Marc sent me this photo of his work last year.
I've lost Marc's email, sorry mate, but saved the images because they look so good.
He has taken one of the dolphins from the Dolphin Sculpture Plan and mounted it on its own base using a perspex rod. Too easy and looks wonderful.
So how did Marc make this just with a scroll saw? Well he did have to use a few other basic tools very similar to making intarsia projects. A drill and a sander but not much else.
I'm going to make a video soon showing how easy it all is but until I get around to that here are a few diagrams taken from the comprehensive instructions that come with the plans.
Cut out the plans - with your scroll saw
Paste the cut out plans on to a 20mm (¾") thick board of your chosen timber.
Drill out the locating holes
The separate pieces are glued together after being positioned with dowels in the locating holes.
After some sanding fit the fins and tail
Probably the trickiest bit. Drill holes in the body and chisel out to form a mortise. Hand carve tenons on the ends of the fins and fit into the body. Detailed instructions will guide you through the complete process.
You can do the same as Marc and start off with one of the baby dolphins. Or jump right in and make the complete family, mum and two babies.
The guy who designed all our sculpture projects, John, used to make and sell these finished dolphins. He reckoned he could sell as many as he could make. He was getting $800 per set and this was 10 years ago. But he got bored and moved on to even more amazing sculptures that appeared magically out of his head. Oh to be truly talented.
But for the rest of us these sculptures could be a steady income.
If you'd like to jump right in and try your hand at the full dolphin family that might well bring in a decent income you should visit the dolphin sculpture page. Choose "PDF Download" or "Paper Pattern" from the drop down box and then click "Buy Now". When you get to the checkout enter the discount code sailability and you'll get a 50% discount.
(And if you're not familiar with Sailability it's a great way for disadvantaged kids to experience freedom on the water. Just like dolphins. And where I help out in my spare time.)