Sometimes art can be as simple as mimicking nature. I was experimenting here with a minimalistic art piece. All the separations in the feather are cut with the blade. This is pretty delicate cutting and you will need to support the piece with your fingers as you cut. I used 1/8" Baltic birch plywood. Cutting this from hardwood will be very difficult.
The center vein(rachis) is cut separately and applied to the feather. The rachis and the edges of the feather are both sanded to a taper to give the feather a more delicate look. Careful sanding is required.
I painted the backer board black and framed it with maple. I only include the plans for the feather. You can custom build the frame. I used a butt joint frame to keep things simple.
I just bought the WEN portable oscillating spindle sander: Will I like it?
