Beautiful Carved Plywood Wall Art (NO CNC)

I've always found plywood layers to be beautiful.

I'm not much of an artist myself, but I want to utilize those layers to make art - somehow.

This project explores carving plywood wall art from trash with hand tools - without using a CNC. It's a very time-intensive and extremely dusty process, with a total of 11 pounds (5kg) of sawdust being created throughout this project. Follow along and post pictures if you make your own!

Curious how a project like this could look in your home? Download the PNG image above and paste it onto your wall in a photo editing app.

Don’t want to read the Instructable? Watch the YouTube video instead! (2 minutes)

Here's what you'll need to complete this project (affiliate links for Amazon / eBay)

Tools:

1. Corded Angle grinder / eBay (A good one with a handle you're comfortable using for hours)
2. Cheap curved 4" carving disc I used / eBay (at your discretion)
3. Carbide wood carving disc / eBay (alternative - not cheap)
4. Arbortech carbide wood carving attachments / eBay (very expensive)
5. Flap discs / eBay
6. Worx mini circular saw / eBay
7. Foredom flex shaft rotary tool / eBay
8. Carbide burr set / eBay
9. Router / eBay
10. Many clamps / eBay

PPE:

1. Face shield / eBay
2. 3m n95 mask / eBay
3. Earmuffs / eBay

Hardware, materials & consumables:

1. Plywood (see the next step for details)
2. Finish
3. Recessed picture hangers / eBay
4. Wood glue

The plywood I'm using is from the tabletop of a dining table I scavenged from the trash which is why it has been finished. The tabletop looked great, but the base was broken. I broke off the legs and took it home.

I cut it in half with my circular saw, and laminated the boards together (3/4"x2 / 4cm thick). I then trimmed the edges flush once again. It's void free - an excellent choice for this project, but any decent quality birch plywood is sufficient.

For the design, I used tape to mark a random curved and intersecting lines all along the plywood. (Note that it's upside down in the main picture).

If you're looking for inspiration, I've made a Pinterest board of the best plywood carving ideas you should check out. The possibilities are endless. you could take inspiration from a maze... Or desert dunes... Or anything that sparks your interest.

I'm using a cheap wood carving attachment for my angle grinder I bought online for this project. I wasn't sure if it would be good enough, or if it would even last through this whole project. It might not be the smartest idea to cheap out on a part that spins this fast, so if you're not as inclined to risk your life for art, I've linked other options above as well.

Needless to say, this was a very tedious process.

This isn't a project for a cheap angle grinder. You'll be using it for hours on end. After a few hours, I started having serious discomfort in my right arm, so I continued carving with a handle which helped significantly.

At first, almost every part I would carve would reveal ugly knots I didn't want in the finished piece. Everywhere. I didn't expect this, and wasn't sure how it would turn out or if it would even be useable. I didn't want to deviate from my original design due to any unpredictable knot, but that rigidity contradicts the essence of this project. Art is not my expertise. When it comes to debating form or function…I may as well be blind.

After many many hours of carving with the angle grinder. the project wasn't progressing as quickly as I had hoped.

I used a router to carve deeper in places where it would have been much harder and slower with the angle grinder as well as more likely to damage the sides.

I had initially planned to start this project with the router, but bought 6mm router bits instead of 1/4" bits thinking they were the same.

The Foredom flex shaft rotary tool is the perfect tool for this type of work. I used a round burr to smoothe the rough marks left by the carving disc. I wanted to use it to carve even deeper and to create intricate details that aren't possible with other tools, but it kept tripping the GFCI breaker, so I wasn't able to use it as much as I had intended. If you have any experience with these types of repairs. please leave a comment as I'm interested in fixing it.

I used sunlight to my advantage to help reveal and carve away the perpendicular car marks left by the router.

Earlier I had accidentally gouged one corner. I thought of rounding all of the corners, but decided to cut it off to contrast between sharp corners and the curved design.

I used a flap disc to sand it, starting with 60 grit. The 60-grit flap disc would burn some parts of the plywood, inconsistent of the pressure I would apply. I believe this is caused by the high speed of the angle grinder and harder parts of the end grain. I didn't have this issue with higher grits, though.

I wasn't aiming for a polished look, it's so much work! I prefer a more natural look where imperfections are visible from up close.

Prepare for a lot of hand sanding!

I applied a water-based finish. I expected the plywood to absorb a lot of finish, so I bought about 10x as much as needed. I ended up applying many coats, much more than what was needed. I would have liked a finish with a warmer/red tint, but couldn't source any. I mounted it flush to the wall with recessed picture hangers.

I love how it turned out and hope to preserve it for many years to come.

I’m considering adding LED strips on top similar to a sconce, or perhaps a spotlight shining at it. I think it would look incredible... Or maybe both!

If you liked this project, check out my Instructables and subscribe to my Youtube channel for more short project videos and tutorials.