Something Different

[Thor]

Very interesting! I look forward to seeing more as it moves along. I like the contrasting woods being used, and find it very interesting that you're moving through the wood the way you are.
Thanks for posting.
Christina

[Lynn O. Doughty]

Very interesting project and it should really be neat once finished. If I could make one suggestion it would be the Farrier's or Blacksmiths tongs. They should be much longer and have dish-shaped ends. This keeps his hand away from the fire and offers a much better grip of the shoe when forging. Just a suggestion.

[sccarnes]

different is right , clever beyond clever, what a great carving,
thanks for posting,
Sam

[Irishman]

That is a challenging project. First carving the tongs, inserting them in the wood, and then cutting away the wood to find the hand holding the tool....impressive.
Patrick

[Juhani]

Good work! The hand shows the strength in it already.

[Dylan]

Thanks for the compliments everybody.

Roger, that look like an interesting pose. I'll have to keep it in mind.

So far the only power tools that I've used have been the bandsaw and my reciprocating handpiece on my WeCheer.

Tom H, yes I put a lot of work in to making this clay hand. I learned a lot about hands doing it, but it's not quite the pose that I wanted. Which is why, Christina, that I'm working through it the way I am. I rough in one finger at a time and make sure that it's where it should be.

Lynn, as I'm sure you know, and I should of thought of, there are lots of different types of blacksmith tongs. I intentionally made them shorter, so as to keep the carving balanced. How does the dish shaped ends give a better grip?

Patrick, you come close to figuring out how I am doing it. But I take the tongs out when I'm working on the hand.

Dylan

[Lynn O. Doughty]

If you've ever watched a Blacksmith work with metal at the forge you'd quickly note that that fire gets pretty hot so a pair of short handled pliers wouldn't remain on the tool tray very long before they were tossed for a pair of the long handled version.

That larger gripping area keeps anything he's holding on to from turning as he's moving it back and forth from the fire or pounding on it.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Good job and very interesting design, anxious to see it finished!

[Anthony Filetti]

Great job Dylan, enjoying this thread.

[Kenny_S]

Nice project Dylan. I am not a blacksmith but have one in the family and Lynn is correct in that he(family member) never used a short handled tongs as the heat from the fire would prohibit the use of a shorter version. Even standing close to the fire ,one could feel the heat and the longer you stayed by the fire, the hotter is seemed to get.
But, I guess there is a reason for the short handled tongs.
All in all, Great piece and looks like you are coming along great on it. Love the two different woods.