I have been wanting to try my hand at string art with nails for a while so I made Make in India logo.

The logo is the silhouette of a lion on the prowl, made entirely of cogs, symbolising manufacturing, strength and national pride. The national emblem, Ashok Chakra, also has four lions. In Indian folklore, the lion denotes the attainment of enlightenment, besides representing power, courage, pride and confidence.

Step 1:

Materials Used

Rubberwood Sheet
Shellac Finish
Cherry Colour
1.25'' Iron Nails 200 Gram
Cotton Twine

Tools Used

Circular Saw
Projector
Hammer
Pliers

I used Rubber-wood sheet coz of its fine texture plus I already had it so saved a trip to market. :D
Sheets size was 6' x 4' so I cut it to length using circular saw. The size of this build is 2.8' x 5'.

After cutting I used 320 grit sand paper and sanded along the grain of the wood. I used 320 as the surface was already smooth.

If surface is rough or uneven, you can start sanding with a low grit sand paper and then move to higher numbers. Repeated rounds of sanding will remove the coarse-grit scratches from the previous passes.

Don’t sand against the grain.

After sanding the wood I wiped it down using a rag and removed excess material to proceed to next step i.e. Finishing. I used shellac finish and mixed it with little amount of cherry colour and applied the finish on the back side of the sheet to see the final colour on wood. I was satisfied with the final colour on the wood so I used a 2 inch brush and applied the finish all over the wood surface followed by wiping the excess with a linen cloth.

Blend the finish into the wood thoroughly and make sure you are applying it evenly. Go over your brush strokes several times to spread the stain out and create a smooth area.

It was just one thin coat so didn't took much time to dry out. The surface was ready to work on in an hour only.

Step 2: Nailing & Threading

After the the finish was dried I used some clamps and placed the rubber wood sheet vertically on a workbench and used a projector to project an image of the Make In India logo on to the surface of the wood and marked the points using a pencil with a gap of 1.5 inch between two nails. I used a small piece of wood for the same.

After marking the points, hammered nails on the marked points one by one keeping 0.75 inch of the nails outside.

Once all the nails are put in the marked spots I started with the twine thread with a knot on first nail and then running the thread across all the nails. To prevent the string from loosing up I tied a knot after every 5-6 nail came across.
I first did the outline of the Lion then continued with the internal threading starting with the tail. I continued running the thread, tying then knotting then tying and knotting then tying and knotting then tying and knotting.......drained!!
I didn't followed a specific pattern for the internal threading just randomly ran the thread across the nails and covered it uniformly. After finishing with the internal threading, I again ran the thread across the border of the Lion.
In the Text 'MAKE IN INDIA' the gap between the nails is not fixed. The nails are close to each other so I used plier to hold the nail in place then hammered it. I followed the same procedure for threading the text.

Step 3:

It took 13 hours for me from the first knot to the final knot. It admittedly took me longer than I thought it would but it was well worth it. I hope you guys like it :)