Did y'all see that crazy mokey?

[lorax]

??? Now that I got your attention, I am reffering to the story in WCI's spring addition about the 'Cheeky Monkey'. So anyway, my question is about the technique of filling the checks with shims. I too am doin a large scale carving (of a Sea Captain) and normally I don't venture out of the 2ft range, but a jobs a job. I used cottonwood, and roughed it out with a chainsaw, and it has some bad checks in it. I was excited to read that article but it has me perplexed. If you use shims do you need to cut them so the grain is going the direction of the wood the crack is in or wont it affect the paint absorbtion? If any of you have dealt with this problem Im all ears

Hey Lorax,
If you are complaining about checks in the chunk of wood while your work is in progress, the chances are that it will develop additional checks and widen the ones you allready have. I would seriously consider starting all over again on a chunk of wood that is not so prone to checking. Regarding 'shims' as you call them, I assume you are trying to fill the checks. If so, where I come from they are called 'fill wedges' Yes, not only must you orient the grain to match the adjoining wood but the color or shade must match. You can use ELMERS glue to serve as a lubricant and to set the wedge. Allow to dry, then carve or sand to match. Waldgeist

[kaiserb]

I would not worry about the checks. That is part of wood carving. The shims used are usually sawn shims made from the same material you are carving with. They are usually cut cross grained.

I saw 'im all right... and I had a question about that kiln-drying operation. Why didn't the carver dry the wood *before* he carved the monkey? The way he did it meant going back to re-carve the details because the drying process warped a lot of them. What would have happened had he dried, then carved?

[Captain_Bandaid]

He probably would have had to use an air-hammer and dynamite!

...an art in and of itself, no?

[Captain_Bandaid]

Well, it worked for Gutzon Borglum!