Another N.A. Indian...WIP

carvnman40 · #1 03-26-2008, 09:02 AM

My current project is one I've had on the back burner since last summer...a N.A, Indian chief with full headdress. I wanted to do it in basswood using only hand tools, except for the initial bandsaw cutout and the headdress feather burning. The size I wanted to do it in required a block of wood with 7x10x14 dimensions but I couldn't find a solid block with that thickness so I ended up laminating two 4x10x14 pieces.

The pictures here show what I started out with after bandsawing the front view. The shape reminds me of the old radios so popular in the 40's. If you look closely you may be able to see the glue seam on the edges. The crude drawing is my feeble attempt of the front view pattern.

Having mounted the block in my carving arm I can start making wood chips. I will try to post my as it progresses.

Mike

tucker1931 · #2 03-26-2008, 12:37 PM

Good luck on your new carving, wow, that's a big hunk of wood to dive into, I noticed your scetch and it looks like it could just turn out to be a real winner.
Cliff

Irishman · #3 03-26-2008, 03:44 PM

It looks like you have more than ample wood available to do the headress. I'll be watching (and learning) along with the rest here. I'm curious to see how you approach the headdress.
Patrick

chaboinken · #4 03-26-2008, 05:09 PM

Thats a huge piece of wood,cant wait to see how he comes along,thanks for posting.
Lennie.

carvnman40 · #5 03-28-2008, 07:57 AM

I have the habit of doing what I consider the focal point first. Therefore, if it's not to my liking, I have more options to salvage the carving early on. In this piece, I consider the face to be the primary focal point. At this stage, I've combined some of the initial shaping of the headdress and the carving of the face.

Most of the rough carving was done with a #5, 60mm fishtail gouge. Of course, on the face I used a variety of different gouges plus my knife. The very top was the hardest to carve because it's all end grain.

These pics show the progress to this point, and though I've made a good start, there's still a lot of hours of chip making yet to finish this project. More to follow...

Mike

Merle Rice · #6 03-28-2008, 08:19 AM

Hi Mike, That looks like you have him well on his way. He is looking good. Watching with great interest at your progress. Merle

tucker1931 · #7 03-28-2008, 08:23 AM

Mike, it's lookin real good so far,man, you sure ain't gonna run out of wood any time soon, seems to me like you got a whole lot of chippin to do.
Cliff

carvnman40 · #8 03-29-2008, 07:04 AM

Progress report. I'm still at it. As you can see from the pictures, I've started some of the frontal details, such as the forehead band on the headdress, the front headdress feathers located at the temples, the choker, some of the hair mass and the beginning cuts to define the shoulder slopes.

The pics show the progress from various angles. To be continued...

Irishman · #9 03-29-2008, 07:34 AM

Now I can understand why you need all that wood in the back. I've never done a full headdress so I'll be watching closely to see how you approach it. It's really taking shape.
Patrick

tucker1931 · #10 03-29-2008, 08:43 AM

I have to agree with Patrick, I couldn't for the life of me understand why you had such a large block of wood to start, now that you're into it,it makes a lot of sense. I only wish I lived nearby so I could watch you work in person, please keep sending progress pix, it's so interesting to see how a person does his craft. Thanks again.
Cliff