[Bob May]

Hi everyone,
I am new here. I am a woodworker by trade. Mostly musical instruments and cabinetry. I am an artist by nature I guess and I am trying to come up with some more artistic ways to use my talents.
I have recently built a reducing copy carver and I am looking for ways to use it. With it I can carve out of wood (or soft stone with the right bits), 1/2 or 1/3 scale copies of sculptures or "life castings."
I have only done a few things with it so far. You can take a look at them at: http://www.esnips.com/web/Reducingcopycarvingmachine

I guess I am looking for ideas on uses and marketing of those uses.
With a bit of "tweaking", I should be able to put a full sized torso casting on the machine and carve it 1/2 or 1/3 size. It is decieving how small that really is. That would translate to a 6 foot tall person's torso being only a 9" to 13" carving. Half-masks and necks out of hollow partly rotten logs are also something I want to try.

I'm just fishing for ideas at this point. Any and all comments, ( like; "Go away". "I hate you!" or "Sounds like a good idea" or anything else along those lines...) are welcomed.

Also, I intend to make castings of clay sculptures to put into my machine. Clay is too soft to stand up to repeatedly dragging the stylus over the model. Any ideas on a pretty hard cold casting material would be helpful.
Sculpy is way too soft and I don't have a kiln to fire clay.

Glad to meet you all,
Bob

[Hollis Mckinley]

I've been carving little things all my life and giving them to people, new to a computer and this site. Never been to any kind of show's. Is this machine like traceing a piece of art? I put a piece on the site, had to get someone to take a pic for me. Not being smart in any sense, just interested. Semper Fi and welcome to a great site!

[Bob May]

Hi Hollis,
Yeah the way you use the machine is by running a stylus over the model and the cutter follows the same path but in smaller, proportional movements.
This way you end up with a 1/2 or 1/3 scale model.
I just finished the machine a few days ago and am adding an adjuster to it today so I'll be able to fine tune the set-up.
If you've been carving all of your life you have a lot more experience than me.
Since your new to computers, you may not know this; If you point and click at the line in my last post that begins with the letters "http...", it will bring you to an address where I keep my photos of some of the things I've done.
Thanks for the welcome from one newbe to another.
Bob

[Ashbys]

Hi Bob ,
Welcome to the site. Lots of people here with ideas .

A few to get you started ,

1 playdough .forms soft will harden by just letting it dry .

2 saltdough , forms soft , bakes to an extreamly hard surface and hold great detail.

3. Molders wax easy to work and will harden .

4 plaster of paris will cut eaisly then should hold up to the stylus. to get a harder pattern.

Ash

[Bob May]

Hi Ash,
Thanks for the welcome. And the greeting from the prettiest state in the union. (I used to drive a semi through there occasionally)
I have used plaster. The hand that I have up as my avatar was done on a copy carver from a plaster cast of my hand. Then I carved a walnut copy of that and use it as my model.
So I did a plaster mold of my hand. (negative)
Then I did a plaster cast from that mold. (positive)
Then I put the cast in the copy carver and carved a walnut hand which is my model that I use in the machine.
The plaster fingers kept coming off in the carver, so plaster won't do.

I would like to cut out a step and go right from the casting positive) and use that as my model in the machine.

Salt dough sounds like a posibility though. Is it tougher than plaster? and do you have a recipe for it?

I appreciate the interest and glad to meet you.

Bob

[Ashbys]

Bob,

I agree , we do have a beautiful state.
As for saltdough being hard enough well if you have been in many gift shops and you see those pies cakes , cookies that look just great ..chances are they are salt dough.

I can get a receipt for them and once baked , well hardtack was basically the same thing and they used their rifle butts to break it up. It gets hard as rock. Should work well.

If no one post one for you by tomorrow I will give you one that I have at home.

Ash

[Bob May]

Thanks Ash,
I am working on a shoestring budget and I appreciate any helpful item or material that I can make myself.
There are plenty of products for sale out there for this type of thing, resins etc., but I hate wasting money buying the wrong thing.
Bob

[Ashbys]

Bob,
I am sorry for being absent minded try this link .

http://www.gigglemoose.com/salt_dough_recipe.htm

Let me know how you make out.

Ash

[Bob May]

Hi Ash,
Thanks for the recipe. I'll give it a try. Price is right.
Bob

[Bob May]

I just finished another carving with my machine. The girl is Pin Cherry and the bottom half was hand carved, mostly with a #49 rasp and a bit of gouge and needle file work. Sanded to 350 grit and a satin poly finish from a can. Minwax, I think.
Careful, nudity!! You young carvers don't look.

http://www.esnips.com/web/Reducingcopycarvingmachine