The Next Level: Medallion Design & Creation, Part 3

Before we continue the medallion series, I'd like to take a moment to thank our troops and their families for their service and sacrifice. In a post-combat world where veterans are buried in paperwork trying to get their benefits, I think a simple "thank you" is well overdue, especially since they never asked for it. So, thank you wherever you are out there, and be safe.

So, now for Part 3 our medallion in progress. (Here are the links for The Next Level: Medallion Design & Creation, Part 2.)

Now is the time to glue down the oak and maple to the plywood. We need them secured so that we can safely cut them in place. Let's talk about knockouts. These are medallion pieces that are glued only after the medallion itself is installed. They are removable so that once you glue the medallion into the floor you can use screws or nails to secure it while the glue sets. I like knockouts on larger medallions. This medallion was just over 4 feet (1.2 meters) in diameter. Screws were the easy thing to do. I had four maple scallops that I used for knockouts:

I also had the center piece missing, right? (Because I couldn't make up my mind at that time.) So, I could put a screw through the center, as well.

Okay, so the oak and maple (except for four pieces) are permanently glued to the plywood. I then marked the location of the inner and outer circumference of the padauk that I would wrap around the maple. I used trammel points with the closest piece of wood I could find. In this case, a leftover oak board. Make sure your center point is the center point. Yes, I know you know. What I mean is the center point you will use now must be dead on. Everything will start falling out of alignment if you are off now. I marked the location so that I knew where to place my plunge router. I then routed the maple (which was cut long to begin with) scallops. Next, I needed to fit the eight padauk pieces around the maple. Remember that there would be two walnut strips bent around both sides of the padauk. I used a bandsaw to rough-cut the inside of the padauk. Rough-cut means all eight pieces were within a 1/16 inch (1.5 mm) from the maple. I temporarily secured the padauk to the plywood so that I could route the inside and outside at the same time:

Then I removed the padauk and bent walnut strips around the maple. Only then did I glue the padauk permanently. Then, again, one more walnut strip bent around the padauk. Finally, a strip of holly bent around the walnut. That's it! You're done!

No, no silly. You are not even close. If you think you have brain damage by now, wait until I get all technical on you with the holly stringing. By the time we finish this medallion ("we" because we are a team now) you will need a day at the spa and a hug, and I don't give hugs.

More on bending wood and gluing the parts in the next post.