Wooden wall display showing off where you live
Been wondering what to do with all those tiny scraps of wood you’ve been saving? Here’s a project you can make in no time flat. Gather up a mixed bag of cut-offs or pallet wood, glue them to a board and cut out the shape of your home state, province or country.
Make Your Own and Post a Video
Shoot a short video of what you made and post it as a video response to my video on YouTube*. I think it will be fun to see all the places people are woodworking.
Find a map that you want by doing a quick Google Images search, print it out, paste it on your boards and cut it out with a jig saw, scroll saw, or band saw.
I made my home state out of various scraps of pallet wood. The interesting thing about pallets is that the wood all ages differently, giving you different hues and colors.
For my second cut-out, I used a map of Brazil. I wanted to give a shout-out to my Portuguese-speaking friends in South America. Over the years of doing Woodworking for Mere Mortals, I have made friends with quite a few Brazilian woodworkers who I have found to be among the most creative people I know. Olá amigos! Obrigado pelo vosso apoio. (I hope Google Translate didn’t just mangle that!)
July 12, 2013 @ 3:32 pm
How about telling us the scale, then we could send one from each state to you, then you put us all together and make a bad of that! Probably be pretty big. Maybe fit on one of your shop walls then it could always have us in the background of your vids 🙂
July 12, 2013 @ 5:19 pm
Cool idea Chris!
July 12, 2013 @ 11:14 pm
Is it just me or is the audio slightly off?
July 13, 2013 @ 2:19 am
What a great and easy project. I live in Los Angeles, so I’ll be making the california map. I’m glad I don’t live in colorado but I’ve got relatives there.
July 13, 2013 @ 7:44 am
I found that just kind of wiggling the saw makes for a credible California coastline. And the eastern side is a piece of cake!
July 13, 2013 @ 9:16 pm
mmmmmmm. California shaped cake.
There’s an idea. I wonder if I could just cut a state shape out of a cake with my sawzall?
July 13, 2013 @ 10:00 am
Your project reminded me of Steve Garrison’s wooden globe project. Check it out: http://www.spiralsbysteve.com/globe-project.php
July 13, 2013 @ 11:36 am
Just uploaded my first ever woodworking video. I had to get my son to shoot and edit it. Hope it’s not too long. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YclH2XdUZ4
July 13, 2013 @ 9:12 pm
I need to do a map of Egypt, because I live in a state of de-Nile.
Yet, Egypt isn’t a state, it’s a country.
And it has no government right now.
So is it even a country at the moment?
I’m very confused.