Wooden Carved Headstone

[dhellew2]

This project is for my late Mother-in-Law and will be installed during Easter week, on a family ranch along the upper San Joaquin River, homesteaded by her family during the California Gold Rush days. The headstone is 24" x 40" x 3", made from laminated clear northern red cedar 4x4's. The border is made using the Vector Art 3d stem rose. The finish will be Teak/Tung oil then the letters painted with black Rustoleum. My wife hasn't decided if she wants to paint the roses yet. When the painting is finished we will apply 2 coats of Rustoleum Clear with UV protection.

The entire carving took the machine 20-hours to cut. Carving was up to 0.70" deep, cut with a 1° tapered 1/8" ball nose bit in a single pass (no roughing). The rose in the center was raised using the multiply command.

I will take and post a picture in April with the headstone installed and finished.

Dale

[Heime]

Very nice Dale.

[bill_w]

Dale,
Sorry for your loss, your head stone is beautiful

very nice work, well done.

[zeeway]

Beautiful work.

Angie

[MarkJohnston]

Very nice Dale!!

I'm sure it will be appreciated by the family and last for a very long time.
Very sorry for your loss.

Mark

[dhellew2]

Thanks for the messages. My mother-in-law, Rosemarie, survived for more than 15-years fighting cancer but it finally took its toll on December 13, 2013. It was her time, her suffering over, but she will still be missed. I had the pleasure of knowing her and calling her mom for 43-years. Dale

[vzcnc]

Very nicely done, and all for the right reasons.
John

[GaryR6]

Nice......I like the thought of using wood, a bit like the old west.

[tonydude919]

Beautiful work with some nice details.

Tony

[gdb]

Very nice job. The roses are a nice touch.

[dhellew2]

Here is an updated photo with an oil finish. My wife may paint the roses, she is doing tests on a sample carved out of the same wood. We may also paint the lettering then give everything a final coat or two of Rustoleum crystal clear.

[mtylerfl]

Dale, that looks wonderful. Excellent job, as usual!

[cdrd03]

Dale, that turned out really nice.

Chuck

[ssflyer]

Dale,

A wonderful tribute. I did one out of a slab of live edge redwood about 3 years ago, and it still looks great, after finishing with a !!waterbased!! varathane finish, out in the open with a lot of snow. It is just beginning to show signs of a need to refinish.

BTW I wish I had your wife's painting skills! 20 hours is well worth it.

[dhellew2]

Ron, you may want to try an oil based finished when the time comes.
Folks have gotten away from oil finishes, losing the long life that has been known to last more than a hundred years.
Once the old finish is cleaned up you can brush on an oil based finish; look for one that has a 24-hour re-coat, allowing time for the paint to soak in and bond to the wood.
I prefer Rustoleum Industrial Clear finish which is formulated for salt spray on metal. I have projects that have survived the California mountain climate for 20-years already, even over acrylic paint.
Just use a cheap brush and discard it when you're done.
Dale