Creative Projects with Gilly's - Burning Man Designs

We talked to Wally of Burning Man Designs about his latest creative project. He describes himself as a graphic artist, tinkerer and passionate wood worker. "I am constantly exploring new technologies such as 3D printing and laser etching. I create coasters, cheese boards, cutting boards, serving boards, grazing boards and custom artwork burned into timber."

Tracy and Wally of Burning Man Designs

Please tell us a little about you and your business, (inspirations, ethos – whatever you would like to share). We’d love to hear about how long you’ve been involved with what you’re doing and what inspired you to take this career path and when.

What got me into working with timber and making things again… In 2015 I injured my back while away on a business trip in Papua New Guinea. This lead to a huge change in my life as I was about to be introduced into a world where moving was extremely painful, medication was strong and knocked me around a lot. I have always been a tinkerer and loved working with scrap timber in my parents' garage and with my grand father from Cootamundra. So when I needed something to do I turned back to drawing, crafting and 3D printing. With my boys, we got a 3D printer and we were all hooked on printing figures, laser etching and just being creative. Fast forward to 2020/21 and a friend asked what machine would be good for printing and laser etching; well they didn’t end up using and I decided to buy it off them as it had a much bigger work space then what I had. So now I could laser etch boards, and much, much more.

How long have you been using Gilly’s products and how did you first come across them?

I have been using Gilly’s products since we renovated the house in 2019; built my coffee table and our alfresco area dining table. I did a lot of research online and found Gilly’s, as I was looking for an Australian made product that would be great to use.

Is there any particular product you prefer to work with and if so, could you explain why?

Timber, I really love pushing myself, lately I have been making skateboard decks but I make everything from coasters, chopping boards, grazing boards to tables and furniture. With your products, 'cause I am mostly dealing with food grade objects I prefer using Liquid Beeswax. It’s a food grade product and has an amazing smell, colour and feel when it's finished.

Could you tell us about what you are working on right now and give us a step by step guide on how you are making it. How you are using the particular Gilly’s product(s) that you have chosen for the project? Please feel free to include other manufacturer’s products that you use in the process. We love to hear about different techniques.

2022-02 Grazing Board and Chopping Board Set

Tools and Materials Prepared for the Project

Step 1 - Cut the 1200mm Camphor Laurel slab into 2 pieces… 300mm x 370mm and 805mm x 350mm

Step 2 - Remove the bark from the edges of the planks, and shape the edges roughly

Step 3 - Grind a 10mm curved edge using a router on both the chopping board and the grazing board

Step 4 - Sand and shape all the grazing board and the chopping board with 80 grit, then 160 grit and finally with a 240 grit paper

Step 5 - Install the stainless-steel handles on the Grazing board

Step 6 - Oil the boards with Gilly’s “Liquid Beeswax” buff between coats, typically we let them absorb into the timber for 4 – 6 hours between coats, we normally do 3 coats for the boards.

These and other beautiful heirloom pieces are for sale here

Do you have any tips and tricks pertaining to Gilly’s products that we haven’t included in our own material? We often have people contacting us with some really innovative uses of our products!

Make sure you prepare the surface well, and I learnt recently to wet the timber, let it dry and sand it again before oiling it so that the grain does not stand up and give you a ‘fuzzy’ feel.

For more up to date information about what Wally is up to, check out his Facebook and Instagram accounts!