WIP- Woodspirit log

[Lightningbolt]

Sure am glad to see this new chainsaw forum and I'm hoping that it will attract a lot of new activity on the board. I wasn't gonna post this project for another couple of months until finished but I just wanted to support the new forum so here I am! I'm presently away (for five weeks) from this particular project which is at my shop at work, so I'll bookmark this thread and post the completed pictures when I can get back to it.

The log is pine which I've been drying for about a year after the tree got blown over in what we call a "hawk wind" here on the mountain. So far I've only got it roughed-out with detail and finish to come later. Bugs are notorious for getting into pine bark so I let them help remove the bark for me by setting them up for drying, then I remove it as the bugs loosened it up until all is gone. Whether you do it the hard way or the easy way, one thing is for sure... you'd better get that bark off if you're working with pine in the south!

Excluding time spent cutting and hauling the log to my shop, I've probably got about a half hour of time spent so far roughing it out. Can't wait to get back to it but I've been temporarily separated until I can take care of some personal business.

[Thor]

It's off to a great start! Could you please tell me if you are using a carving tip or just a regular chainsaw bar to carve with?
This is just too cool that we have yet another carving dimension added to the forum! Thanks Bob!
Thor

[Irishman]

You must have been at this chainsaw carving for a while as he turned out really well....and I don't mean you couldn't do a good job even if you just started Sure wish I was in the country so I could make short work of some of these large logs I attack with a mallet and gouge. Look forward to seeing the finished carving.

Patrick

[Lightningbolt]

'Preciate the comments! I'm relatively new to chainsaw carving and I did my first one back in February of last year and posted it here: WIP- Chainsaw Bear (White Ash=Polar Bear?)

So, as you can see I've got a lot of lurnin' to do but I'm not scared to mess up terribly, study-study, try and try again... then show it all here. Maybe one day I can look back to the "good ole day's" here and see how far I came! I think this woodspirit is only my fourth chainsaw project so I'm most definitely still a student, however I really do believe that my latest bear is a little more realistic and less "teddy bear" looking than the first. Ironically, the person who bought my second bear for $200.00 said that she wanted a teddy bear or go figure!!

As for a chainsaw, gosh I don't even have one! I started experimenting at work when my employer made their annual request for our fundraising auction and I used their regular Husqvarna 41 with a normal 16" bar. That's also why I still have to put much of the finer detail on with my regular carving knives since I still don't have one of those dream dime-tip bars.

Eventually, I would like to have a regular chainsaw for roughing out and a small dime-tip saw for the detail which should save a lot of time AND force me to learn how to add quality detail in a new way. That's sort of exciting! I was ready to buy one this spring, but then I had an unexpected $1,000.00 root canal, a $600.00 crown, $1,000.00 work on my pick-up truck, $500.00 that health insurance wouldn't pay on this or that, and on and on... not a good first six months of this year for me! Maybe in a few more months if the stock market keeps booming...

[Lightningbolt]

Oh yeah, one more thing...

I believe that the best hint that I could offer at this point for someone who is just starting out in chainsaw carving is to first learn how to carve a small "one" before you attempt carving a big "one". I spent quite some time practicing on small band-saw roughed out bears before I ever picked up the chainsaw and I had the small one sitting right next to me as I began chainsawing.

I'm still not beyond the simple "generic" standing bear but at some point I know that I'll have to challenge myself to carve a more complex bear with more motion involved, but I'll master it first by carving a small one. As for this big ole woodspirit, well I've been carving them in walking sticks for years so that one is pretty well ingrained in my head and it came quite easy.

This is what's working for me so far...

[Thor]

I have a question for you. I find students answer beginners questions with such candor ....
How do you hold the log still while you're carving it? I think I will get lots of different answers from folks, but starting out, I'd like to follow a successful method. It would help if it were still rooted to the ground, but my first small log won't be.
Thanks for the tips...I too have been carving owls in anticipation of the similar steps with the chainsaw. I don't have a dime bar either...I'm hoping that it won't be too much harder, but rather the dime bar will make it easier.

Thor

[Lightningbolt]

Thor: Being the student that I am I must say that the three bears and one woodspirit projects that I've done so far were all heavy enough to stand still (and quiet!) for me while I did all my sawing. The first one was the smallest but that white ash was some kind of "heavy" and it even stood still for me. Perhaps others can offer suggestions for the smaller, less stable stuff.

I like solving problems so I'll just have to take a shot at it anyhow! Right now I have two small pine logs completely dry on my covered front porch, the smallest only 9" across and 3' high. I just now gave it a second look and I'd be completely confident with it remaining very sturdy for sawing. I could always re-enforce it with some 2 X 2's but it really sits solid.

My porch is made from rough cut oak and not that EXPENSIVE Home Depot pressure treated stuff so when need be, I have been known to temporarily toe-nail a project right to the porch while working on it! If worse came to worser then I don't see why you couldn't cut your log a couple of extra feet long then post hole dig yourself a little hole in the ground, then tamp it in tight until finished.

I suspect that you must be working with some really small logs if you don't think that they'll remain sturdy enough while working on them because all of my logs have been plenty big enough to dent the earth so far. Good luck!

[twoclones]

Originally Posted by Thor

How do you hold the log still while you're carving it?

When carving something largish, it's own weight holds it still. When carving smaller pieces, not only will the piece move but you also have to bend over to work on it. That gets old real fast!

I handle this by using a hydraulic table. I drilled 3 holes in the table to hold 1/4 inch bolts which I sharpen on my bench grinder. Slip the bolts in from the bottom, run the nuts down tight and you have 3 sharp spikes on which to set your piece. Well, more like on which to slam your piece so the spikes go into the wood. While not as firm as a vise this has an advantage of allowing you to quickly reposition the piece. The table height is easily adjusted as well making for comfortable carving...

You might want to cut a piece of plywood to cover the metal table surface to protect your chain.

I use this table. It's also good for lifting logs and carvings into the back of the truck...
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93116


Butch

[stickman]

wow I thought carving with knives and carving tools was expensive ,but chain saw carving really hits your wallet!

[Lightningbolt]

Finally got this one done! Without a good sculpting saw I did a lot of the fine detail with carving knives as seen by the "smooth" cuts around the close-up picture of the eyes. I used a cheap (if $25.00/gallon is cheap) cedar deck stain, then two coats of outdoor gloss polyurethane.