[Mark N. Akers]

Fantastic job on the Firemen Bottletoppers Kenny.

[carver6]

Kenny,
The fireman is looking super. Lower lip hangin' out makes him look like he just found an arsonist. Don't think I'd like to meet him if I had a hand full of matches.
Garon

[Kenny_S]

Thanks Guys, I appreciate your kind words.

Mark, thank you. I feel I have come a ways from my first caricature. love carving them now.

Garon, yep, got Kick Butt kind of thing going on. I really enjoyed this one. The only other one that Ihave enjoyed carving was the St Nick of Vicki Pishops and the Dusty(which isn't finished) of Phil bishops. I hope that when I take their class again next Oct, I am better at caricature carvings.
A little story here. When I signed up for the first one, I wasn't really sure if I was good enough to carving a caricature from them. When I got there to their class, Vicki said that Tony said I had work to do before I started, which broke the ice a little. Long story but won't get into it now.Thenwhen I see all these guys who has been carving caricatures for years and years, I was intimmidated. However, Clumsy me, tipped over a 44 oz mug of tea and Vicki started cleaning up after me. Well, the Ice was broke again and with the encouragement of all there including Phil and Vicki, I manage to get the St Nick finished and started on The Dusty roughout.. So, That is me little tale about the first 20 minutes at the class.

[santagibbs]

Nice work Kenny... but then I knew it would be! Now, if it were a bottle stopper, what kind of bottle would you put it in.? Also where would you get the corks? I ordered a bottle stopper book but couldn't figure out about the bottles... to put them in... Charlotte

[Kenny_S]

One big wine bottle!
I am sorry Mrs. Gibbs, That was a smartaleck reply and forgive me.
I wonder that myself as that was the first Bottle topper I have carved and probably will make it into just another carving. I do have a piece of basswood that I may carve in to a half chest with fireman's coat and stick the head on it or in it.
Anyways, that is the plan at this time.

Thank you for the Kind words, greatly appreciated.

[Claude]

Originally Posted by santagibbs

Nice work Kenny... but then I knew it would be! Now, if it were a bottle stopper, what kind of bottle would you put it in.? Also where would you get the corks? I ordered a bottle stopper book but couldn't figure out about the bottles... to put them in... Charlotte

Woodcraft sells small packages of corks, pre-drilled to a 3/8" hole and tapered. For my smaller corks, I use an old wine-bottle cork. I drill a hole down through the middle with a 1/8, or 3/16, or 1/4 inch drill, as appropriate, then glue a dowel into the cork, leaving about 1 inch of dowel sticking out of the wide end of the cork. I chuck the dowel into my drill press, and then use a piece of sandpaper wrapped around a square stick to sand down the spinning cork to a taperred shape of the right size.

As to the bottles, my wife shops for the small pharacutical bottles at antique shops and then I make a cork/bottlestopper to fit. My web site has several examples.

Claude