Entwined hearts

I wanted to make a Valentine gift for my wife.

Something special.

Something unique.

Something that shows exactly how I feel.

Step 1: Starting.

A famous sculptor once said that the way to make a carving is to look at a piece of wood, see the image within it, and cut away all the bits that don't belong.

Since I make most of my projects that way, that seemed a reasonable way to go.

I started with a short length of branch that had been sitting around in the warm since before Christmas.

Using a junior hacksaw, I cut four wedges out to make a long cross.

Comments

[Kiteman]

Entwined Hearts merchandise is now available!

[cart562]

Well, it's been well over a year since I first saw this and wanted to make it and now that I'm about a week into it, I think I'm halfway done with my 5 or so inch version in my Woodshop class.

[Kiteman]

Cool - post pictures when you can.

[cart562]

Yes of course, I finished a week or so ago but I didn't take a picture so I will sometime.

[Gobra5x]

Thats awesome, after browsing for many,-many- hours on this site, this is the first thing ill try! thanks for sharing this with us!=)

[Kiteman]

Thanks for the kind comment.

[Vendigroth]

I spotted a typo, do i win a prize for doing so?

[Kiteman]

Huh?

Where?

_{Chuckle - you forgot to capitalise the I when you called me on my spelling ;-)}

[Kiteman]

Hah, got it - wouldn't you know it...

[Vendigroth]

well done, well done.
May =I= have my prive now?

[Vendigroth]

Bah, errors everywhere...

[cart562]

Bah, I'm 15, idc.

[Fisatec]

Thanks for this instruction.
I carved a pair of entwined hearts out of Ytong for this years valentines day.
At first I wanted to make them out of wood too, but because of lack of time I chose Ytong.
It was very easy to handle and finally I got two 17x15cm entwined hears.

It is an eayier way to create such a beautiful gift.
If you don't like this poridical surface, you could dab on some gypsum and paint.

[Kiteman]

Cool, thanks for sharing.

[m4srcool]

What sort of wood did you use? Also, what size did you pick? Ive tried looking around for a branch that large but I can only seem to find the huge trunks or the tiny twigs.

[Kiteman]

I have no idea what kind of wood it is - it was a leafless branch lying on the local Common.

The branch was about 3 inches across, but since I just sketched the shape onto the wood, the simple approach is to just work with what you've got.

[m4srcool]

Oh ok. Thanks for the quick reply.

[FloriePorrie]

First, thanks for making this instructable!  I like it very much. When I saw your instructable I wanted to make it so badly, so I did. It took me far too long to finish. And now with almost half a year delay it's finished. I have attached a picture. I used some kind of hardwood. Almost too hard to work with. I impregnated it with some special stuff. I want to give it to my girlfriend on her birthday. Could you tell me how you gave it to your wife? In wrapping paper, a box etc.?

P.S.: I hope my English is good enough.

[Kiteman]

I was very bad about it - I just took it out of my pocket and handed it to her.

[FloriePorrie]

Thanks for your fast reply! I think it's not that bad. Only problem is my pockets aren't that big ;) But I'll see how I get it done.

[theque]

# Rotary tool cutting discs are not designed for wood. # Rotary tool grinding discs are good for starting fires. Dont i know this :p

[Junkyard John]

Use a low speed when you're cutting wood, and you'll be fine

[stephenniall]

 I use a low speed all the time . My dremel scares me !

[theque]

rather, ive experienced this before XD

[Rossiroller]

Haha, i remember the first time a cutting disc shattered while spinning..... i was wayyyy over the recommended rpms and was cutting something i shouldnt have been, in a way i shouldnt have been. a piece of the disc stuck in the ceiling.... ive worn goggles ever since haha

[rocketbat]

An absolutely brilliant idea! thankyou so much! Made it for my girlfriend.
Valentines day didn't cost me a penny this year! cost a lot of time though, i will post a picture or two soon :-)

[Kiteman]

Good man!

[thewoodcarver]

Very nice work ..the X shape is the start of most  chains , a drill is a good tool to have since you can drill holes in the links.It is a lot easier to cut from hole to hole then trying to cut through the wood without the holes

[Kiteman]

Oh, thanks for the photo - quite illustrative of what you mean.

[spike3579]

 Thanks, I totally stole your idea to make a valentines gift for my wife.  I did the same thing but in aluminum.  They're about 5" tall.

[Kiteman]

Good grief!

Don't tell me you started with a solid block.  Did you?

I hope you took photos as you made them - that would be worth a project in its own right.

Kudos.

[spike3579]

 No I cut them out of foam w/ a cnc router (another project sparked by instructables) and cast them.

[paganwonder]

VERY COOL!  pls do an 'ible

[Kiteman]

You definitely need to post that!

[spike3579]

OK, I'll get on it.

[dansowten]

Love the whole Instructable!! Really nice idea!! I am trying to make my own one at the moment.

And I can't believe no one has posted a comment saying "I bet she likes handling bare wood ;)" 

Haha just kidding, great Instructable!

[Lithium Rain]

>mega slap<

[Kiteman]

Thank you.

I think.

[thefireinyourflies]

this is a very thoughtful gift :]

love the idea that you left it unfinished so she could rub and love it to perfection.

[iTinkers]

I remembered this project a little while back and made one around christmass.  Unfortunately, I did not take any pics during the process and only remembered to take a pic moments before I gave it away. 
The grainy phone photo is all I have :)

I used Indian Rosewood for it, which proved very difficult to work with, but came out looking quite nice.  I just finished it with some tung oil.