Experiments with carved wood machinery emblems/signs

[David Walsh]

Turning a few favorite emblems into something that'd look cool hanging on the wall. Here's a few so far..

 

(Quick note on all this — I'd originally shared a series of posts over on OWWM when I started on these in April 2024 — and added to it as I kept going — so if this looks familiar to anyone, that's why.)

 

Here's a snapshot of the pieces I've ended up making to-date. Around half of them I've since sold and live on the walls in workshops they now call home. The rest are still waiting for their home, and I look forward to sending each one out as that happens. Here's a link for anyone curious.

 

 

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Normally I skew toward "complicated" when I'm working with the CNC — 3D toolpaths, multiple endmills/bit changes, unforgiving inlays capable of ruining the entire project, etc. There's a place for all that, but I'm trying to do the opposite here — and find the emblems/designs that work well when simply carved into a one-color painted round blank. Plenty more emblems in mind that I'm looking forward to trying out.

Using 15" & 18" rounds for now — though right when I pulled these off the table, I looked at them and thought "little smaller and these would make for great shop stools."



Here's a quick video from when I was machining those first two. For sanity's sake, I swapped out the screaming spindle in the video with music that's (only marginally) less obnoxious —

 

 

Still playing with paint colors/finishes. Thinking I like this sort of red better on the Delta, thought probably will go for satin/matte for the next ones.

It's "International Harvester Red" — I love the idea of entire lines of paint (eg: Rust-Oleum Farm & Implement Enamel) that are explicitly named for a brand's equipment — John Deere Green/Yellow, Ford Blue, International Harvester Red, Allis Chalmers Orange, Massey Ferguson Gray. Imagine if a similar paint-line existed for vintage machinery makes. Seriously.

 

 

A few more emblem experiments. Definitely rediscovering how much I don't love machining pine, and doing multiple colors on one piece without thoroughly wrecking it and calling it "rustic".

 

 

 

Here's one that's clearly still in-progress (that coating that looks like vanilla frosting is drywall joint-compound — used as a mask to let me paint the recesses — then sand away the mask, and use a roller to paint the bare wood. That's the "in theory" — in practice, its been a nightmare and likely a final nail-in-the-coffin of doing all any sort of painterly work on these.



Hardwoods like walnut & maple carve beautifully and don't leave behind an ocean of fuzzy grain and rough surfaces. Thinking I'm going to switch over to machining the elements individually, painting & layering it all into a finished assembly.

Something my grandfather said always comes to mind when I find myself making something twice because I tried to do it on cheap material the first time around — "The only thing that happens if you buy a bargain in hardwoods is that you make a piece of furniture twice — because something's gonna go wrong with the material itself".

So I may have to finally take his sound advice and machine some of these out of more respectable woods. The first step there is to actually... acquire some.

 

 

 

 

 

Only slightly related, here's a sign I made a while back for our workshop — black walnut for the large lettering, the lower lettering is the same, inlaid into wormy maple (think that's called "ambrosia" maybe). Everything about walnut is such a pleasure to work with.

 

 

 

More to come.

David

Edited October 7, 2024 by David Walsh
Added compilation of work

[David Walsh]

Delta Unisaw (Vertical Emblem)

 

 

Nerd that I am, I worked out what scale the Unisaw would have to be for this to fit on

 

 

 

 

Stanley Tools

 

 

 

Edited October 7, 2024 by David Walsh
Added Stanley Tools piece

[David Walsh]

 

 

 

[David Walsh]

Walker-Turner 1939 Emblem

 

Carved in dolphin-grey HDPE. Color-filled with red & black resin.

 

 

 

 

 

Rockwell International

 

 

 

AMF

 

 

 

DeWalt — Blade Insignia

 

 

 

 

Atlas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Millers Falls

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Craftsman — Domed Long-C Emblem

 

Rough in the details but turned out interesting in that "vintage handmade" sort of way with a bit of color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 7, 2024 by David Walsh
Added photos

[David Walsh]

Crescent

 

Made from a kitchen tabletop found on the side of the road, as is often the case.

 

Hand-painted enamel lettering and a few inset pieces for the crescent moons. Something new that turned out a bit like something old you'd be excited to find hiding in a barn somewhere in America.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[David Walsh]

J.A. Fay & Egan

 

Lettering adapted from what looked to be an original J.A. Fay & Egan promotional keychain (see the green photo). Made from an old furniture panel I found that turned out to be hiding a unique wormy grain under its original finish. I'd planned to paint it, but it felt wrong to hide the natural wood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oliver — "Oliver" Script

 

One of my favorite of the original lettering styles from Oliver. Simple 90° v-carve in poplar, which carves beautifully.
 

 

 

[David Walsh]

Oliver — Eagle

 

An iconic design from the finest era in Oliver Machinery. This one began the morning as a test cut on a 60-year old poplar butcher-block, salvaged from an old outdoor sign — and turned into another favorite. Measures around 30" across the wingspan. It's one of those designs that would look just as fine left as a natural carve on something like walnut or cherry.

 

 

A few subtle discolorations within the red resin-filled lower banner — areas where I’d originally began painting before choosing to use resin. It ended up showing through the slightly-translucent resin. I didn’t mind, as it adds some character to it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[David Walsh]

Yates American — Domed Insignia (Work in progress)

First experiment towards making a domed Yates American emblem I’ve long admired. Originally found on J-170 lathes. Switched out the lower-arc lettering to be a bit more universal.

 

 

 

 

 

After an embarrassing number of hours trying to source their original typeface for the arc lettering — I had to just file it under "handcarved woodblock by someone trying to quit work and go home for the day" – so in that spirit, I just re-drew it "good enough" for now.

⌀14” from 8/4 maple butcherblock I’d picked up alongside the road. May leave this one alone and do a painted/resin one after making another… larger and with less “charming” wood.
 

 

[David Walsh]

American Wood Working Machine Co. — Eagle Crest

In 1898, this gorgeous crest was printed as the catalogue cover for American Wood Working Machine Co. At the turn of the century, AWWM was an absolute behemoth of the woodworking machine world – “battling with P. B. Yates Machine Co. for bragging rights as the nation’s largest” (as noted on their Vintage Machinery history page).

I first grew to love this emblem when studying and restoring it as a shirt design, and have enjoyed seeing orders for it go out around the country to others who must love it just the same.

Making it of wood gave me another chance to spend time working with it – largely re-drawing and puzzling together its endless details into toolpaths that can be understood by my own form of woodworking machinery – of a sort unheard of to the world 125 years ago – when the powerhouse that was AWWM first designed & printed this timeless emblem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Process

 

Archive.org: American Wood Working Machine Co. (1898)

 

 

 

 

 

[David Walsh]

J.A. Fay & Co. — 1895 (Commissioned)

A tailor-made sign to live alongside a beautifully restored 1895 36" J.A. Fay & Co. bandsaw. Made of 8/4 basswood, with rosewood for the lower serial-number emblem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To sum up how making this sign went, I'm including a message I sent to Scott as I was wrapping up working on this for him:

"Along the way, there were a few points where I considered re-carving this whole thing in a different way, to get super crisp edges on all the lettering, etc. — but I kept in mind that, for this to actually look interesting and have some character, it should end up looking a bit rough, as cast iron does. So I experimented with basically sculpting a plaster compound on everything before sanding it back. I couldn't not paint it, I had to see if it was going to all come together. Sprayed it with primer and a satin black base, and hand painted gloss Sunrise Red for the accents & a hammered silver for the serial plate. I'd say it turned out just like I had in mind. Looks like something that could be quite old, decidedly imperfect overall, and should look quite cool and imposing hanging in your shop."

We'd originally planned for me to send over a natural carve, ready for him to paint & finish — but I genuinely needed to find out for myself if my idea to essentially "hot mud" the whole thing was going to turn painting into... an ordeal. It did — but I'd rather it be my ordeal than make it his.

Plenty of hand-work after the machining on this one — but that's often how it goes. Making the first of something is always what makes it overwhelmingly clear all the ways you could do it smarter on the next one. Chisels & sanding are always reminders of what the machine could've handled just fine, if you knew enough to tell it how from the start.

As Jimmy DiResta is known to say — something that lives rent-free in my mind...

 

 

Here's a collection of photos taken along the way, as well as a few snapshots of the initial 3D modeling & concept renders made at the start.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Design & Renders
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[David Walsh]

Starrett Emblem (Work-in-progress)

 

I'm sure many of you know what emblem this goes into the center of. Attempt at machining aluminum, still not satisfied with the engraving quality I'm getting, but trying to make this piece work with some cleanup. If someone wants to buy me a galvo/fiber laser, that'd be ideal — that's the right tool for this sort of thing.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KevTN]

Outstanding work!  You definitely have a talent! Thank you for sharing.

[honesttjohn]

Wow!!  That's more patience and talent than I got.  Good Show!!!

[Grandpadave52]

@David Walsh

I don't where to give you accolades for this level of work...the subject matter, the level of detail, the creativity, the quality, your unique finish techniques, or just everything! Thanks for sharing all the pictures. Wow! Love it!

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Edited October 21, 2024 by Grandpadave52