Looking for ideas!

[jgbouras]

I’ve resumed carving now that it’s warmed up a bit. I have a couple of 10mm straw coloured eyes on order and hope to have them in place and the rest of the detailing for a Saw Whet Owl done soon.

A few points:

• This totem is an 11’ 4” high pine.
• The Saw Whet Owl it 10” tall (thanks again “Hugh” for the instructions)
• The owl is sitting on what will be a whimsical house that will eventually be about 1 ½ times as tall as the owl.
• Below the stand you can see a few relief animal carvings that will continue up the tree.
• Other than animal carvings, I would like to try including a Wood Spirit. (you wouldn’t have a PP presentation for that would you Hugh? lol)

One of the concerns I do have is the natural splitting that’s bound to happen and already has in some places.

Q: How best might I fill in the gaps?
Q: Would normal wood filler do?

You’ll note under the roof line of the whimsical house, there is a knot protruding. Any ideas as to what I can do with that knot? I was thinking of extending it out and up to form a chimney. I’m not sure what material I would do that with... yet!


All ideas/thoughts/suggestions are welcome!


Cheers!
Yukon Jack

[kev.b]

Yukon Jack that looks impressive already, cant wait to see what the finished totem will look like, hope you'll keep us posted and the work progresses.
as for the knot i thought of a chimney too.

[Bob De.]

Thanks for sharing looks great, can't wait to see the finished piece. For painted pieces I use wood dust mixed with wood glue. It can be packed tight and bonds the sides together and maybe some wood filler on the surface to dress it up.

[jgbouras]

Hello Bob De... thanks for the tip! I was wondering if the "Quikwood" I got to hold the eyes in place would also work well for filling gaps and cracks? Based on what I've read, it dries and paints like wood.

Thoughts!?

[Robson Valley]

I don't know if filling the gaps would be of any benefit, particularly as the gaps may very well widen as the WX warms up more and more. I see that First Nations just carved right through the splits. What I do know they do is to make a substantial cut straight down the "back side" to relieve the stresses. . . . that's why nobody ever takes pictures of the back of a pole.
It's a real log, not a gigantic rod of winebottle cork foam. Excellent work, can hardly wait to see more.

[Hugh-P]

I agree with Robson Valley's post. I've made several large outdoor birds, and fillers just will not stay in them. I've tried quick wood, epoxy fillers, Lepage Exterior wood filler, any thing I can think of. And with the ravages of weather, it deteriorates. Fine joints, lots of weather proofing, Thompson's water seal, Boiled linseed Oil, will help preserve the wood, keep out moisture, and it helps prevent cracking. I like the idea also of making a cut down the back, it sounds right. The cracks add integrity to the wood carving, and generally are not noticed by any one but the carver.

[Colin-Partridge]

I agree after doing over a hundred outside carvings and tree carvings it doesnt matter what you use it is going to break down. Even if it doesnt what happens is that over time as the wood dries it will crack even more and it doesnt matter what you do the filler will stay the same as the crack gets bigger. Having said that what I would suggest is to just let it crack and let the wood do what it is going to do. After a year of so go back and add stain inside of the cracks it works really well makes it look as if the cracks belong. Just my two cents worth
Colin

[Robson Valley]

Like Colin says: It's wood."

1. Cheap trick with poorly cut molding: paint all the cut faces black with a felt marker. Makes all cracks seem much smaller.

2. I had a 10' x 16" chainsaw pole (cottonwood?) that my brother did of my kids. No finish. Looked great outdoors, very distinctive. Eventually it rotted inside and fell over. West coast rule: do not stand it up again. Spirits are gone. We burnt it.

[jgbouras]

Thanks for the tips. I'll not be wasting time trying to stay on top of what will happen naturally. As time is at a premium for me, It can be days before I'm able to return to my project. So, I decided to spray a light coat of oil based polyurethane on the cut wood to slow down the dehydration process until I'm able to finish and seal it completely. Then as Doris Day so aptly put it... "What will be, will be"! ;-)