I made another small wooden eagle using a pattern from Kathy Wise. Her pattern will make an intarsia eagle approximately 22" wide if followed fully. I wanted a wooden eagle only 12.5" wide, so I did not enlarge the pattern fully. In addition, I cut the pattern into only five pieces.

I used oak for the head and tail feathers and walnut for the body and wings.

SAFETY FIRST

These instructions call for power tools. Mainly I used a scroll saw, belt sander, handheld rotary tool and a wood burner. Please remember to use every power tool safely.

Supplies

Oak

Walnut

Shellac

A small amount of yellow craft paint

Step 1: Apply Pattern, Cut and Sand for Correct Thickness.

I applied the pattern and cut it with a scroll saw. I used small files and sand paper to make the pieces fit together. In order to get pieces to the correct thickness, I added a shim to the head and sanded the wing section and tail feathers on a belt sander. The last photo above shows the parts together at approximately the correct thickness.

Step 2: Shape the Pieces

I used small hand files, sandpaper, small razor-edge tools and a handheld rotary tool to remove the pattern and shape the pieces. The result at the end of this step is shown in the third photo above.

Step 3: Glue the Pieces Together

I glued the pieces together with super glue gel and some wood glue.

Step 4: Fill Gaps Between the Pieces

Using oak sawdust and walnut sawdust mixed with wood glue, I made two colors of wood paste and filled gaps. After that paste dried for a couple hours, I did a lot of sanding, mostly hand sanding.