I was asked to create a commemorative piece for a couple who are getting married. I decided to make a sculpture of their first dance with their names and the wedding date woodburned onto the base.

Check out the video I made for my channel BCDesign Please thumbs up and sub if you like it!

Step 1: Picking the Wood and Drawing

I picked a nice piece of Jatoba wood I had in my shop as the wood to sculpt the couple from.
I wanted to sculpt the couple from one piece to signify the joining of the couple on their wedding day.
I decided on a silhouette type of style for the sculpture.
I drew a basic outline onto the block of wood to give me a guide line to aid in keeping the shape of the dancers as I remove material.

Step 2: Jigsaw Work

I only have basic tools in my workshop,I cut to the lines I had drawn using my jigsaw.
The best way to do this would be with a bandsaw but I don't have one so made do with the Jigsaw.
Jatoba is very hard,cutting this with the jigsaw was a long slow process for me.

Step 3: Removing Material With Mallet & Chisel

After making lots of relief cuts I used my mallet and chisel to remove chucks of wood
To remove the wood between the dancing couple I used a small drill press with some forstner bits.

Step 4: Rounding the Figures

I used an angle grinder with sanding flaps to round out the shapes of the couple.
The discs I used were 60 and 80 grit.
You will need to wear a good dust mask and eye protection while using the angle grinder and sanding flaps
If possible do this outside or in a well ventilated area if you have no dust extraction system.

Step 5: Making the Base

I used my Mitre Saw to cut a nice smooth face on a round ash blank I had.
This would be the sculptures base
I will woodburn the couples name an wedding date on the cut face.
I sanded the base to 800grit before woodburning.

Step 6: Woodburning/Pyrography

I printed out the inscription and used carbon paper to apply the lettering as a guide for woodburning
I used danish oil to seal the base when finished the lettering.

Step 7: Refining the Shape and Applying the Finish

I used a carving gouge to refine the shape of the arms, the females hairline and the legs to create areas of shadow to add depth the sculpture.
I spent a lot of time sanding this project by hand from 120 grit up to 800.
Next I applied a polyurethane spray finish
I added 6 coats of finish sanding between each coat

Step 8: Join Base & Sculpture & Youtube Video

I joined the base to the sculpture by drilling two holes for screws up through the bottom of the base.
I joined it this way so its easy to take apart in the future to refinish it.
I made a YouTube video of this scuplture for my channel BCDesign Please watch & subscribe!I hope you enjoy my Ible and video!

to see my other videos & channel look here!

https://www.youtube.com/user/bazza866/videos

Introduction: First Dance Sculpture