Starting an owl question?

muskysucker · #1 05-26-2007, 05:26 PM

I am going to be starting to try my hand at an owl soon. This is going to be one of the first birds that I have carved. When getting things laid out on the wood what is the best way for the grain to go? I am going to be doing a barn owl, and it seems that most of its face will be in the end grain. Does this sound right? This is going to be a flying owl so his face will be looking all most straightforward. May be looking down a little. Any insight would be helpful. Thanks Evan

Paul_Guraedy · #2 05-26-2007, 06:42 PM

It seems that many times someone asks for advice and is faced with more questions. This is the case, for me, with your question.

You stated that the bird will be flying. First and foremost, how large a carving are you planning? Are you planning on carving it from one piece or will you be using inserts for the wings? Feathers spread or pretty much together?

If your carving requires wood that is over 4" thick and you want to carve it of one piece, grain direction will probably be locked in by whatever chunk of wood you find to work with. I would be more concerned about grain direction in the wings and tail than for the face. But then, I would be using power for areas like end grain and am less concerned about it.

I think I would prefer to use wing inserts and have the grain running the length of the wing rather than across it. Seems you would get more strength this way. Since large pieces of basswood are easier to come by, I use it for the body of birds. But, when it gets down to thin inserts, I prefer tupelo. There is a lot more flexible strength in tupelo and inserts don't snap and break as easily. Using wing inserts also allows me to have the grain running lengthwise throughout the body and into the tail. This maintains the strength I want in this thin area.

muskysucker · #3 05-28-2007, 01:55 PM

Thanks Paul, I am going to use wing inserts. I will set up the body so the grain is right for the tail. This will all so make the grain right for the feet tucked under the tail too. This owl is going to be for a fish decoy show next April in Perham MN. They have a bird competition too. There should be info at NFDA.TV . It has to be ¾ full. After looking them up I see that they are many different sizes listed. So I think it is going to be some thing like 9” and the wings around 24”. I will post pictures of this and the fish I will be carving once I get started on them. Should be soon I hope. Thank you, Evan

Robert Cahill · #4 05-28-2007, 06:51 PM

I am not a bird carving but Richard Butz has a pattern and advice on carving a flying owl in his book How to Carve Wood. Perhaps you can get it at your local library.

muskysucker · #5 05-28-2007, 07:17 PM

Robert Thanks I just put it on hold for me. This is a cool site, and a lot of knowledge. Evan

muskysucker · #6 06-11-2007, 12:06 PM

After doing my research, I have found that what I want to do is more then my Very limited tools will allow me to do. I am going to do an owl some day but I need to stick to making fish decoys and lures for now. When one sells I need to put that money into some new tools. This is the fun of this hobby. It can pay for itself. Thanks to all that helped me with this. I have some very cool pictures that I found on the internet for anyone that would like them drop me an email. Thanks and I will post some of my fish decoys and lures when I get them done. Evan

mark yundt · #7 06-11-2007, 01:14 PM

Not sure how limited your tools are,,but you can do quite a bit with very little.I've got a Sharp Shinned Hawk ( on my website under gallery-wild fowl) that I used a hatchet to rough it out ( no band saw at the time) and a 20 yr old Dremel and 5 bits for it.For burning I used an old soldering iron to which I wired in a rheostat ( fan speed controller)to control heat and made tips out of brass screws. No chisels were used since I didnt' have any.Not high tech,,all very basic,,but if there's a will there is a way.

Donna_T · #8 06-24-2007, 11:33 PM

Mark,
Have you considered starting with the sitting pose of an owl as your first bird carving? It would be a much easier beginning carving--and let you get familiar with the head and body structure. There's several good books out about carving owls--one is posted on the right side of this web page.

Don't give up the idea of carving birds. Even though it may be easier with power carving, it can be totally done with hand tools. Keep us posted.

Donna T