I am a huge Van Halen fan! Back in 1988, I won an autographed Van Halen CD from the Rockline radio show. It's hard to believe that was over 30 years ago! I finally made a cool Van Halen striped frame out of cherry and maple for it. Watch my video, then check out this Instructable for detailed steps.

Step 1: Here's the Plan

I want the frame to hold the letter, CD case, and CD that I received. The plan is to glue a thin maple outline on top of a cherry backboard and use the CNC machine to carve stripes in the maple. Then I can run a second CNC job to carve the pockets for the CD case and CD.

Click here to open my project in the Inventables Easel Software.

Step 2: Glue Up the Blank

I cut several pieces of cherry and glued them up to make the backboard. I cut some thin strips of maple and mitered the ends so I could glue them on top of the cherry. It was very important that the maple was glued on dead square, because any variance would cause the CNC cuts to be off.

Step 3: Carve the Project

I ran the first job to cut the stripe pattern in the maple frame. Then, I ran the second job to cut the pockets for the CD case and CD. Luckily the maple frame was square and the whole thing was clamped it down squarely on the CNC, so the CNC cut perfectly in line.

Step 4: Finish It Up!

I sprayed the frame with several coats of Deft Clear Wood Finish Satin Lacquer. I cut a piece of plexiglass and screwed it on the front to hold in the memorabilia.

Step 5: Van Halen Rocks!

The framed autographed CD and letter look fantastic in the Van Halen corner of my office. I should have made this 30 years ago. Sometimes I procrastinate I guess.

Thank you for taking the time to check out my Instructable for this project. Click here for my website article on this project with more info and photos.