Some might remember the tree carving I did that went up one side of an entertainment unit /bookcase and arched across the top of it. It's in the sticky at the top of the page.
Well it turned out they sent me the wrong dimensions and specs for the piece. The clients came to visit as the carving was progressing and they didn't see it either. It wasn't until it was installed when it dawned on everyone that it didn't look right.
The last three similar to this tree that I've done the tree butted against the ceiling. In this case they seemed to forget this tree, in this room ,would not butt against the ceiling because it was a Cathedral ceiling.
Once installed the tree looked like someone took a hedge trimmer and sliced it straight off across the top. They sent me photos and I was sick. The tree, had I known , should have been fuller and more natural looking across the top and gradually tapered off over it's length.
After getting some other projects out of the way that were scheduled I was able to get the tree back in the shop and figure out how to fix the mess. Grafting on 40 more blocks to an edge that was not straight, let alone covered with carved leaves was interesting.
How do you get straight edges along such a surface?
I made some jigs that allowed me to use my router to create steps to add on more wood and gave me straight, clean surfaces. Not crazy about end joints but I had little choice in the matter. Two layers gave me some strength and thickness to do a reasonable job of it.
In the photos you can see the steps I was able to create with my router to give me the surfaces to attach the new boards.
As I was adding them on I used some temporary pieces to establish the length needed and used a string running from one to the next to create a general outline.
Once all the boards were fitted into place I had to redraw the existing carved leaves on to the new surface where needed and draw in new leaves to continue the flow pattern established on the finished section of the carving.