Originally Posted by
rjque
It's an art piece, so going to Home Depot at the destination won't work. The nails stick out of the wood (head up, not sharp side) to create an image. It won't look like a bomb or anything like that, just some nails hammered into wood to form the outline of an animal.
It may look like an animal to the naked eye, but the image on the x-ray would look a lot differently.
If you must carry it on, I would get there super early, ask for a supervisor before reaching the x-ray and have them look at it.
Too many TSOs react to something out of the ordinary as a sign of a dangerous (prohibited) object. Remember these are the same people that confiscated a bathroom scale because it might be used as a weapon.
Best bet is to check it and hope they don't blow it up like they did the jars of pickled mangoes.