tributesinwood

A 1930’s High Rise

Now, on to the high rise windows that need cleaning…

It’s a bit of an interesting challenge:  I want it to look high but not be too tall…I want a window and frame but not be so small that you can’t see the details of the caricature…I want both the interior and exterior of the building…and, I want enough brickwork around the window to make it look like a building, but I don’t want the whole carving to be brickwork.

So, here’s the start to that process.  I planed down a good sized piece of basswood to a little over an inch thick and then marked out the open window.  I actually cut the window opening on the bandsaw to ensure nice straight lines and then glued and clamped the single cut “into” the window opening to patch things up.

Once that was done, I used a dremel tool with a dado bit on it to route out the window jambs and then went back to the bandsaw to cut out some stone work for the top and bottom ledge.  I added a second “top” piece of stonework to add below the window to make it look like there are many other windows below.  With the stone work cut-outs, I marked them on the basswood above and below the window and channeled out that area so that I’d have a place to glue the pieces.

And…here’s what it looks like so far from the inside.  Lots of detailing to do.