I make this dragon to order. This dragon is my latest build. You can order one of these dragons in my Goimagine Shop.
After collecting and cutting the wood to size, I attach the paper pattern to the wood and drill the required holes. I have learned that if I cut the body first and then drill the holes, and the bit catches, I can easily break the part.
The dragon's original design called for holes drilled through the neck, which was too weak. I now drill the holes 1/4 inch deep and pug them with contrasting wood that I cut and sand flush. Now, there are inlaid spots instead of holes, and the neck is much stronger.
After sanding the back so the pegs are flush, I cut out the body on my scroll saw.
This dragon's wings will be a different color from the legs. I am curious to know what kind of wood this is; it came from a box of cutoffs a friend gave me.
Cutting the legs for some 1/2" of dark hardwood is straightforward. This time, I tried some ipe wood. Using ipe turned out to be a mistake. Ipe is hard, oily, and tough on sawblades, but I didn't know I could not glue it with wood. I had to start over and make the legs from walnut. I glued pieces of 1/4-inch walnut together to make 1/2-inch wood. Laminating two pieces of wood together allowed me to use up some smaller pieces and made the legs stronger.
Before assembly, I sanded all of the parts three times. First, I sanded the flat surfaces with a belt sander. Next, I used a Mac Mop sander to remove the fuzzies and smooth the sharp corners. Finally, I used a sanding mop to finish sanding the pieces. Sometimes, a bit of touch-up sanding needs to be done by hand.
Now for the glue-up. The most challenging part of assembling a dragon is getting the parts aligned. If the legs are not aligned, the dragon will rock. I use an exact-size template and a straight piece of wood to align the parts, glue, and clamp them to one side, checking often to be sure nothing has moved. Once the glue has set, I glue it on the other side, but this time, I glue it aligned with the existing parts I previously glued on.
Once the glue is cured, the dragon is ready to finish.
![The handmade wooden dragon wing patterns are applied to a hand-selected piece of wood. The handmade wooden dragon wing patterns are applied to a hand-selected piece of wood.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnnCUhY_ml8l8qHpMBTjCi-59o1FW6w6sZrkDlFCP2haV1D9UV3hlNU1_M9GRWyFZ5saE7XJN86E9uqFpqZf5Z5TlJl5kReV8mBPWefkeXjYABtgJDevMknKNsGAbkC2kxWnPH8DRWDILWJIZOXZy9k-_uGe4CNonjPnurhWFffr-XC4Dk8A8LakSMXW4X/w480-h640/20240528-140040%20003%20Toymakers%20Shop%20Buddies%20Dinos%20Dragon%20980709962.jpg) |
I select the wood for the wings from my collection of cutoffs if there is a piece that will work. The wood does not have to be the perfect thickness. Close is good enough. If it is too thick, I will resaw it to get the proper thickness after cutting it on my scroll saw. |
![The handmade wooden dragon wings are cut on my scroll saw. The handmade wooden dragon wings are cut on my scroll saw.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvmjSvL_f6ei1_6XgrdOq2FKskgjt3Bm0j8JDxg-kpgLj7rOggxFFhFJasYjvu2IZlCuNXOzLLa4DrdSiL6lvJo38LBB1KYZg_lsGIY8SE-0oLAiY9xtXChyphenhyphenxQV3b2wcR4FbhyZwHEyFzQgMtdJhDyYo8J6pMAanErt9gpeT-J6yiiddK6Rv52ev_mjOrk/w640-h480/20240528-141306%20004%20Toymakers%20Shop%20Buddies%20Dinos%20Dragon%20980709962.jpg) |
I cut the wings for the dragon on my scroll saw. |
![The handmade wooden dragon wings are cut on my scroll saw. The handmade wooden dragon wings are cut on my scroll saw.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDLC_C01eUGy9X3X73FBu7BeAie6jja5uJVxQTGIL7xif2lCxbIAOitLRDgpjsoOFvE8wAcsphTRcknAXNJsOXyLsmG8vrnpz-fqINmz5LCclD93CJS6uBUgTO8ksE0zpVceSJ31EI_isFtFilC6fAZ4DSnkh1hzan1VXGfQMuQp4tbY42FPqLr539usD/w640-h480/20240528-142843%20005%20Toymakers%20Shop%20Buddies%20Dinos%20Dragon%20980709962.jpg) |
The wood selected for the dragon's legs is selected in the same manner as wood for the wings. For the legs, I had a piece of wood that was the correct thickness, so I cut them all from the same piece of wood.
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![Handmade wooden dragon wing patterns on a piece of ipe.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhPTXF6S9YkH4wlnb9mowGs6vqELmGAfu4mx0CKiUZGjMcEbcstDnsuwE05tjGb8hKAxWe4lrqRt6ofnGmfKfRXHS1_ks5pVPRuCtbXzA09p7iuiZ_YhKp9ZotDzeWqKn2ue_gD94A4Rkv3JysqAMlNhqVhQ0dx2YpTZhrdPmnrgqgtEefWQ2HMwMqQQdD/w640-h480/20240528-152959%20006%20Toymakers%20Shop%20Buddies%20Dinos%20Dragon%20980709962.jpg) |
For this dragon, I tried to use a piece of ipe for the wings. Ipe is a beautiful dark wood, but it is very hard
and will rapidly dull saw blades. The scroll saw cut the wings, but
these were thick, and when I tried to resaw them, I could not cut
straight enough to get a usable piece from them. I ruined a bandsaw
blade trying to resaw ipe. |
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