A search for wood

#11 10-10-2003, 01:39 PM

Carmen,
Sliver is right, don't be intimated. These people are your coaches not your audience. Your friends and family will be your audience and judge your work with a completely different persective than you have created for yourself looking at the work here. I am 43 and my best coach is a 21 year old girl from our church who has been carving since she was about 10. Her advice when I started was do not carve a face for 4 or 5 years. Learn how to cut the wood well before starting projects that require exacting proportions. I think that was good advice. She has been in Austrailia for the last year and a half doing mission work. (not a traditional choice for a Catholic girl from the Midwest) I miss the help so I come here. My advice is purchase tools slowly. (I will never repeat that advice in front of my wife)

Sliver, I just sent your buddy Don Wendll an email, I look forward to his response.
Ah Chip

Colin_Partridge · #12 10-10-2003, 03:36 PM

Carmen,
I was not trying to intimidate you believe me nothing could be further from the truth. We are all here to support you I was just trying to give you some advice. Sorry sometimes when I talk in woodcarving circles I intend to not think that people do not know what some of the phrases are 'Check' simply means split. All wood will split and crack once it is cut because it starts to dry out putting a garbage bag over it keep the moisture in and stops the wood from cracking. Once you have finished the carving and put a sealer on it. it will probably stop it from cracking but not always.
Sorry I am here to help any time you need me
Colin

#13 10-10-2003, 04:20 PM

[quote author=Ah_Chip link=board=Beginner;num=1065742582;start=0#10 date=10/10/03 at 13:39:52]. Â*My advice is purchase tools slowly. Â*(I will never repeat that advice in front of my wife) Â*[/quote]

WHAT!!

Are you tryin' to make trouble for us? A guy (or gal) can never have too many knives or fishing rods.

Repeat after me: 'Really honey, I needed this knife.'

Hi_Ho_Sliver · #14 10-10-2003, 06:14 PM

I can't believe a good church going christian would say 'purchase tools slowly!' Â* that is bordering on the sacriligious!! Â*

:

#15 10-10-2003, 08:04 PM

Carmen: I've never carved anything of that size and have no intention of doing so, but if I were to attempt it, think I would start by getting a good book on carving carousel animals.

AlArchie · #16 10-10-2003, 09:20 PM

Carmen, I'm going to go against most everything that has been posted here........you want a life size wolf for your first attempt? GO FOR IT!!!!!!!

If you have a log home builder in your area check with them to see if they have any cut-offs. You can try that right in the round, or get some bigger basswood stock and glue it up to meet your size needs. Most carousel style animals are done on a box type frame to save on wood and weight. One of my first projects was a rocking-horse size rocking toy; a Beatrice Potter style Peter Rabbit. I picked up a three piece 3' set of fishtail gouges, a 1' (25mm) #7 Asheley Isles gouge and a three piece set of carpenter's chisles. I got the local high school shop teacher to do a 12x12x48' glueup from a 6x12 beam I scrounged from the local mill, and then after transferring the pattern, had him cut the profiles for me on the schools bandsaw. From there on it was a lot of time spent shaving away everything that didn't look like a rabbit. It came out great, if I do say so myself, so don't worry about not being able to handle the project.

What's that they say about carving? 'At the end of the day, even if what you were working on doesn't look a thing like what you wanted it to, you've still managed to make a nice pile of chips, and as a bonus you've managed to waste the whole day!' Have fun, practice lots, and if you want, burn your mistakes......it's all a learning process.

Al

santagibbs · #17 10-11-2003, 11:30 AM

Carmen, I tend to think like AlArchie. Our son was forty years old when he decide he wanted to carve a bear in a stump. His first attemp in carving. He took his chain saw and Dremel tool and brought out a pretty decent bear. He then decide to do a BIG piece with a bear sitting in a stump and it came out so well that he sold it to a Garden Nursery. I was thinking... well. ahhhhhhhhhhhhh , I don't know if he could do this or not.. Go for it and you just might find some great talent in you that is longing to gome out! Like AlArchie said, ' It's a learning experience. Charlotte and Curtis Gibbs

santagibbs · #18 10-11-2003, 06:48 PM

Carman, if you go to our site at the bottom of this message, you can see John's second bear. He had never carved, painted or drew anything before, as far as I know.
It is under CARVINGS. Good Luck

Callynne · #19 10-13-2003, 07:02 AM

Carmen, I tend to agree with the last couple posts also. If you want to try that wolf, go for it. Charlotte and Curtis are correct, you never do know what talent might be hidden in you waiting to come out. If nothing else it will definitely be a learning experience.
Just BE SURE, to take all the safety precautions necessary! Good luck!! Callynne

P.S. Charlotte and Curtis, that second bear is something, great job! Also enjoyed all the other pictures. You guys sure have a lot of talent!

Callynne · #20 10-13-2003, 07:07 AM

'You guys' meaning your family, Charlotte and Curtis, guess it sort of sounded like I thought you had carved the bear. Okay, I'm babbling...only dogs can understand me now! :

Callynne