Recently I made a Batman keychain holder for my son Kyle to give to his girlfriend for her birthday. I had an idea of using the Dark Knight Batman symbol for the outside piece (which I would cut on the scrollsaw). I also had the idea of making 2 keychains in the shape of batarangs, but I didn’t know exactly how I would make them attach to the piece. I didn’t want the same old “hang your keys on the hook” look. That’s not Batman!
I created up with this design on the computer, and added the Heath Ledger joker with “why so serious” in the middle for a little dramatic effect (click the image if you want the full size printable pattern):
If you are intested in the original layered patterns for editing – here is the Photoshop version:
Photoshop Batman keychain holder scrollsaw pattern
And here is an Adobe Fireworks layered version:
Adobe Fireworks Batman keychain holder scrollsaw printable pattern
Here’s what the Dark Knight pattern looked like cut out on the scrollsaw, sanded, and finished with both Danish oil and Ebony stain. Cutting the keychain holders out of the bottom was a few tricky turns on the scroll saw, but we made it through.
I used some Lazertran Ink Jet Waterslide decal paper to print out the Heath Ledger joker and quote, then I brushed some turpentine onto the wood and applied the decal. That stuff is a big pain in the butt, and it’s hard to get all the bubbles out without ripping the decal (which I did, and to carefully slide back together).
After the decal and turpentine dried (1 day), I mixed to together the remaining bit of glow-in-the-dark pigment powder from the Glow in the Dark Xbox table project. It was about 1/4 ounce that I had left, and I didn’t want to waste it – so I mixed it up with a tiny bit of shellac (which made it a bit gritty). I basically smeared it all over the joker decal so it would like a little like graffiti at night. What was left over, I smeared that all over the keychains themselves. Once it dried, I used some steel wool to smooth it out.
Here’s a link to the Glow in the dark pigment powder on Amazon, if you want to try some in your next project.
Here’s what it looks like with the lights out when the glow in the dark is charged:
Use the free scrollsaw patterns above to make your own, or make your own variation!
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