I have been asked to carve a full size eagle to mount atop a stump that is the remainder of a tree that the wind broke. What I'm worried about is putting a full size carving thirty feet up in the weather and being able to sleep at night. Has anyone had experience with outdoor carvings? I usually do decorative carvings and am concerned about the durability of a carving outdoors. I suggested maybe they could find a chainsaw carver to just carve the eagle from the top of the stump. Any suggestions?

Merlin,
I do 99% of my carvings outdoors and have done many of them 25 to 30 ft up. It is not a problem as long as you dont mind heights and are super safe. What I do is rent scafford from the local rentall store. A section of scaffold cost me about $17.00 Canadian for a weeks rentall for a carving that high you will probably need 3 sections of scaffold. Dont try and put up that much scaffold yourself it could be hazardous to your health. If you are working that high make sure you wear a safety harness, a fall from that high would kill you. Have you considered carving the eagle from the existing tree? The only problem with this is that you have to keep moving the scaffold. As far as how it will weather will depend on what finish you use and how often it is reapplied. I use Sikkens stain Cetol #1 for the primer coat and Cetol #23 for the second and third coat. This works for me and I advise the customer to reapply it every two or three years.
Hope this helps if you need any more info email me I would be pleased to help you any way I can.
Colin

Thanks Colin, I had mentioned to the prospective client that they might want to have a chainsaw carver carve the eagle directly from the tree. I haven't done any chainsaw carving and don't think that would be the project to learn on. I guess what worries me most is the attachment of the eagle to the stump. I envision a steel rod that the foot is built around and glued into the top of the stump. Also I assumed they wanted a realistic bird so I was concerned about the durability of the finish, exposed to the weather. Even if the paint didn't peel it would fade, and would have to be redone from time to time. I can see that it wouldn't be as much of a problem if a less realistic bird with just a dark stain would be acceptable. What type of carvings do you do and does it involve exterior adhesives? Thanks again Mike