Recently, a few friends and I have created a few wooden things together.  Cribbage boards and now large state art.  After seeing our bedroom wall, my friend really wanted to use the same wood to make a large Montana piece.

The process was pretty easy, so I thought it’d be fun to share.  To make the template, he propped up a handheld projector loaded up with a Montana silhouette.  We taped Kraft paper to the wall, traced the outline, and cut it out.  After arranging four planks, I used a Sharpie to transfer the shape to the boards.  Using some of our scrap cabinet poplar, we secured the pieces together with screws from the back.

Then, with his jigsaw, he cut along the lines.  Tight turns are impossible to go completely around, so he worked in from the other side.  Cutting took out a few small chunks, but after a round of edge sanding with 220 grit paper, everything looked normal.

Each state is 41 inches wide by 21 tall.  I popped it on the mantel to see what I thought.

I like it there, but I had intended for it to hang over the bench in our bedroom, like this:

Not sure where it’ll land yet.  Originally, my friend wanted to hang his over a sofa.  After discussing other uses, (adding hooks for jewelry for his wife) I tossed out the idea of creating a coat rack.  By adding simple knobs or hooks at staggered heights, it could be art and storage.  Now he’s undecided on where his will go.  At any rate, we had fun and have something to show for it.