wooden chain.

[sb28000]

hey everyone - i recently began woodcarving and am working on a making a wooden chain from a 2x2x4 block of basswood. just wondering if anyone else has had success making a wooden chain. will post pics when i finish.

[Tom Ellis]

Hi SB
Chains are something that most carvers have probably tried at one time or another. It takes a little carving to figure out how the links work together, and you will be amazed how the length grows when finished. I started with a 1X1X6 on my first one.

Good luck, Tom

[pallin]

Here's one I did a few years ago as a demo:

Caged ball with chain - Wood Carving Illustrated Photo Gallery

It's made out of 1-1/2" square butternut.

[RUssL.]

I do them all the time. People love 'em. Go for it!

Once you get the heck of it they are a fun & calming type of whittling to pass the time (sort of) constructively.
I'll post a photo of my latest one that is my most robust and longest one yet.
I'm just at the point of cleaning up the cuts.
I think it's about a yard long and some 20+ links...

All the best,

Russ L.

[RUssL.]

My most recent, and most robust, whimsy chain from basswood.

[Merle Rice]

Hey Russ, nice carving, what patience you must have. Merle

[RUssL.]

...or too much time on my hands, according to my brother-in-law! ;-)

For the record:
I have neither. :-)
I just like whittling.
Don't care for TV.


Russ

[Claude]

You know...I was looking at Russ' chain and it suddenly dawned on me that all the cuts to separate one link from the next are cross-grain cuts. That's because the grain runs the length of the chain.

Would it be easier to carve a chain using a piece of wood that is cross-grain to start with? This is hard to explain...instead of using a 1.5 x 1.5 x 12 inch board with the grain running lengthwise, use a 1.5 x 1.5 x 12 inch board cut off the end of a plank so the grain runs cross-wise... All the cuts that separate one link from another would be with-the-grain cuts, instead of cross-grain...

Just an idea... I'll leave it to one of you with experience in carving chains the "normal" way to try it and tell us if it's easier. I don't have anything with which to compare it.

Claude

[RUssL.]

I think I see what you're saying.
I'm not sure that "easier" really comes into play with this sort of past time, if you know what I mean. It's not like the traditional way is "hard". Whittling basswood is whittling basswood. I don't believe anyone every strained a muscle doing it! ;-)

My other thought about your lay-out suggestion is wouldn't it limit the length of the chain to the width of the board?
In that case wouldn't my photographed chain require a board that was 36" wide? I don't think basswood grows that big!

Having said all that, I think that you should give it a try! :-)

Can you tell, I'm in management? You make a suggestion, you carry it out!
:-)

All the best,

Russ

[Claude]

Originally Posted by RussL.

...
My other thought about your lay-out suggestion is wouldn't it limit the length of the chain to the width of the board?
In that case wouldn't my photographed chain require a board that was 36" wide? I don't think basswood grows that big!

I was thinking about that. I think you could turn the corner and come back across the width of the board again. I can picture the layout quite clearly in my mind...

Having said all that, I think that you should give it a try! :-)

Can you tell, I'm in management? You make a suggestion, you carry it out!
:-)

All the best,

Russ

Ah, but you see, Russ, I work for the gummint, so the first thing I'd have to do is draft up the specifications, then advertise for prospective bidders for 30 days, issue a Request For Proposals, wait another 60 days, then prepare formal reviews of each proposal, probably taking another 90 days. At the end of that, if the "best" proposal is not the lowest bidder, I'd have to complete several more forms to justify selection based on other than lowest cost. Cutting this short, it would only take a year to get the contract in place, assuming the funding was available, and the prospective selectee met all the OSHA, IRS, Labor, and HHS requirements. It'd obviously be quicker for me to do the work myself, but I can't do that because I'm an engineer and the unions (and political appointees) would be all over me if I tried to take work away from a technician.

Claude