Beavers & a Deer in Walnut!

[Rwenzoski]

Hi Colin, First, I am alone on it this week as John was off work so I thought he may like to join me & spend some time carving together & it worked out great for all! Great to hear you finally getting your Mom all set up & looking forward to having you down to carve again & I will even put the MS660 or the 385XP in your hands to give it a whirl on a big log just to feel the power, HEHE!
Thanks Timberwolf & RadRob also!
Robbin
The owner has decided he really wants to go with hot boiled linseed oil so will be pouring it to it so I will get pics of the power carving today & get finished pics whne I return to install the little buck.

[GabbyG]

Robbin I just love the concept and how you have been able to capture the raw natural habitat of the little creatures and present it as a functional piece of outdoor furniture. Loads of magic happening in this carving.

[Rwenzoski]

Hi All, Thanks Gabby for your great comments! Well took a day & a half to finish power carving the details & adding minimal colour & Tom will be adding the finish to it & I will return in a few weeks with a Deer to add to the carving also & will take final pics then.
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Next post!

[Rwenzoski]

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Thanks, Robbin
Hope you enjoyed?

[Steve Harrison]

Robbin this thing is Amazing! There is nothing I do not like about it! Great Job!!

Steve

[james.dukeshire@shaw.ca]

My name is James Dukeshire and live in Calgary, Alberta (Canada... heh) and am working on a 6 foot tall 3 foot diameter log that is going to be a beaver that is carving himself for a store in Calgary (the beaver might have a tree that he is cutting down with his mallet and gouge beside him as well, in addition to carving himself). This is a really smart beaver mind you (Canadian Beaver's have a higher grade of intelligence then your run of the mill American beavers ), this beaver knows that its faster to gouge and mallet a tree down then to use his teeth. Duh! I apprentice to a full-time woodcarver out of B.C, Rick Wiebe, and he has been training me for the last year on commission pieces we do together and teaching courses together. I'm exploring different concepts for the beaver, will be semi-caricature semi-realism. If you guys now of any good pictures on-line for beavers doing fun stuff, send it my way, as I'm exploring different concepts for the beaver. I'm not carving it until this summer, so I'm having fun coming up with different concepts before I start making serious sketches and marking it out on the log.

Was wondering if you guys have any advice on working with Black Walnut. I've got access to some very high power chainsaws and a friend of mine who lives in Clagary and does chainsaw carvings professionally who's going to be helping me out that has a crane truck that can lift the log easily. I get really big logs from my wood supplier in Butternut, Basswood, and Black Walnut and this 3 foot diameter black walnut log was too aweosome to pass up. I order in blocks from them all time and have tonnes of them lying around that I send to people who want em. If you guys are ever looking for a huge log, I can hook you up with one by the way (I guess I kind of took it for granted, but I guess people tell me that a three foot diameter black walnut log is pretty rare). I kind of expected that, but my chainsaw carver friends were kind of shocked to hear how big it was.

So anyhow, what do you think about whiting the teeth? I think it looks a little tacky when you just paint them bright white. I'm a purest and hate at all costs painting over grain or covering it at all. I touch up all my carvings to remove all chainsaw marks, so you can never see a chainsaw touched the carving. Might try a clear rose wood oil, with white paint mixed into it perhaps, so that it doesn't appear too bright on the teeth.

Feel free to give me a call 403-984-3695 or email me at james.dukeshire@shaw.ca, or just send an message back on this board.

By the way if anyone wants to find cheap tools, or wants to share carving advice back and forth... with anything you want to know as well just give me a call or send me an email.

Later

James Dukeshire

Originally Posted by Rwenzoski

Hi All, thought I would start this as a new post as this is a different carving & log in the same yard. I had started with the first 5 pics in the Walnut Griz post.
I had Jean Andre. A friend & carver join me for the last two days carving & he carved a nice little Deer For Thomas (the owner) & here are the progress pics. The first 3 pics are of the morning after the first day or I guess the second days morning, whatever! John is 6'4" so it gives a good scale of the log also!
Day 1
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Day 2

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Next post!

[james.dukeshire@shaw.ca]

By the way, I don't know much about trying to send a giant log across the border (Canadian its easy for me to ship it you though), but let me know if you want a piece of this big log, or one of the huge butternut or Basswood logs. Or gigantic blocks for that matter. The butternut I get especially has proven to ressist cracking really well, not sure exactly why, but even when it has heart wood in a giant chunk it doesn't crack at all. Butternut is so much easier to carve for some reason when its air dried. The kiln dried butternut I've tried just frays like crazy and gives me such a headache. Same thing with Black Walnut, it seems to become like stone when its kiln dried for some reason. Its fun to carve this wet stuff for Black Walnut I got, the oils really help it carve good.

As you may have noticed I have discovered these fun face things you can put on the forum. Am I the only one who is entertained greatly by them. : o )




Later guys.

James Dukeshire
403-400-3275
james.dukeshire@shaw.ca

[Backwater Bob]

I think most are busy this week James. I will try to give you a call after the holidays, I am interested in seeing how much shipping would be if a bunch of us got together. Have a happy season.
Bob

[james.dukeshire@shaw.ca]

Sounds good. Look forward to hearing back from you.

[james.dukeshire@shaw.ca]

My first few logs aren't coming for about a month I think, so I got some time.