Images of the finished DM Screen.
The white blemishes come from a mistake I made, sadly irreparable. My printed image transfer tests were done on a small scale - working with the full 30x30cm images, I got lots of tiny air bubbles trapped under the surface. Yes, I did burnish the glued print with a card, but it didn’t work so well, as seen here.
But the person it’s for seems satisfied. So that’s good.
Quick explanation of the entire process:
1. Purchased a list of:
- 5 laser plywood planks 30cmx30cm, 3mm thick (one I used for tests)
- Sandpaper in a variety of grits
- Quick drying wood varnish (waterbased)
- Wood stain (waterbased)
- A set of vintage butterfly hinges with screws (quite cheap actually)
- Junior hacksaw (As I don’t own any power tools, this was the best for removing screw ends after attaching the hinges)
- Acrylic matte medium (Daler Rowney)
From what I already owned I also used Acrylic Gloss Varnish, then a layer of Matte Varnish on top (for best protection and only slight gloss).
2. Sandpapered the 5 planks (takes a few hours by hand, but it has to be done properly). After brushing off the excess dust, I used the wood stain and let it dry for a few days. In the meanwhile I used my test plank (firstly seeing effects of layering stain, next was my original idea of image transfer - using acetone. It worked, but not consistently, so at the end I had to abandon that idea. It also dissolved the stain. The tests took me several weeks, but I never had funds for a re-do).
3. Applied several coats of wood varnish, waiting a few hours between coats. Then let the entire thing rest for a few days again - make sure the varnish sets.
4. Created the image digitally. Based the centerpiece on the image of the group’s DM - the fortuneteller imagery being from our first campaign. The other images are all the player characters from this campaign.
5. Printed the mirrored version of the image on A3 paper (usual 100gsm, nothing fancy). Cut to size. Coated paper on print side and matching wood panels in acrylic medium, then carefully stuck them together, using a plastic card to burnish them - pressing out the air. This however wasn’t sufficient, as visible in the finished product. I think using a roller while applying might have saved it, but I wouldn’t know at this moment.
6. After letting the screen rest for about 24 hours, I would coat the pages in water, wait a bit for it to absorb, then do it again. Then I’d rub off the paper (it’s a long process since it comes off in tiny flakes).
Now ideally here is where the screen would have looked perfect. In my case, all the air bubbles happened. At first I tried to sandpaper off the print (starting at the corner), but it didn’t work. On my test plank I attempted removing one of the images I had there with acetone. It worked, however attempting that on the screen yielded pretty nightmarish results - the ink came off just fine, but the acrylic layer (which included the bubbles) would dissolve into a thick, sticky, greenish substance. It proved impossible to scrape off without ruining the underlying wood. I over-painted that corner with acrylic paint (and the opposite one, for symmetry) and used a shade of brown indian ink to “dye” the air bubbles. It did darken them, which made them stick out less.
7. Varnish the image-side of the screen. First about two layers with acrylic gloss varnish. Then let it dry for an hour or so. Afterwards I applied two layers of matte varnish (mostly to mask the slightly milky tone from applying a bit too much acrylic medium).
And that’s it. It didn’t come out as I hoped, and I have to say that it’s quite agitating to have something take so long and be able to be ruined at the last few steps. However, as my first ever experience with woodworking, I think it wasn’t the worst.
