I love it when people make things with their own two hands.
The best DIY projects are always ones that are truly great labors of love and display a genuine sense of creativity.
Americana-themed projects in particular never fail to grab my attention. They're always the perfect balance between decorative and functional, like this American flag coffee table, for example.
Below, we share this Imgur user's amazing DIY project. He spent four-and-a-half months — and a total of 150 hours in the workshop — building a topographic map of the U.S. out of 15 different kinds of wood.
He shaped, crafted, molded, and contoured every one of the 50 states, before piecing them all together like a majestic puzzle, and gluing it to his empty living room wall.
Scroll further to see how this incredible piece of art was made, and let us know your thoughts in the comments down below!
So many talented crafters and DIY-ers have built beautiful, rustic works of Americana art. Many of these projects turn into lovely home décor items, or very functional furniture.
Recently, an Imgur user showcased his masterpiece DIY: a stunning topographic map of continental U.S. made of wood.
He used a total of 15 species of wood to construct the map: red and white oak, birch, ash, poplar, walnut, maple, butternut, cherry, cedar, mahogany, pine, and two mystery woods.
He clamped the cuts of wood down to the table with hot glue, then shaped and contoured each of the individual states.
Then, he chiseled perfect topographic shapes with a ball nose end mill, then carved out extra details.
After finishing molding all the shapes, he sprayed down the wood with some shellac to give it a glossy finish.
After 150 hours of shop time (from prepping and cutting to fitting and finishing), and over 50 hours of research, every state was accounted for.
Feast your eyes on the finished product!
It glued onto a previously empty wall in the living room, where it hangs beautifully today.
And though the project took the DIY-er nearly five months to finish, it was a complete labor of love.
The intricate, complexity of the wood makes the project even more of an accomplishment and all the more unique as a work of art.
Please SHARE if you love seeing creative, rustic Americana-themed DIYs like this!
