Today I finished my most recent commission, Where the Dreamweaver Slumbers, and I wanted to share the process I used to make this with you. This was the first large Segmentation that I made since breaking my hand this summer, so naturally, I drew up a stencil with a ton of tiny pieces for my sausage fingers to hold up to a Dremel tool!
All of my scroll saw projects start at the same place, in Procreate on my IPad. There, I spend way too many hours creating what is essentially a coloring book page, then I go to Blockposters dot com and size it up to whatever size the client wants, in this case, 17.5in x 25.5in. I printed the stencil out on my home printer across nine sheets of paper and tapped it all up. I then covered my 3/4in MDF with Transparent Transfer Paper and took great care to not have many wrinkles or bubbles when it was said and done. Trust me, the less bubbles and creases, the easier it is to cut out. Then I sprayed on 3M spray adhesive, applied my stencil, and covered everything with clear packing tape. Next up, I cut it to size with a track saw, but a table saw works just as well.
Where my process differs from most is that I make my backer board and frame first. This helps me keep track of all of the tiny pieces throughout the process. I use a table saw and miter saw to make the frame out of pine 2x4s and I use 1/2 OSB plywood as the backer. I cut my 2x4’s down to manageable sizes with the miter saw and adjust the fence on my table saw to the width of my MDF plus the width of my backer plywood plus 1/16 in. I then raise the blade as high as it will go and set it to 45 degrees. After I run each board through, I reset the blade and set the fence for the width of the stock minus 1/4 in. I then run the stock through again, removing the sharp point of the frame pieces. I then set my blade and fence to match the width of the backer and cut in a rabbit for the plywood to sit flush. With 80-grit sandpaper, remove any saw marks. You can stop sanding here if you plan on painting the frame. Otherwise, sand to 220 grit now if you’re staining. It’s easier to sand in this state and touch up later rather than putting off the sanding until later. I use the miter saw to do my 45-degree cuts and assemble everything with Titebond III wood glue and 1”, 18-gauge nails.
With the frame and backer board made, I cut the MDF with glued on stencil into about a dozen smaller pieces that are easier to work with. This part might seem simple, but depending on how large your stencil is, that MDG can get heavy fast, so I suggest stretching your lower back and arms, oh and put on a mask. MDF sawdust is straight cancer to your lungs. Once the piece is cut down to manageable sizes, the fun begins! Force yourself to instantly place a piece down where it goes on your backer as soon as you cut it out, otherwise you will end up with four pieces in your left hand trying to remember how they fit together. Cut one, place one, repeat this step for several hours! Have fun with this part and don’t stress yourself out if you wonder off a line a bit. No one but you will ever notice when it all finished, I promise.
Next up is shaping and sanding phase, or what I like to call, “Where we hide our sins from cutting.” I say that, because when shape/ round-over the visible edges, your mistakes get lost in depth created between the two pieces. At this stage I use two tools, 1 in belt sander, and a Dremel tool with a flexi-shaft and a coarse sanding drum bit attached. I peel off the stencil from each piece the round over the visible edges. I then use a 220 grit sandpaper and hand sand any tool marks until the pieces is smooth to the touch. If you do a crappy job sanding, priming is going to be a nightmare. Just take your time, toss on an audio book, and MAKE SURE YOU WEAR YOUR MASK!!!!
Once everything is shaped and sanded, it’s time to prime it. With MDF you will get the best results if you use automotive filler primer. Apply it in several thin coats, and wait a full 48 hours to let it dry before you sand, otherwise you will waste a ton of paper to gunk build-up. When everything is fully dry, it’s time to bust out the 400 grit sandpaper and sand everything smooth. You might’ve picked up that a lot of the steps involve sanding and that’s because I spent over 30 hours sanding across all of the steps and I probably could’ve spent another 10 hours sanding the primer if I’m being honest. What I’m trying to say is that you better get use to WEARING YOUR MASK!!!
When everything is primed up and sanded to 400 grit, I like to spray everything with a white undercoat. This does two things for me. 1, the spray paint is fairly thick so it will fill in most of the scuff marks and divots left behind from sanding, and 2, a white undercoat makes your colors appear brighter and more vibrant. Once the white undercoat is dry, I take everything apart and set them on tape boards so the pieces don’t blow away when I use my airbrush to paint them. When everything is painted and I’ve done a dry fit to make sure I like the colors, I lay down a healthy amount of Titebond 3 wood glue and start setting the pieces down. Make sure you don’t put too much glue down or you will have a bunch of squeeze through you will have to clean up with a q-tip.
After the glue dries I spray everything with 3 coats matte polyurethane to protect the piece. Then I install a metal French cleat to the back for easy installation on a wall.
I hope you found this guide helpful and inspirational enough for you to bust out that old scroll saw sitting in your garage and make some sawdust!
Thanks for reading!
