a few tips or tricks maybe?

[hedhunter]

hi everyone! i was wondering if anyone could give me a few pointers on making turtles... ive tried a few but with noone around to teach me the basics of carving they've all had rather flat backs or a slight curve opposed to the nice rounded look im going for. and im not really sure how to correct this problem. any help is appreciated. thanks!

-matt

[jefftaylor]

hey matt

can i ask the size of the peace of wood you are using?
maybe a taller peace of wood or a smaller turtle carved out of it will be needed to get the depth you want.

[knarl]

I'm not sure of your question, but here are a few turtules to look at.

Knarl

Twisted Pine Studio - Wood Sculptures - Haliburton, ON

[Paul_Guraedy]

Matt, I just happen to have a shell. We find these on the ranch (don't know what manages to eat them); but, we still like to keep the old "strike anywhere" matches around and "hill folk" have used tortoise (turtle) shells for match holders for a long time. Don't know what happens to the bottom half as we don't find it. The "trap door" front hinges just inside the bottom front of the shell and has the same markings as the shell.

The adult sizes all seem to be pretty much the same. This one is 5" long by 3.5" wide and 2.5" tall. Note that it is very slightly oval rather than round.

After cutting out the shape, the first thing I would recommend is to mark your center lines both front to rear and across the middle. From there, this should be a fairly simple carving.

Good luck and I hope you post pics of your turtle.

[Thor]

So funny. I'm carving 2 turtles right now. Glad to see this thread.
Christina

[dnstehly]

Here are a couple that I have done on sticks. The first is in mulberry, the second in cherry. As with any carving, start with the high part. That would be the center of the shell. If you want the head to be erect you must be careful at the front of the shell to leave wood for that. Determine where you want the legs and tail and what position you want them to be in and leave wood for that. Go at it and have fun.

[feb]

David thoses are some real nice sticks.

Feb

[cannuckcarver]

Originally Posted by feb

David thoses are some real nice sticks.

Feb

I am with you, David is spectacular.....