How to Make Driftwood Seashells

The weathered, smoothed appearance of driftwood is quite distinctive, and finds regular use in ocean- or aquatic-themed craft projects. Though driftwood can often be used without alteration for larger projects, you can also carve and work it into smaller shapes while still retaining some of the essential texture that driftwood imparts. Seashells, another common oceanic item, are a good choice of subject for such carving.

Things You'll Need

• Driftwood
• Panel saw or handsaw
• Rotary cutting tool
• Grinding and sanding rotary tool tips
• Pencil
• Rotary tool cutting wheel
• Medium-grit sandpaper
• Eraser
• Varnish
• Paintbrush

Instructions

1. Locate a portion of the branch that you can cut to form a disc-shaped cross-section, one that's a little larger than the finished shell you want to make.

2. Cut a cross-section 1/2 inch thick, using the panel saw or handsaw.

3. Fit the rotary cutter with a wood grinding attachment or heavy sanding tip. Turn it on and set to a medium speed.

4. Use the grinding tip to cut out a bowl-shaped recess from one side of the cross-section piece. Using the hollow side of a scallop shell as your guide, cut the wood so it slopes down suddenly from the edges and has a wide bottom. Make the thinnest point on the wood, or deepest area of the bowl, at least 1/8 inch thick.

5. Carve the other side of the bowl into a dome shape. Grind down the square edges of the cylinder that marked where the sides of the dowel started. Make this side as round as you can.

6. Draw a scallop shape on the dome side of the wood piece in pencil, including parallel lines for the ridges on the top of the shell. Use as much of the available space as you can.

7. Switch to a cutting wheel on the rotary tool. Cut out the scallop shape around the outline, getting as close as you can using the wheel, though it can only cut straight lines.

8. Return to using the grinding bit. Smooth out the outline of the scallop shape.

9. Carve along the ridges on the scallop shape with the tip of grinding bit. Make a shallow, V-shaped valley centered over each line.

10. Sand the finished shell by hand with medium-grit sandpaper. Erase any pencil lines that remain on the wood.

11. Apply a coat of varnish. Let dry.

References

• "The Complete Manual of Woodworking"; Albert Jackson and David Day; 1996