WIP Anyone Carve Juniper

[Mottles]

Hi All:

Well, I'm at it again only this time carving Juniper wood log which is about 12" Tall and approximately 6" inches across. It's going to take a combination of hand and power tools. So here is the start of a new wood for me.

I'm thinking this will be a mountain man, I like that knot so that will be part of the hat. The rest will come to me as I carve, which can be a bit risky. tee hee

As always thank you for following along

[Mottles]

Todays progress about 2 hours working time.

Roughing-in facial features working towards getting a good profile with depth.
Not sure yet what type of accessory's to add yet. Hopefully that will come too.

As always thank you for following along and if you have questions pleae ask. I found when I was a newbie to carving asking questions really helped a lot. So don't be afraid to ask we all were newbie's at one time. Even those who have carved for years will tell you there is always something you can learn.

[Robson Valley]

Hi
What's the texture & hardness like? Pine, Bass maybe? Any good color to the heartwood?

We have 2 species of Juniperus up here. However, I am not well-enough related to the ranch family when a tree or three gets knocked down. Sinuous flames of light and dark wood. They slice and joint small pieces for furniture. . . to die for.

[kayapee]

I just trimmed a Juniper tree in my yard this past weekend and managed to set aside a similar sized piece to the one you have (well maybe only 5" diameter) for a future carving. How do you like working with Juniper? Interested to see the final result. Thanks for sharing.

Ken

[pallin]

Kathy - It looks like the Juniper has a lovely pale white color and probably works best when green. We have quite a lot of it in the semi-desert where I live. It grows very slow, so I think it would be pretty hard.

[Sharon of the Dell]

I really learn a lot from your works WIP Kathy.It's like having a carving class. I sure appreciate you posting them, because I have a really hard time with faces, getting from A to Z.
Does the juniper smell like cedar? My husband brought some home from a job and it smelled like it. That was before I got back into carving and all I used from it was a slab for a base for a doll I made out of polymer clay.

[Mottles]

Originally Posted by Robson Valley

Hi
What's the texture & hardness like? Pine, Bass maybe? Any good color to the heartwood?

We have 2 species of Juniperus up here. However, I am not well-enough related to the ranch family when a tree or three gets knocked down. Sinuous flames of light and dark wood. They slice and joint small pieces for furniture. . . to die for.

As this juniper was given to me along with several other pieces I have done a little research. As best I can tell it's 'one-seed juniper' it's in the cypress family and has a shaggy bark and sometimes called 'shagbark juniper'. It's a look alike for the Utah shaggy juniper.
It has the slight smell of cedar
For carving it's harder than basswood, has a tight grain with cedar color that run though it randomly. I'm using both mallet tools and my Foredom powercarver, knives work well for shallow cuts.
The furniture the ranch family makes sounds neat. They might be willing to let you go though their reject pile.
Hope this helps

[Mottles]

Originally Posted by kayapee

I just trimmed a Juniper tree in my yard this past weekend and managed to set aside a similar sized piece to the one you have (well maybe only 5" diameter) for a future carving. How do you like working with Juniper? Interested to see the final result. Thanks for sharing.

Ken

Hi Ken, as this is my first adventure into working with juniper the jury is out. I like the color and smell and good detail can be accomplished with this wood. I think for the most part I'll be using my Foredom powercarver. After working with Cottonwood this wood seems hard, but after Cottonwood bark any wood would seems that way.
There are different varieties of juniper so it would be neat to see what you think after you have begun one. The juniper I have has a shaggy bark, what does yours have?

[Mottles]

Originally Posted by pallin

Kathy - It looks like the Juniper has a lovely pale white color and probably works best when green. We have quite a lot of it in the semi-desert where I live. It grows very slow, so I think it would be pretty hard.

Hi pallin:
Yes, it does have a "lovely pale white color" it also has cedar color that runs randomly though it. This piece and the others that were given to me have been drying for awhile on a woodpile. My friend is a wild-clay potter and uses the Juniper logs for his firing of the pots he creates. I actually did some firing with him and the Juniper logs are stacked in tepi style with the pots inside. Juniper egnites fast because of the furry outerside and burns hot.
You might think about carving some yourself if you have the interest. Please share if you do.

[Mottles]

Originally Posted by Sharon of the Dell

I really learn a lot from your works WIP Kathy.It's like having a carving class. I sure appreciate you posting them, because I have a really hard time with faces, getting from A to Z.
Does the juniper smell like cedar? My husband brought some home from a job and it smelled like it. That was before I got back into carving and all I used from it was a slab for a base for a doll I made out of polymer clay.

Hi Sharon:
Thank you, what a nice thing to say wouldn't it be fun to get together and carve sometime. To bad we didn't know each other when I live in Northern California (Bay Area). sigh

Yes, the Juniper does have the slight aroma of cedar. I would think that Juniper would make really nice bases too. My thought with this carving is to incorporate the carving and the base as one.