[Thomp]

if i didnt yet, i suggest you buy a good kevilar carving gloge, dont use it with powertoold like dremel but it may save you a trip to the emergency toom for a stich or two..

Thinking about doing something earned me the title under my avatar, if your worried about basswood cost, get in touch with these folks, 2 x 2 x 12 = $1.50 (+sh)

http://www.heineckewood.com/blockwood1.htm

or grab a 4x2 as these cajons here call them, and work on it...

Although construction grade quick growth slash pine isent always clear and the difficulty starts with the grain layers of hard and softer grains through out and sudden turns and twists of the grain make you think about grain way to much,

i find it something to avoid when trying to make it take a lot of small detail as it has a tendensy to crumble and tearout,

I chase down neibors who are cutting fruit trees for the log, and scrounge every cypress knee i can get my hands on.

im not to much on branches and limbs

i have had the oppertunity to have several planks of sweet gum left over from projects and i really love it, its lot harder than basswood more compairable to popular maybe little harder but good sharp tools pass through it without fighting for every chip.. like beach or maple....
if i didnt over do it on wood yet ill quit,,
----
but carving a face is scairy if you have no direction,
if you follow the tutorials especally the one on woodspirit bottle stoppers even though it isent a womans face the method will stick with you, it sure has stuck with me and i generaly use that method for all my later carvings,,,

the eye, socket, and nose is a combonation of convex and concave cuts and untill you experiance it you wont see just how easy it is..

i been fretting eyes myself leaving my carvings with only a hent of being there so when i get better at them i can come back and finish properly..

i been really looking at the human eye, to a point of study, and truly it is not all that complex, and we as carvers should be able to look in a mirror and duplicate what we see,,,

i still have problems with carving things and specific features but i know when to quit before i make firewood out of a project....some times...

[Linda L]

Frank, just wanted to let you know I printed your tutorial a while back and have it in my binder . One of the best I've found, thanks!

Thomp, I do have a kevlar glove, and always try to remember to use it. So far no cuts, but a few pokes---ouch!

We must be related---my middle name has become "procrastinator" lately, too. Not something I usually do, but I think being so ill for the past few years took away a bit of my self confidence. I KNOW I can do this, I just have to sit down and DO it.

I'm really putting the cart before the horse with the female face. I need to master the male woodspirit first. Need to stop talking about it and just DO it!! Hoping to have some free time this weekend, if I manage to get anything started I'll post a picture (unless it's REALLY bad .

You have all been so helpful and encouraging, can't thank you enough. Once I get started, I know I'll be into this BIG time!

Thanks again,

Linda

[Thomp]

linda,

Just a little pep talk for Linda

[Linda L]

Ah Thomp you really know how to get a girl going---oops, I mean CARVING !!!

I'm ready, I ready, I'm ready! First cut...NOW WHAT??? My adult kids decided I needed to have a garage sale this weekend. Said they'd do all the work, all I had to do was bring stuff out. Yah, and it never rains in Washington!

Don't know if it will work, but here's the plan. I figure I'll probably spend most of tomorrow setting up. Unless we get busy, which I kind of doubt, since my daughter-in-law's idea of putting out signs means one or two, I can sit and carve all weekend without a lot of interuption.

Best laid plans and all that, but hey, if it works, I'll have a couple spirits done and enough extra cash from the sale to maybe buy a couple of new tools! By then, I should know more what I need!

Wish me luck---lots of sales, kids handling the customers and me carving! Life would be sweet!

I'll keep you updated!

Linda

[Thomp]

linda im trying a tutorial on carving in the round, it may be impossible with this specific blog becuse the posts cant be big and it posts the events backwards. try it and see from the link it starts with a pattern then sawing out the pattern of a hand drawn cowboyhead... lets see how this works.

http://carvinground.blogspot.com/200...-in-round.html

[Linda L]

Thomp, like the start of your blog---keep it coming!

Weekend from H*ll. Garage sale a bust, and daughter in law---well lets be nice here and say she caused more problems than she solved.

Ah well, back to painting walls and woodwork. Maybe in the next day or so (hope, hope, hope) I can get my knife in hand!

Linda

[heineda]

Linda,

If you realy want to learn, I would highly recomend a book called "Carving Caricature Heads" by Marv Kaiseratt. You can send Larrry Yudis (Big Dog) an email at wdcrft@revealed.net and he can ship the book right to your doorstep. Larry also has blanks that are cut to fit the book pattern exactly. Ask him to include a half dozen of the blanks as well ( I think they are 1.00 or 1.50 each).
You will have hours of fun learning, and by the sixth attempt, you'll have a pretty decent head. I did it, and it worked.

Carving,
Dan Heine

[Thomp]

another step added to http://carvinground.blogspot.com/
i cant see this site possibly working its too confusing. will start looking for another host site

[Tucson Bill]

Dan, does Marv have a web site?

Oops, make that - Does Larry have a web site?

[Old_Gord]

Not Dan, but I can tell you Big Dog or (Larry Udis) had a web site with his catalogue posted, but I see he's updating the catalogue again, so no catalogue as we speak.
He does post his toll free number at;
http://216.106.57.170/~bigdog/
Hmmm, further developments Big Dog now has a new web site up and running with full catlogue listing at;
http://www.thewoodcraftshop.com/DesktopDefault.aspx
.

OG