How do I add material to my wood carving?

[luxram]

I know that once you take off wood you can not put it back. But that is what I would like to do. I working on a bighorn sheep bust and I took off too much wood on the top of the horns. It is in basswood.

What can I use to rebuild the area? It will be painted and need not match. I will need to add about 1/2 inch high by 3 in long.

Any ideas out here?

[Merle Rice]

I would cut it to a flat surface drill a hole in the Horn and piece of Basswood that is the size you want to add aand glue it. After it dries you can carve it the way you want. If you make the 2 surfaces nice and flat you should noy be able to notice the add on. Merle

[Callynne]

Gluing a piece on is the best option but in a pinch, when you need just a small amount, you can use a product called Miracle Wood. It is a sawdust and glue mixture, you can mold it onto the piece, carve and sand it and it will accept woodburning, done at a lower temperature than you burn the rest of the wood.

I often use it when I'm doing an animal that I've had to use a glue up to get the size I need. The glue up seam will show when woodburning the hair pattern onto the animal. I use a small V gouge, remove a shallow portion of the seam, fill it with the Miracle Wood, sand and woodburn the hair and TADA....no glue seam visible!! It might be what you're looking for! Good luck! Deborah

[luxram]

Thanks for the ideas, I'll try them.

[Donsexton]

Please allow me to add my two cents here. I have over cut more carvings than I can remember as a carver that carves aggressively. Recently and in my case that is over the past 20 or so years I have just made the carving work. Kind of a stylized freak show of a carving but in a good way, then you start another of the same right away. Set that freak show carving up in your shop give it a name and when you are stuck on a carving ask it to help you. This is my way not the right way I got this trick from the great John Rood master carver.

[Whittled Thumb]

When you fubar your carving, just stop from there, because things will get worse if you progess. Pick it up another day, I bet you would have found a way out of the problem by then. During your day to day business keep the carving int he back of your mind, realize what you did and think about how you will overcome it. It works for me. I never just keep working on a peice after messing it all up. Sometimes its best just to start over, sometimes you can add wood. I use construction adhesive to fix my carvings when I break or split them. Just cut the horn off close to the point where you messed up, glue on a peice of wood bigger than the diameter of the area and re-carve it back in. You should be on the only one that knows it was a fubar.

Carve On!

[Bob K.]

I agree with Merle and Deborah...glueing on a new piece is the way to go. I have done it many times and it's worked just fine. In fact, I've made a lot of commissioned repairs using this method.

[luxram]

Thanks for all you info and rapid replys.

[Shimmy]

I have carved a big Horn Sheep recently. I did the horns separately,.drill a hole set them in.

[Inadv]

Luxram,

Depending on the size of your carving I'd either do as Deborah and Merle suggest or if it is large enough as Shimmy proposed. I have been carving separate components when it was easier or for structural stability for a good little while now. I've also done a lot of scabbing extra stock back into over-cut areas too. On one project I had to cut off, glue on and re-carve a foot 6 times before I felt good enough about it. No one knew it except for me, and I weren't tellin'.

My grandfather used to say, "Anybody don't make mistakes ain't doin' nothin'" .

L.P.