undercutting feathers

[bird carver]

Hello everyone! I have a question about carving raised feathers. Has any one out there ever tried for example undercutting feathers lets say in the nape area with a exacto knife. And then carefully with a eyedropper apply water to that feather then once the feather is flexible place a shim under it to raise it, or off to the side of it giving it a twisted curve shape. and once it is dried you can sand, burn, paint, seal it? I haven't tried this but I think it would work. Any response is appreciated. Bird carver

[Paul_Guraedy]

Whew, what an undertaking. I, too, would like to see it attempted. The thing that would worry me the most is the thinness of the curved wood. Even tupelo would be pretty fragile, I would think.

Good luck, Paul

[bird carver]

Thanks for the reply, I will try it soon on a scrap piece of wood before I do it on my Great Horned Owl I'm working on. If It works I will let everyone know about it. Thank again Bird carver

[mark yundt]

I would be inclined to think this is an iffy proposition at best.But,,,grab a block of wood and try it,,see what happens. I think ,,with the limited area of a raised feather,,the grain changes,,the thinness you would need,,would present too many problems to overcome to allow you with a piece that small to really make it move much if at all.
I believe if you are looking to make feathers separate and move that much,,and are limited in so little space,,it's easier and faster to just carve them.
I recently did a Golden Eagle and was able to get good separation on the neck and nape area just carving them,,and I didn't really push them all that far.Doing them this way also adds to the overall integrity of the piece as if one feather is moving,,then many around it should be as well,,not just one or two. This would be mindnumbing if you tried to do this with say ,,6 or more feathers and trying to soften each feather and have it raise up.
Besides,,,if you carved it that far to try and get it thin enough to flex it ,,you have basically carved what you 're looking for right from the start.
But try it,,see what happens.

[bird carver]

Thanks Mark for your reply I will try it on a scrap piece. I just want to do this on just a few feather's on my owl. Wish me luck! bird carver

[muskysucker]

Any chance of a quick picture of this owl before it is finished? I have to get caught up with a few shows I am going to do, then this winter I am going to start a owl or a hawk. I would like to see your work so fair. Evan

[susieq]

There is a bird carver who attends our show every year and his work is outstanding! You would swear that some of his pieces are breathing.
I don't know about undercutting feathers on the body but this guy did carve the flight feathers individually, shape them by "steaming" them, bending them until they set and the steam evaporated. Not being a bird carver myself, I don't know if this would be possible in the areas of the carving that you are talking about.
susieq

[bird carver]

Thanks susieq for the info on steaming, it tells me that I am short of on the right track. I will try my idea this weekend Thanks! bird carver

[bird carver]

Hi Evan good to meet you,here I hope are some pictures of the owl. I don't know if this attachment works but here it goes.
bird carver (Rob)

[Joy]

That's a fine owl you have started. Good luck on your experiment.