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November 2005 - Get Personal |
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Tools, templates and brands to personalize your projects |
Shop-made gifts are always well loved. But if you really want
a project to become a cherished family heirloom, you can make
it even more special by adding a personal touch. Here are some
ideas for adding subtle details, designs, names and dates to
pieces you’ll be giving away as presents. However you
choose to ornament your projects, keep it personal, and people
will remember you every time they see your handiwork.
See below: 1. Rout words and names
into project parts using the SignCrafter with TurnLock (Milescraft,
$47)
2. Use a woodburning pen to sign
your projects. A fine-tipped pen is best for signatures, as
shown on the Cub, a compact model from Colwood ($84)
3. Use SpiroCrafter templates with
your router to carve decorative patterns or create lacey cutouts
(Milescraft, $57)
4. Make your mark using steel Lee
Valley Carver’s Punches to imprint tiny symbols. This
set includes many kid-friendly patterns ($69)
5. Novice carvers can try a Moor chip-carving
knife and a basswood practice board with patterns printed on
it from Chipping Away (Large Cutting Knife, $28; Set of Pre-Drawn
Boards, $14)
6. You can order a custom-milled brass
branding iron with your name on it. Heat the brass block with
a propane torch, lay it flat on the wood and rock it for a few
seconds to put even pressure on all four corners. Lightly sand
the raised mark left by the brand before finishing (Lee Valley,
$54)
7. Use the Veritas Beading Tool to
add fine moulding details—beading, fluting and reeding—to
furniture. You’ll get a look you can’t replicate
with a router ($58)
8. To get started with pyrography
(“woodburning” to you and me), pick up a Dremel
VersaTip Multipurpose Tool Kit and learn to burn your own decorative
patterns ($40). |
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by Susan Peters, photos by Simon Cheung |
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