This week's assignment is modifying the wooden peg. After I saw the shape of it, I imagined if I slightly cut one side of the head and body to be flat , it can become a sleeping cat!
Process
Sketch
After thinking about the cat, I drew out the shape that I want to cut. I also saw a turtle from that shape. However, the cat still wins over my heart.
Sand and cut to get the rough shape
The first thing I do is getting the rough shape of the cat. Ben gives me some advice to sand the flat part with a round sander first and then cut it. following this method, there will be more space to hold while sanding.
After I cut it with the band saw (miss it so bad since quarantine), I roughly round the edge with sander again.
Sanding
Here comes the most deliberate part. I decided to use various grit sandpapers, form 120p tp 7000p, to sand and round the edge. Before sanding, I imagine the spherical part as a cat's head, but I switched it after sanding. when I start sanding, a tiny black mark on the eye position appeared. It might be able to become a right eye. However, it gradually faded away after sanding.
So smooth! It makes me feel like petting the real cat.
Making Accessories
For the ears, I used Balsa wood and a popsicle stick as a material. First, I prototype on paper and adjust the shape until it fit the head. Then, cut the wood with a utility knife to get a tiny pair of ears.
For the tail, I found a wooden bead around my apartment. I seal its hole with a scrap of wood and sand it a little to get a smooth surface.
Assembling
After all of the accessory ready, I assemble it with the body using wood glue.
Burning the eyes
To make the face, I used a soldering iron to do a wood-burning technique. Before burning on the real model, I tested and practice with the leftover piece of wood until I got the right technique. I decided not to use the peak of the sodering tip to draw like a pen. But I used the side of it instead. It's easier to control and also give me a thicker shape.
Then the cat comes to life !