Another good seller, these crosses are built with the same techniques used with some previous versions.
About 11" x 7", body is 3/8" thick, frame is 5/16" wide, 3/4" tall. End caps are 3/8" x 2-1/8" x 7/8". Finished with Osmo Polyx. Center 4-way miter is splined internally.
Wanting to keep it simple with some inlay to add interest, I just laser engraved some lines to fill with mica & resin.
Woods are all from the shorts supply.
From the photo gallery:
One-seed Juniper and Mesquite from local shrubbery, ni!
Russian Olive, (green/blue/green inlay)
Maple with ambrosia caps
Cherry, walnut frame.
Russian Olive (blue/green/blue inlay)
For the resin, I added copious amounts of mica and mixed thoroughly. With #4 (Cherry) I just dusted the bottom of the groove (copper and brass mica), then filled with clear resin. This added some depth, but needs refinement next time. The Juniper crosses outer bars are a deep violet that really shimmers in the correct light.
I had intended to add a center item where the stripes meet since I figured any misalignment would stand out and something to cover the joint would help. Surprisingly, they all aligned good enough to just leave as is
Thanks fellas! Best part for me is reducing the cutoffs collection and the simplicity to build. I added a small wire loop on the back for hanging, but can be pressed flat for field use in vampire infested areas 🧛♂️
Really nice! For the 4th one with the copper and brass dust, did you just fill below level to maintain the clarity of the epoxy? I have a terrible time with that…I always want things to be flat, but getting the epoxy to polish back up to clear without adversely effecting the surrounding wood eludes me.
Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".
Ryan, I just dusted the bottom of the grooves (1/16" deep), then poured the clear to fill. The colors always tend to settle to the bottom and I've found with mica that that settles down if I mix up a lean amount with the resin. It really takes a lot of mica to get the colors to fully fill. Problem I have with this cross is the black edges distract and the layer of color is uneven. I basically dumped it in then pushed it around with a stick. I could have done better by using a sifter to sprinkle it more even. The overslop doesn't matter since that gets sanded away.
Never really had issues with the final clarity, just sand flat and final ROS sanding with 300 or maybe 400 grit.
Ack! You spotted that. The epoxy fills were done on un-cut versions of the up/down and left/right legs. Had a jig in the laser to be sure all the offsets were the same so the mitered fit would join without the typical state road crew type lane alignment hickups. Yup, that's the reason I initially thought about a center gizmo to hide any wood defects 😬
