It's Halloween!

So I had to make a pumpkin. Okay, I had no plans and winged it. Not my best effort, but I learned along the way. I found a couple of cedar fence boards in the wood pile and ran them through the thickness sander to knock off the high spots. I laid out a design that I could make using just the two boards. Using pocket screws and glue I attached a set of boards together for both the front and back of the pumpkin. Naturally the boards were so warped that neither set was flat, so I ran them through the sander again to knock off the new high spots. As this pumpkin is layered on the front I needed a decent surface to glue the next layer onto.

Using paper patterns, I cut 3 pieces for the face of the pumpkin and sanded them to almost make them fit. There was no need for perfection or I would lose the 'feel' I was attempting to achieve with this design. These pieces were screwed to the backing group cause the boards were not flat enough to glue. I also routed a lip on the inside of the front and back of the pumpkin to provide a mounting surface for the boards that join them. These first three pictures show it a bit better than I am describing it.

I layed out a design for the face and cut that with a jig say, very carefully. After the face was cut I painted the interior parts of the pumpkin with a black paint as it was easier to do now instead of later. While the paint was drying I cut a bunch of 3 inch long blocks to tie the front to the back. I did not take enough care when assembling the pumpkin so the whole thing has a sideways cant to it that was not on purpose. But air nails and glue kept me from taking it apart and trying again. That frustrated me some, but I got over it.

After assembling the pumpkin I grabbed a small can of orange paint and painted outside of the pumpkin and called it good for the night. 24 hours later the paint did not dry. I grabbed a spray can of orange and gave another pass over the pumpkin trying to only hit the wet spots. At least it seemed to cover the 'wet' paint and made it so I could handle it. By then I was really pissed at my attempt.

About a week later I finally went out to try and finish painting the pumpkin using an airbrush I had. Below you see the results. While not a great project, there were parts that were fun, and I did learn. The pumpkin will go on the front porch this year, but may be firewood later this winter. Not decided yet.

Enjoy, and be careful of the splinters.