Vintage Wood Whale Pedestal DIY
- By Joan
- May 12, 2021
- 7 Comments
Whale Pedestal
When I picked up some beautiful 2 inch scrap wood from the discard pile at the salvage yard for my shelf, I also picked up enough for a few more projects.
This 10 inch wide piece is about to become a whale. A whale on a pedestal to be more specific.
To start my project I also needed a whale pattern. Since I’ve already created a whale weathervane from an old jack and I happened to like his shape I used his picture as my pattern.
Normally I enlarge my photos is Microsoft Publisher but since this guy’s shape is pretty simple, I just cut him in thirds and printed him out on separate pieces of paper. The total length of the whale is 26″.
My new whale pattern didn’t quite fill up the 8 inch width of the board so I ended up enlarging him as I went. My projects are soooo non exact. 😀
When you’re happy with your whale shape, start cutting. I’m using a tabletop Scroll Saw. A 2 inch board would probably be just about the thickest wood that a scroll saw could handle. Consider also using a handheld jigsaw or band saw to do all these non straight cuts. If you can feed fabric thru a sewing machine you would absolutely love a scroll saw. It’s one of my favorite tools.
Now for the pedestal…cut 2, 3/8″ dowels, about 6 inches each. They should be long enough to be inserted into both the whale and the base by about an inch.
The base is another piece of old scrap wood, about 9 1/2 x 5 1/2″.
Sand all the edges of the whale and the base as well.
I finished off the dowels with black paint and the base with antique wax.
Even though I love the texture and feel of the old wood, I wanted this guy to have more of a driftwood appearance. I’m combining an inexpensive white acrylic with a few drops of black and half water. The old wood just soaks up the water and the paint.
While my paint was drying drill holes for your dowels in the base. The dowels are attached to the base with a drop of wood glue in each hole.
Once the paint on the whale is dry, sand him once again revealing the edges and the grain.
Final step is to age Moby (the whale) with a combination of the vintage wax, some clear wax, and a little black paint.
You can see that the waxes and paint is painted on somewhat haphazardly. Before it dries, use a rag or paper towel to combine the waxes and paint and to rub off any excess. Add more wax or paint if needed .
Drill the same sized holes as the dowel in the bottom of the whale.
I dabbed paint on the ends of the dowels and while the paint was still wet placed the whale where he was visually centered. The wet paint transferred onto the whale giving me my hole placements.
Because the whale pedestal is two sided, he is perfect for a sofa table or anything that sits away from the wall.
Voila, instant vintage whale pedestal, and since I already had all my supplies on hand, for FREE! You can’t beat that price.
Until next time, stay inspired.
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Fabulous! Love it!! Thank you for sharing.
COOL! you did a great job!
Awesome!! Love your whale!
I love this project! Great job!
Love your whale art, Joan! You’d pay big bucks for something like that readymade. I’ve hinted to my family that instead of jewels give me tools and that a scroll saw is on the top of my list. Fingers crossed. Your sewing machine analogy describes that tool perfectly!
Hinting is how I got a drill for Mother’s Day this year. Mine had died and I was using an old plug in with a chuck key. No jewelry, just give me a tool…it’s much more useful.
Looks awesome–I always love your work!!!!!