I-400 Elephant Shelf

Intermediate Level   13 1/4″ wide x 17 3/4" high   68 pieces Front view of a large Elephant Shelf, the pattern can be made with or without the shelf. I used some 1" thick spalted maple for the head and trunk, the rest of the wood was 3/4" thick. Woods Used; Spalted Maple for the ears, head, and trunk, Holly for the tusks, and a little Peruvian Walnut for the eyes. I undercut (sanded the bottom)of the tusks, as shown in the photo. I waited until the project was completly sanded before sanding the underside. You never know if you will have to resand the surface (which could shorten the tusks). Also I left about two thirds of the bottom side flat so it would not tip over and gave me more area to glue the tusks to the backing. The photo on the right is before applying the Old Masters Poly gel. Note - The face and trunk were cut out of one piece of wood. Use a small blade (#2/0) to make the interior cuts. However even using a small blade you loose some wood with each cut, to make the face fit better I used thin spacers to evenly space the parts for gluing. A Wonder Wheel was used for adding texture. Suggested Blades:  Gold #5 for Pine or any softwood. Platinum Plus #3,  Platinum #5,  Pegas #3 or 5, TLB #5  for the hardwoods.  PLP #2/0, or TLB #2/0 to cut the interior lines (after the exterior lines are cut).