Questions for Relief Carvers - positioning

[Rojo5150]

Im getting ready to start a Relief carving project that is 24"x35". I have seen the Relief Carving Bench that Bill Judt uses and the one made by Veritas. Both very nice but a bit over the top for my bank account. My question to you relief carvers out there is this, do you prefer to do your work on a level workbench, or do you prefer an incline? Also, if you can, post some pictures of any homemade bench-top (or table-top) "jigs or work positioners" that you might be use to get an incline on a project that size or even larger. If I am making no sense at all, then please just take a picture of your large relief carving bench in action so I might be able to get some ideas on how best to set up my work area.

Thanks a bunch,
Robert

[Ashbys]

Robert ,
If you do a search you will find a lot of different holders. Ron Davidson Has the one he made posted and instructions on how it was made. I know there are others as well .

Ash

[pallin]

I sometimes clamp large reliefs to a level bench for heavy work, but I do a lot of detail work while holding the piece in my lap. As you consider the advice of various forum members, I recommend that you look at their gallery photos to see if their reliefs are similar to what you are interested in carving.

[paolo59]

Til now I'm working on a level workbench and it works!!, of course an inclined one is the best and in the future I'll try to build my own. Have a look to the Gary Crosby's bench: it is very simple to build and I think very useful :
http://darkwood-woodcarving.com/Form...ng%20Bench.pdf
Paolo

[Dicky]

I have a couple of elderly Black&Decker Workmates that have a tilt option, one is free standing and one is bench mount. I suspect that if you are planning on mallet and chisel work, they would need a little beefing up.

[Rojo5150]

Sorry for posting in the wrong forum and thanks for the replies. I'm getting good ideas from some of the suggestions here and will probably end up with something that uses a little from of each of them.

[AlArchie]

Robert, I built a hinged tray attached to the front of my workbench. On the back corners are holes to attach slotted boards to adjust the angle of the tray. I wanted this a little higher than my workbench so I made it about 5" higher and put it over the bed on my lathe. With limited shop space I have to work around a lot of tools etc.

The hinges are loose pin type so I can remove the tray easily if I need to use the lathe. Right now I have temporary stop strips for a large relief. These can be removed and repositioned for any size carving.

I'll see if I can get a pic posted later today if i get a chance (and remember)

Al

[AlArchie]

Sorry this took so long...got distracted... or as my wife says "derailed! Anyway here's a few shots of the adjustable relief table. Pardon the messy bench, but that's the way my shop rolls.

First is a shot of the bench laying flat, then another shot of it raised slightly. The third is of one of the three loose pin hinges, in case somebody doesn't know what they are. The pins are easily removed so the whole thing can be taken off the bench. I have this raised enough to clear my lathe bed. The back of this can be raised to any angle up to vertical by placing blocks under the back or I have a set of wood legs that can attach in several locations for a more sturdy setup. But even with just blocks under it the three hinges provide a lot of stability and ther is virtually no movement of the bed when carving. I can even use mallet tools on it and it's still stable.

Al

[Rojo5150]

Thanks Al. I like your Idea alot. That's kind of what I was looking for. Something simple that doesnt require alot of expensive hardwood and an engineering degree to build. Thanks for sharing the photos. There is something about seeing an artist's work bench in action that is sometimes, for me, more beautiful than the finished artwork itself. Call me crazy.

Robert

[carverwood]

For my larger carvings I use an incline table. I have it hinged to the wall with a notched board screwed on the side to vary the angle.I also have a large lamp mounted directly overhead to give me great lighting during carving. I also have holes drilled in the table for the hold down clamps. It works great!!
Forgot to mention,,,I usually keep my carving almost vertical. This allows me to carve it the way it will hang on the wall,,,good perspective
I will try and post a pic if I can.