[jamesfa]

once i have decided on something to carve i will have or make a pattern which i then transfer to my block of wood.i will then cut out a blank.my reasoning is that i will use what ever tool will remove the most wood the quickest to give me a rough form as a starting point for my carving.

Big_al if your ideas are presented as yours,and a way you approach something in carving,and are nor negative and directed at anyone personally then i don't think anyone should be offended.
as a matter of fact one of your ideas(carryingcase for chisels) posted on an other group i used and modified to hold al my paint bottles.there is picture in my picturetrail site

Frank

[Hugh]

Good topic, I'd like to add my thoughts also. First I see two topics being discussed. Carving from blanks you buy from someone, and carving from blanks you bandsaw from a pattern. carving from existing blanks didn't interest me, I ended up with a different decoy than I usually carve. It didn't look like my work, weather that is good or bad is questionable. I like to make a pattern, sometimes use an existing one and start with a block of wood.

I wondered as I read these replies, where people get their reference to make their patterns or blanks. At an exibit one time, I was asked what I used for reference, I replied , photos mostly, and sometimes use study skins. Well I was told that this was unacceptable, that I should be working from memory to create a true sculpture. I don't agree, but thought it might be of interest to discuss others ideas on this.

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

Seems to me this is muc h like the argument that traditional bowyers have over what qualifies as traditional. Some go so far as to actually use stone and flint tools for everything including felling the tree. I'm perfectly content with using a chain saw, thank you. As for carving, I prefer to start with a block and just whittle away, but that's me. I couldn't follow a pattern for all the beer in the world. I've tried and it just don't work. I do however, use a pencil and kind of block things out sometimes. Now I suspect things would be different if I was doing a relief carving.

[Ashbys]

Being a Beginner , has it's advantages. I was very lucky this weekend. I got to spend an afternoon with Goody (Decoycarve) at his shop. I watched as he tok his pattern and made some of the blanks which are being sent out for the christmas Santa.

While watching I realized just how much wood was being removed from his blocks, and it really helped me to understand how much wasted time we would have had together if we started from a square or a round. The one that would have lost out would have been me. Istead of spending a massive ammount of time just getting the block into a pattern we spent the time learning cuts, tool control, about tools, and about using the tools with a purpose. To me it was extreamly valuable time well spent.

I beleive this is more of a personal preference choice and not one that can be completly right or wrong. For basically unless were working with felled trees, then it could be stated that were all using sometype of precut pattern.

Ash

[Big_Al]

I guess I hit an interesting subject Re; blanks. Hugh: the guy that said to carve from memory is not quite on the right track. The best tools to start with is a good pattern and a pencil. Do you have to follow the pattern exactly - no, that is what the pencil is for. Do your own thing. If you are entering a high class competition, you had best follow the pattern - exactly.
Big Al

[Thomp]

I havent ever used a blank or rough out.

I would rather find the grains in the wood which might even change my idea as to what im fixing to carve from the block of wood....

like grandpaw said...
i just remove all the parts that dont look like a horse. thats how i make a horse.....!!!!!!!

[Colin_Partridge]

Good topic, I have just recently purchased a few blanks to work on the first time in my life I ever used one. I like them because I dont have spend all that time removing all that wood I dont need. Being impatient to see the final result it is great for me. I have done many carvings from just a square or round piece of wood and I guess I like that better sometimes because you can let your imagination run wild and what comes out comes out. Now if I could just build a duplicater big enough to do my tree carvings.
Colin

[Paul_Guraedy]

I have been following this thread with both interest and trepidation. As much as I agree with those who say, "create your own design," I am afraid that we are overlooking the value of blanks and roughouts to us woodcarvers. No one would be willing to pay the price, and few could spare the time, necessary to take a class from a really good instructor, if starting from "a block of wood." There are those among us who have advanced to the level of very good without taking classes. But, anyone would have a hard time convincing me that they would not have gotten there faster; therefore, having more time to experiment at this level . if they had learned the hard lessons of trial and error quickly from an experienced instructor.

When asked how long I have been woodcarving, I answer, "well, I have been removing wood and making figures for over 25 years. But, I have been a woodcarver for about 10; starting when I retired and was able to take some lessons from really good instructors."

Instructors could not survive without roughouts. Both, for the income and to be able to produce carvings that keep the students coming. Without the teachers creating the interest and producing large numbers of hobbyists, there would be no magazines like WCI. There would certainly not be the number of suppliers offering the variety of tools and materials available today. Those of us who have been members of this avocation for more than 20 years need only to remember what it was like when there was only Chip Chats (in its early form), very few tool suppliers, clubs were limited to the larger cities, and basswood was hard to find.

I am reminded of a conversation I had with another woodcarver several years ago. We were at a club meeting when this friend asked me to help with a roughout. He mentioned that he had never carved anything except from a roughout and was not interested in doing otherwise. Carving, for him, was fun only if kept simple and he was able to produce something "nice" in a short period of time. He has an impressive array of tools (hand and power), buys at least 12 roughouts a year, attends at least 3-4 classes annually, suscribes to carving magazines.....in short, does a heck of a lot to keep woodcarving moving forward. Recently, he quit attending a seminar session that we had attended together. His reasoning, "I enjoyed doing these advanced bird carvings; but, when you folks moved on to using advanced inserts, with support rods, and finishing them yourselves after you got home, you lost me. Woodcarving is something I do for pleasure. It goes along with fishing, square dancing, and my aquariums. I have no interest in spending as much time on woodcarving as you do."

I carve caricatures; but, am not a caricature carver. I buy several roughouts each year. Because, like my friend, I can turn out something nice in a short period of time to use as gifts. I simply cannot bring myself to do a "quick" carving of the birds and animals that I really love to carve. I am sure that this is true in reverse to those of you that love caricatures.

Those of us who belong to forums such as this must remember that we are in a minority among woodcarvers. We need those that depend on blanks and roughouts.

I hope that this reply does not offend anyone. But, I think that someone needs to recognize that blanks and roughouts are not as simple as paint by numbers and definitely have a place in woodcarving.

[Bfranke]

It seems to me that the masters of Europe, start as an apprentice and in their learning do the roughing out for the masters to finish. Isn't this working from a roughout? Sure the master has the idea, but his students remove much of the wood. So in essence, the master is using a roughout.
Am I right here?
I have used a lot roughouts while in the early stages of carving. But, most often, I do a rough drawing, then bandsaw some of the excess work, then use the Automach to remove more excess wood, then refine the piece.
This is a good subject.
Bette

[Big_Al]

Bette;You are right on the money. Big Al