basswood egg.

[aulddiy]

Anyone carve these? I'm sure there must be but after searching the site I got no results. I bought a dozen of these and would like to chip carve them.
The company I bought them from refused to sell the hen that laid them.

I wonder if I fed the hens some chips and saw dust if they would lay wooden eggs! Just yolking, of course.

[Kenny_S]

Yes many have carved basswood eggs in to birds, animals, Santas, pirates, and the list goes on.

[Claude]

Here's a book on the subject:
Carving Whimsical Birds
and here's another:
Carving Compact Caricatures: <span class="subtitle">Fun Projects for Basswood Eggs</span>
Claude

[aulddiy]

Thanks gents but it was more in the form of chip carving. Laying out the lines in particular. I've found one sight thats helpful, suggesting you bore a hole ether end and use as axles. The idea being your rotate the egg and mark it as you turn.

[Kenny_S]

Originally Posted by aulddiy

Anyone carve these? I'm sure there must be but after searching the site I got no results. I bought a dozen of these and would like to chip carve them.
The company I bought them from refused to sell the hen that laid them.

I wonder if I fed the hens some chips and saw dust if they would lay wooden eggs! Just yolking, of course.

Sorry, Did not read where you wanted chip carving,just had anyone carved these and the answer is still yes.

[Claude]

Well, for marking - I read somewhere, maybe in WCI, that someone made a little wooden thing to help marking. I'll try to describe: a piece of wood 1.5 inch by 1.5 inch by 4 inch. A slot .5 inch wide and 1 inch deep cut in one end. Another piece of wood about 3 inches long, with a tenon .5 inches thick by 1 inch long cut in one end, end of tenon rounded. This is inserted in the slot and a hole drilled for a screw and wingnut. In the other end of the second stick, a hole is drilled at a sharp angle from the side to the end - roughly 1/4 inch diameter. This will hold a pencil. The end of the second stick with the hole is then slotted on a saw with a slot that is sawblade wide, and deep enough it goes past the entire hole. Another hole is drilled and a screw with wingnut inserted so the pencil can be clamped tight. So - the first piece of wood sits on the table, the second piece is moved up and down until the pencil tip is at the correct height, and then a wooden egg is set down and turned against the pencil point to make a line around the egg. The height of the pencil is again adjusted, and another line is made around the egg, etc., until the egg has enough lines around it.

Sheesh - I think it would take less time to make the thing, than to describe it...Smile

You could also just hold an ordinary compass on it's side and scribe lines around the egg by turning the egg against it...

If you want better accuracy than that, in my day job I could have a laser-burning marker designed and built for you that would be accurate to a few microns and could also make the diagonal marks; probably only cost you a few million $$.


Claude

[Eddy-Smiles]

Check out WCI Spring 2000 Issue #10

Getting Hookes on Chip Carving

Harto, Diane
Diane Harto proves that wooden eggs are fun to carve.
Chip Carving, Eggs, Miscellaneous
Spring 2000 issue #10, Page(s):60-63

[MelNM]

Hi Ho Sliver chip carves egg turnings, I know I go a beaut. from the ornament swap.

I also carve eggs, but not chip carving, They make a tool so you can correctly mark your eggs, I think TreeLine sells them but I'm not posit tive.
Mel

[aulddiy]

Thank YouThanks all, the idea is slowly penetrating my auld heid. If I were to make a cradle, that fits the egg, I could then make an axis by inserting metal pins ether end.. If the cradle were graduated by rotating the egg I could then mark the egg. That would hopefully mark the latitude. The longitude is another matter. Head BangeOff to make an experimental cradle.

[Peter Wright]

Here is a link for you that will provide a good deal of information:

Carver's Edge projects... "Chip Carving Basswood Eggs"

I am going to try chip carved eggs too, once I get caught up on my other dozen or so chip carving projects being laid out for work.....

Anybody else have more information, or a book on the subject??