Okay, so, picture this: I had this crazy idea to make, like, a…dancing wooden sculpture thing. Sounds weird, right? I know. But I was messing around in my workshop, saw this chunk of solid timber, and thought, “Why not?” I’m calling it “rubber dancing solid timber” because, well, you’ll see.

First, I grabbed that hefty piece of wood. It was some leftover oak from another project – super solid and heavy. I definitely didn’t want anything flimsy for this. I needed something with some weight to it.

The Messy Part

• I started by sketching out a rough shape on the wood. Just some basic stick figure-ish lines, nothing fancy.
• Then, I fired up my trusty old chainsaw. Yeah, a chainsaw. For a sculpture. Don’t judge! It’s the fastest way to remove big chunks of wood. I carved away at the wood, slowly shaping the general form of the “dancer.” It was loud, dusty, and honestly, pretty fun.
• After the chainsaw, I switched to a chisel and mallet. This was for the more detailed work. I chipped away at the wood, rounding out the edges, creating the curves of the “body,” and generally trying to make it look less like a block of wood and more like…well, something that could possibly dance.
• Lots of sanding. Oh man, the sanding. I used a rough grit sandpaper at first to smooth out the chisel marks, then went over it again with a finer grit to make it all nice and smooth. My arms were aching by the end of it!

Make Timber to Dance

The “rubber” part of this whole thing comes from how I made it “dance.” Instead of just sticking it on a base, I decided to make it flexible.

I drilled some holes in the base and the bottom of the “dancer.” Then, I took some thick, heavy-duty rubber bands – the kind you use for, I don’t know, industrial stuff – and threaded them through the holes. I tied them off really tight, making sure the “dancer” was securely attached to the base but still had some give.

The result? When you tap it, it wobbles and sways in this really weird, almost hypnotic way. It’s like it’s doing some kind of slow, rubbery dance. Hence the name! It’s not exactly graceful, but it’s definitely…unique. It made me laugh. And that made making the whole thing.