Praying Woodies

[Robweja]

Yes folks the Devil got the better of me in naming these pieces. I figure the name has to be an attention grabber? Also it gave me a great deal of amusement.
Firstly:-
At some point in my learning process I stopped looking at the pieces of wood and started looking into them.
At some point I stopped hanging onto the knife with white knuckles and stareing at the project with big round 1/2 scared 1/2 concerned eyes.
At some point the sound the knife makes in the wood started telling me things I wasn't hearing before. Things like :- Strop me for heavens sake!! and Hey silly thats against the grain!
At some point I came to realise that this is a hobby and if I mess up a carving it is still of use as firewood and not entirely wasted.
My point? Simply that I learned, got comfortable and love this hobby now and oddly enough (I know I am tempting fate here) I haven't even scratched myself let alone inflicted a serious injury since I got comfortable.
I can see all you sage elder types nodding your heads and saying something like "yes he's a gonner".
I also learned something from this recent "bulk" working with Gene's marvelous 15 minute Monk. I would think normally that a beginner would take on one piece make their mistakes and move to something else and so forth. This is what I did. Making a bunch of one thing has it's benefits. Right from the marking out and roughing out stages there are benefits from mistakes that you correct as you go. Working out a hard cut gets passed on to the next piece in the line so the final pieces come together much faster and with fewer mistakes. Worst case? Carving 1,2 and 3 get consigned to firewood and the remainder become keepers.
Finally these praying woodies are to become part of a unique Chess Set. They make 8 of the 16 pawns needed so this is going to be a long and fun project that gives me something that no one else in the world has.

[BRIAN D]

You need to be careful, saying these things out loud will get those people in white coats to come for you! An putting these things in WRITING, "WELL" there are those who have never been heard from again.

P.S. They use the excuse that "they are protecting you",You musn't use sharp knives.

Good job, just enjoy your carvings, always strive to make the next one a little different or better.

[wildhare]

Too funny, I am glad someone else on the site has a warped sense of humor too. I look forward to seeing the finished set.
Wanda

[Robweja]

It is possibly a little late to be concerned with the men in white coats for me Brian but I shall try to keep this in mind in future.
Thank you Wanda I am relieved that there is at least two of us in here.

[gene-messer]

Good Job Rob .. looks like you had fun and thats what its all about

Gene

[Bill Anderson]

well I see you have been busy... I agree with you about doing a bunch of a pattern to get it better and better, I know it works for me! These look great... the whole idea is to have fun makiing something... I may not carve as well as some but no one has more fun while they are doing it!

[Robweja]

To right Bill! If a hobby isn't fun and enjoyable then why bother?
I hsve just been shattered to note that Urban Sheep Dog has used the term "woodies" in here long before me. Just goes to show there is nothing new under the Sun huh?

[Tom Ellis]

Well Rob, you have the first part down pat, and that is the having fun part. As your ability gets better, and you are able to start changing patterns to you own ideas, it even gets better. Nice job on Gene's turorial.

Carve safe, Tom

[Mark Dellinger]

Rob,
I like what you are doing here. If these are your pawns what do you have in mind fo the balance of your set.

Safe Carving and God Bless,

Mark

[bigEd_H]

Those little dudes are real neat, Rob. I can hear the Gregorian chants as I look at you photos. That's going to be a really nice chess set when you are finished.