Stain or paint the wood before you carve. After carving i used a table saw and put a 45 degree edge on the four side pieces to hide the glued up seam. Glue the pieces together and the top on. Sand as needed and touch up the stain or paint where needed. This turned out very well, my child’s teacher loved the gift!
As a side note, I didn’t have a v-bit so i used the 1/32, 1/16, and 1/8 up cut bits. This would work A LOT better with the v bit.
USE THE 1/8 BIT TO CUT THE PIECES OUT OF THE PLYWOOD OR WHAT EVER WOOD YOU USE.
ALSO; I USED 1/4 INCH WOOD