Wooden Rush Album Cover Art

This Spring was the 5th year of the annual Makers Rock Album Artwork YouTube Collaboration. A bunch of makers select an album cover, then remake it out of any materials. This year, as a tribute to Rush drummer Neil Peart, I recreated the Rush 2112 album cover out of wood. Watch my video and follow this Instructable to see how I made two of these at one time!

Step 1: Prepare the Blanks

Album covers are about 12.375" square. I glued up maple and cherry panels from 1/4" thick boards, then trimmed them to size on the table saw.

Step 2: Stack and Apply Template

I used blue painters tape and double-sided carpet tape to stack the two panels so I could cut two at one time. Carpet tape is really strong, and when applied directly to wood, it can tear out wood fibers when peeled off. So, I applied blue tape to both panels and sandwiched the carpet tape between the blue tape. This holds really well and does not harm the wood. Just place the tape away from the areas that will be cut.

I grabbed the album cover image from a Google images search, then used Photoshop to turn it into an outlined template. I inserted the image into Word, then resized it and printed it out.

I sprayed a light misting of 3M General Purpose 45 spray adhesive to the back of my template and let it dry for about 30 seconds to become tacky like a sticky note, then attached it centered on the board. I drilled tiny starter holes on the lines of the template.

Step 3: Cut the Pieces

I used a #3 blade on my scroll saw to cut the pieces out of the board. I went slow and steady and tried to cut accurately along the lines. These pieces will be glued back in, so be careful not to lose any of them. The more accurately you can cut, the better it will look.

Step 4: Sanding and Assembly

Sand everything really smooth. I like to round-over the front edges with sandpaper to give them a softer look and feel. I used a small sanding sponge and sanding sticks to get in all the nooks and crannies.

I used thick washers as spacers to lift the face of the board off the work bench. This allowed me to drop each letter and logo piece into the board so that it would protrude about 1/8" out of the front panel, which adds depth for a nice 3D look from the front. Using drops of CA glue and spray activator makes assembly really fast.

Note: Interior pieces, such as the inside of the R and the inner pieces of the star logo, should be glued in on the same plane as the panel, since they are part of the background board. You can stack smaller washers or coins as spacers for these to keep them from falling into the holes.

Step 5: Finished!

I sprayed the album covers with Deft Clear Wood Finish Satin Spray Lacquer and made a couple of display stands to hold them. I also added sawtooth picture hangers to the back so they can be hung on the wall. I applied a sheet of self-stick felt from the craft store over the back to hide the unsightly glue.

Thanks for checking out my Instructable for this project.

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