Santa Ornament's (steps to finishing)

[Bartster]

mark,

thanks for the insight it seems like a pretty easy way to finish.

bart

[Anthony Filetti]

No problem here Mark. Again we really appreciate your work and willingness to share!!

[Callynne]

Mark, what a great ornament!! I really like the finish you got and the fact that you seal the piece with the lacquer, that would take care of the dust collecting problem with the linseed oil, that's the main reason I've never used it. Thanks for sharing your great talent and techniques with us! Talking Deborah

[Terry Vance]

Mark,
I really like the ornament and thanks for the finishing instruction. What are the dimensions of the piece and is it in the round?

[Mark Gargac]

Originally Posted by tvance124

Mark,
I really like the ornament and thanks for the finishing instruction. What are the dimensions of the piece and is it in the round?

Terry, thanks for the compliment on my santa carving. The ornament measures, 5"x2.5"x1.5", this is a full relief carving with the back hollowed out to allow for some pierce relief carving at the beard and eyes for effect, and to lighten the ornament for hanging. Some areas are only 1/8" in thickness. The measurments I gave you above are for this carving, I have cut the blanks for these ornament's at various sizes from, 3,4,5,6,7 inchs in length to 2+1/2,3,4 inchs in width, the thickness remains the same at 1.5" but that can be changed also.

[Cottonwood]

I could not believe that one could apply lacquer immediatly after the BLO is wiped off and I just couldn't talk myself into doing it for fear of ruining the carving....but I finally did apply the lacquer then and it worked wonderfully. Goes to show that preconceived ideas can hold you back!...but I still wipe it real good.

[Irishman]

Very helpful Mark. I've taken some notes and hope to expand into using other types of finishing as I typically only use tung oil. I often wondered how your carvings showed the detailing so well. I am curious as to how you hollow out the back of your carving so thin without worry of breaking through. I'm trying to make the transition from logs to slabs so I can limit the amount of cracking I experience...and allowing the faces I carve to be wall mounted. I recently picked up a spoon billed gouge to try and hollow out the back but not sure how to approach it. Perhaps the answers to my question will be in your next tutorial . Thanks for sharing your knowledge and skills with us.
Patrick