This was an attempt to replicate a FLW stained glass pattern in wood using dyed, fumed, and bleached veneers. I'm happy with how it turned out, but I think that the very literal interpretation using colored veneers makes it a little cartoonish. I think it would have had greater impact had I used natural veneers in a variety of tones and grain patterns.
Here is the inspiration piece - the panel on the left:
Here are a few of the construction photos. The full build is chronicled here.
I dunno, but with natural wood you have a limited color and texture pallet. Stained glass offers a wide selection of both, plus translucency. Your work bridges the gap and I think the colors really make it "pop", far from being cartoonish 👍
I appreciate all the kind words, folks. This was something new for me, which I always enjoy, if only for the challenge. When things work out well too, bonus!
I was wondering how you cut out the circles so perfectly. Are there better quality circle cutter’s available?
Thanks for that, Wood Guy. I do have another project like this in mind, but I'm not going to tackle it right away. Here's the circle cutter I used. I chose it for a couple reasons. It had both a trammel point and a non-marring foot that slips over the point. Also, it has a wheel-style cutter. I've found that these work better on veneer because they're less likely to track with the grain when cutting. It worked well enough for this project, but because the tool flexes, the circles are not perfect, and fitting circle to hole could have gaps and tight spots. There must be better tools out there, but for a one-off project, I wouldn't be willing to spend a lot for it.
