Minecraft has seen a HUGE surge in popularity in 2019, thanks to PewDiePie starting his series and of course the success of Minecraft Monday! I thought Minecraft Monday could do with a trophy so I made one...

Materials Used:

Oak
Beach
Wooden Dowels
Paint
Spray Lacquer
Spray Adhesive
Felt Baize
Wood Glue
Super Glue
Felt Pens

Tools Used:

Laser Engraver
Bandsaw
Drill
Chisel
Coping Saw
Soldering Iron
Sand Paper
Paint Brush
Scissors

Step 1: Laser Engrave the Logo

As the Minecraft Monday logo is a dirt block with lots of different shades of brow I thought the ideal way to recreate it would be to use a laser engraver. Now of course it isnt a necessity but it does really help to get a precise outline and shading on the logo.

I started off by engraving the outline of the logo onto some Oak. This will give me a line to cut to later and also help define where the star penetrates the top of the block.

Next I got the laser engraver to engrave the different shades of black and brown. I had hoped for more of a contrast on the dirt section on the block. You can see slightly the darker square areas but they're pretty faint. The black areas of the star will act as guide to paint later. Because there wasn't as much contrast as I'd hoped I engraved a line pattern to define the cube shapes.

I used some Beach for the letters 'MONDAY'. Beach has a much tighter grain then oak so should give a cleaner surface when painted later. Again I engraved the outline and shaded black areas too. After the engraving is done its time to cut out the pieces.

Step 2: Cut Out the Pieces

I used the bandsaw to cut out the main logo shape. Using the blade on the bandsaw to nibble away material helps to cut out the awkward areas on the letters too.

The letters O,D & A all have internal cut out sections so I drilled holes and then used a coping saw to cut out the insides. I didn't worry about it being neat. Using a chisel to clean up the edges gives a nice sharp straight edge.

Step 3: Add Some Colour

The engraved sections need to be painted black. The engraving really helps as a guide for painting. The engraving is lower than the surface so using some sandpaper can clean up any paint that got on the surface.

The black areas of the star got painted too. I mixed up a green colour and used it as a base colour on the grass areas of the dirt block. The grass on the dirt block has multiple shades of green so I used dark and light green felt pens to add some shade variations.

Similar on the dirt area of the block, there are much darker shades of brown so I used a soldering iron to burn some of the squares much darker.

The K gets painted red and the outline of the star gets painted white. The top surface of the letters get painted white too.

Step 4: Glue on the Letters

To glue the letter onto the block I added some wood glue for strength. I then added a few dots of super glue. This will give some instant hold while the wood glue dries. Pressing the letters down for 10 seconds is enough for the super glue to hold it in place. No need to worry about clamps. Leave the wood glue to set for a couple of hours.

Step 5: Make the Base, Add Finish & Put It Together

For the base of the trophy I cut a square piece of Oak and used the soldering iron to burn on a cube pattern. All in keeping with the Minecraft styling. The pieces got 3 coats of spray lacquer. Sanding between each coat to get a smooth finish.

Time to fix the block to the base. To do this I drilled 2 8mm holes into the base. I then drilled 2 corresponding 8mm holes into the bottom of the block piece. I could then add glue to the holes, Insert the 8mm dowels and push fit it altogether. When the glue dries they will be fixed together permanently so I made sure they were lined up and square.

To finish off the trophy I wanted to add some felt baize to the bottom. So I sprayed adhesive onto an oversized piece of felt baize. Then I pushed the base of the trophy onto it, making sure it adhered properly. When the adhesive was dry I trimmed the edge with scissors.