1. choosing a noun

With Thanksgiving just a few short weeks away, I wanted to make an icon that commemorates such an occasion. Therefore, I made a yummy turkey. I just searched “Thanksgiving” until I found one that looked good and worked well for a CNC machine (in other words, not too detailed). The result was this one, shown below.

2. Importing into easel

I used an online SVG editor to remove the text from the SVG file, and then imported the file into Easel. I scaled it to close to the size of the wooden block, and moved it away from the Smart Clamps. I wanted to have the depth of the pan be more shallow than the turkey, as if the turkey was sitting in the pan. The pan and smoke are 1/8″ deep, and the turkey is 1/4″ deep.

3. Cutting the file

The next step was to clamp down the material, and hit “carve.” It only took 15 minutes, which was definitely appreciated.

 

4. making it colorful

I used gray spray paint for the pan and the smoke, and mahogany stain for the turkey. Ideally, I would have liked to use brown spray paint, but I couldn’t find the right color. I used some masking tape to make sure I only painted in the proper areas.

 

 

 

 

 

5. Cutting to size

I got a nice workout in and used a miter box with the hand saw downstairs to get 90 degree cuts. It worked well, and I was able to see exactly what I was cutting.

I then used the belt grinder to round the edges and smooth the surface, helping to remove any excess paint.

 

6. Finishing touches

I applied beeswax on the wooden surface to help protect the piece, and make it feel smoother. I also used the air hose and a damp cloth to remove the sawdust that fell into the pockets. Overall, I was very happy with the final result!

 

Before removing sawdust

 

 

Final result

Happy thanksgiving!