tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-863986179342004702024-03-19T01:05:00.025-04:00Killing Time and Slaying DragonsThe scattered chips of a woodcarver and other weighty matters.CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-46479639454345016872014-04-15T08:38:00.002-04:002014-04-15T08:38:41.381-04:00Dremel, rotary tools and woodcarving <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dremel bits<br />
Question:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Got a new Dremel for Xmas. Would like to learn BASIC woodcarving with this tool. My grandsons names carved in a walking stick, maybe a simple design, stuff like that. Could you suggest what type of bits I can get to begin learning and practicing this stuff??? Thanks. Bill<br />
Answer:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hi there Bill, I am always interested in helping a new carver on his way. Dremel is a great little tool. They actually make carving bits for the dremels. I have used my dremel extensively and find I need to replace the unit every 2-3 years, and believe me thats good, as I punish my dremel, having it go for hours on end. In addition to the bits, I suggest 2 things to make your life easier. First get a keyless chuck (under $10)<br />
CHUCK<br />
http://www.dremel.com/en-us/attachments-and-accessories/attachment-accessory-det<br />
<br />
to make changing the bits easier and second, get yourself a flexible shaft. This should be your most expensive accessory at around $20 but trust me, if you're planning on carving, you will definitely want one. instead of holding the unit(which is heavy, clumsy and hot after awhile) you can hold the hand unit of the flex shaft which is like holding a thick pen and you will be able to comfortably carve at any angle.<br />
FLEXSHAFT<br />
http://www.dremel.com/en-us/attachments-and-accessories/attachment-accessory-det<br />
<br />
<br />
I have included the links below to my favorite carving bits. Buy at stores where they sell genuine dremel bits so you don't have to worry about quality. they are cheap enough.<br />
<br />
First bits I recommend are the high speed cutters<br />
HIGH SPEED CUTTERS<br />
http://www.dremel.com/en-us/attachments-and-accessories/attachment-accessory-gro<br />
<br />
I find the following 4 bits to be the most useful 117,134,144 and 191<br />
<br />
Next I recommend the Structured Tooth Carbide Cutters which can remove wood quickly. They leave it rough but they are great if you need to waste a lot of wood. With these I recommend 9931, 9933, and 9934<br />
CARBIDE CUTTERS<br />
http://www.dremel.com/en-us/attachments-and-accessories/attachment-accessory-gro<br />
<br />
I also like to use grinding stones<br />
GRINDING STONES<br />
http://www.dremel.com/en-us/attachments-and-accessories/attachment-accessory-gro<br />
<br />
They smooth and shape rather than carve and work well to clean up your carving. They also have sanding bits but the grinding stones work better in my opinion.<br />
<br />
Carbide-tipped bits: more expensive than other bits, but they stay sharp much longer than steel, high-speed steel or titanium bits.<br />
<br />
As for how narrow bits are......I can't find info on exact sizes. I can tell you dremel makes some extremely small cutters but when you get into dental and industrial bits they are measured in microns, something no carver should ever need. Honestly it is just the tip you need to worry about and almost any bit that comes to a point will suit your purposes. <br />
<br />
<br />
Of course what bits you decide on will depend on the actual project you are undertaking as each type of bit is available in different sizes and shapes. On the dremel site is a store locator, use it to find the bits in your area. You will want to eyeball them to see that they suit your purposes. Warning! Warning! Warning! Be careful here, once you get into the world of dremel accessories, you most likely will become addicted to checking out and buying all the different bits available. Even dental and industrial bits will work in the dremels. Once you become familiar with the bits and know what they will do, You can go on ebay and find bits at very good prices, especially the grinding stones which needn't be actual dremel brand. There are even genuine dremel bits on ebay. Good luck with your lettering and feel free to stay in contact with me. You can reach me thru my website www.carvinginnyc.com I am never too busy to help a fellow carver. thanks for an interesting question and have a great day. Maura<br />
<br />
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<br />
I am always interested in helping a new carver on his way. Dremel is a great little tool. They actually make carving bits for the dremels. I have used my dremel extensively and find I need to replace the unit every 2-3 years, and believe me thats good, as I punish my dremel, having it go for hours on end. For all the following info go to dremel.com and veiw their digital catalogue. You can most likely just put the item number in their search box......as for particular sizes, I suggest you find the dremel section of your local hardware store and eyeball the bits you buy......your definition of small may be different than mine.....In addition to the bits, I suggest 2 things to make your life easier. First get a keyless chuck (under $10)<br />
In the online catalogue #4486<br />
<br />
to make changing the bits easier and second, get yourself a flexible shaft. This should be your most expensive accessory at around $20 but trust me, if you're planning on carving, you will definitely want one. instead of holding the unit(which is heavy, clumsy and hot after awhile) you can hold the hand unit of the flex shaft which is like holding a thick pen and you will be able to comfortably carve at any angle.<br />
FLEXSHAFT #225-01<br />
<br />
I have included the links below to my favorite carving bits. Buy at stores where they sell genuine dremel bits so you don't have to worry about quality. they are cheap enough.<br />
<br />
First bits I recommend are the high speed cutters in carving and engraving<br />
HIGH SPEED CUTTERS 121and 124<br />
<br />
Engravers 105 and 107 are quite small for detail....eyeball in person as you may want bigger<br />
<br />
Next I recommend the Structured Tooth Carbide Cutters which can remove wood quickly. They leave it rough but they are great if you need to waste a lot of wood. With these I recommend 9931, 9933, and 9934 but please eyeball these as they are great for general wood removal but may be too aggressive for your purposes<br />
<br />
Tungsten CARBIDE CUTTER 9910<br />
<br />
I also like to use grinding stones for sanding rather than dremel sanding bits which are too rough for a finish desired by a carver<br />
Aluminum oxide GRINDING STONES 945 and 953<br />
<br />
They smooth and shape rather than carve and work well to clean up your carving. <br />
<br />
Carbide-tipped bits: more expensive than other bits, but they stay sharp much longer than steel, high-speed steel or titanium bits and can be used on harder woods and other materials.<br />
<br />
As for how narrow bits are......The exact sizes are included on the dremel site but I can't stress enough how important it is to eyeball the sizes in person until you become more familiar with the bits. I can tell you dremel makes some extremely small cutters but when you get into dental and industrial bits they are measured in microns, something no carver should ever need. Honestly it is just the tip you need to worry about and almost any bit that comes to a point or almost to a point will suit your purposes. <br />
<br />
Of course what bits you decide on will depend on the actual project you are undertaking as each type of bit is available in different sizes and shapes. On the dremel site is a store locator, use it to find the bits in your area. You will want to eyeball them to see that they suit your purposes. Warning! Warning! Warning! Be careful here, once you get into the world of dremel accessories, you most likely will become addicted to checking out and buying all the different bits available. Even dental and industrial bits will work in the dremels. Once you become familiar with the bits and know what they will do, You can go on ebay and find bits at very good prices, especially the grinding stones which needn't be actual dremel brand. There are even genuine dremel bits on ebay. Good luck with your lettering and feel free to stay in contact with me. You can reach me thru my website www.carvinginnyc.com I am never too busy to help a fellow carver. thanks for an interesting question and have a great day. MauraCarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-44439829791885614502012-05-25T02:17:00.000-04:002012-07-13T17:59:24.109-04:00Leather-craft and patterns<div style="text-align: center;">
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Please visit my full website at: www.carvinginnyc.com</h2>
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A new carving underway</h3>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Went into my wood stock the other day and came away with a really nice slab of black walnut. I know what I will do with it. There are a couple of ways a carving usually comes about. There are those times when a piece of wood calls to you. It whispers into your minds ear and tells you what it will become. Other times you will find something you wish to create and then search out the right piece of wood for the project. This will be one of the latter types.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Every now and then I set out to do a carving just for myself. Most of the time I am busy doing carvings as gifts or because they have been requested by family or friends. So now when I do a piece for myself, I try to do a "wow" piece. In my everyday life I come across images which inspire me and I keep them in a file stored on my computer. I have long admired the designs used in leather craft and I think they easily cross over into woodcarving. They are almost very shallow relief carvings. This particular design is a leafy swirly pattern with a textured background. It will be my first carving which uses leather craft as its inspiration. In my mind's eye I am picturing myself transforming this design into a deep relief with lots of undercutting which will give the finished carving great shadowing and make it interesting to the viewers eye.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8OSG-pSR1r6TfvMNjFxMYQ_V6nrmn1nFV2qZynBLszCgY9leVWIBmhFDS8_kofv8LobuDvo9_osPC0rIGAmYxqGi1DsPtDbnb40s81cvHNjKh_CxzqweNKWR72yuQONnfzDQhcUp8wS-/s1600/Sheridan-Notebk459x666+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8OSG-pSR1r6TfvMNjFxMYQ_V6nrmn1nFV2qZynBLszCgY9leVWIBmhFDS8_kofv8LobuDvo9_osPC0rIGAmYxqGi1DsPtDbnb40s81cvHNjKh_CxzqweNKWR72yuQONnfzDQhcUp8wS-/s320/Sheridan-Notebk459x666+copy.jpg" width="220" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> © Jim Linnell</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In my early carving years, I simply would have used it and given it no thought, but now that I consider myself an artist I am mindful of other artists copyrights. I routinely make my own original designs these days but every now and then I come across a design that is so appealing to me, I just want to use it to make a carving from. I did my research and found out whose design it was. His name is Jim Linnell. I sent him an email asking his permission to use it as a basis for my next carving. He said me choosing his work was quite flattering and he gladly gave his permission. I will keep a copy of the email for my records.</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Using a photo program, I re-sized the pattern at 16"x23" using 16" as a base since that is the width of the walnut slab. I asked a friend of mine to cut the slab of walnut to match the 23" length that the pattern will require. I will get the panel back in a few days and then the carving will get underway.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimxrlLeaHKsktzWoiU_07_-F2SE7TKRfOTfN3v_aj-QAjYoNtlLnCiEW5kvVRFeLD2jl8G_V6fLw5_gopmqWcMgRUSTs4N2O4k1COSwG1nzKF8j2UYtzNUx9gcMr64yPxbus6HsyKXDvtL/s1600/camera+070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimxrlLeaHKsktzWoiU_07_-F2SE7TKRfOTfN3v_aj-QAjYoNtlLnCiEW5kvVRFeLD2jl8G_V6fLw5_gopmqWcMgRUSTs4N2O4k1COSwG1nzKF8j2UYtzNUx9gcMr64yPxbus6HsyKXDvtL/s320/camera+070.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;">This is a beautiful clear slab of
black walnut. Anyone who has ever carved black walnut knows that the
hardness of the walnut will add a difficulty factor to the carving so
this will not be a quick carving. However I should be rewarded for all
the extra work. It should turn out beautifully. I expect it to take a
month or more to carve. The way to approach a carving of this size is
to do a little at a time. Hand carving will mean a pretty good workout
for my hand, arm, shoulder and back muscles. Slow and steady will win
this race. And you thought carving was easy.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Black walnut 16"x23"</span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7M5L28O-4tWD5gyg3Kf4V6dPKkxzC1lruFK7pNPqxomCxARj31QrHWsvKd-Y7UYZtmcFFsSo9zxHrrgrWDBzbM84Ur3edj5ZiKgDWJlBmtDQI9W4AQ54mNn9CiSt_JEGRfBDwQVlmhnw9/s1600/camera+072.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7M5L28O-4tWD5gyg3Kf4V6dPKkxzC1lruFK7pNPqxomCxARj31QrHWsvKd-Y7UYZtmcFFsSo9zxHrrgrWDBzbM84Ur3edj5ZiKgDWJlBmtDQI9W4AQ54mNn9CiSt_JEGRfBDwQVlmhnw9/s320/camera+072.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I have printed out the pattern to the correct size using my home
printer. I have taped the pages together to form 1 large pattern.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi44wNdnPFTNL-lb7f3ETtScPdHmyRNlht2CW0zMnMo-CAquwyFVW2JZ_Xh2UBOcF9bGKssaVV7XsVm-I-z17h52y9LZ3Bnq7zn9wdMtEoZFjLxBdS1WciPcQVX9krG-8qCZpdv4Y0V6TVQ/s1600/camera+079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi44wNdnPFTNL-lb7f3ETtScPdHmyRNlht2CW0zMnMo-CAquwyFVW2JZ_Xh2UBOcF9bGKssaVV7XsVm-I-z17h52y9LZ3Bnq7zn9wdMtEoZFjLxBdS1WciPcQVX9krG-8qCZpdv4Y0V6TVQ/s320/camera+079.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;">As this is a complicated patten with lots of intertwined positive and
negative spaces so I have taken the extra time to color code this so I
don't make any mistakes when removing the areas that need to be removed.
Even when doing the color coding I made a mistake as evidenced by the
black marking in the upper right corner. It just proved the need for
taking the extra time to do the coding as the eyes can fatigue while
looking at a large complicated pattern. I have checked and
double-checked to make sure it is all colored correctly.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeMhBmSJAErveCCNlDTPGp-b7hnggOt0r_WtiiVuW_0wcGo9g-ooML72lqE5CphXtQZuHaZp0_AO_PTJcqtATHeO5g0JU6Eo3ByYfcTWzzKJPXe57zPRF6k6S8tgpaPkAEgVqf3cYsKyp9/s1600/camera+081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeMhBmSJAErveCCNlDTPGp-b7hnggOt0r_WtiiVuW_0wcGo9g-ooML72lqE5CphXtQZuHaZp0_AO_PTJcqtATHeO5g0JU6Eo3ByYfcTWzzKJPXe57zPRF6k6S8tgpaPkAEgVqf3cYsKyp9/s320/camera+081.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXBYMN8P3BEDxbVOFbGhqiKYHHydVzr26GWgwfiuW0OG5hk3nU2OVr2BcLEu6psRVSzMiV-L4Vql1rsFdzN1EyJy9ExYId4DcqoLsV8Iw8ln61WkdYAA4q18gN07mKPGBVDdIB6J6A9jJD/s1600/camera+082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXBYMN8P3BEDxbVOFbGhqiKYHHydVzr26GWgwfiuW0OG5hk3nU2OVr2BcLEu6psRVSzMiV-L4Vql1rsFdzN1EyJy9ExYId4DcqoLsV8Iw8ln61WkdYAA4q18gN07mKPGBVDdIB6J6A9jJD/s320/camera+082.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;">These are the tools I will be using for the basic wood removal stage.
They are relatively flat profiles, # 3, 4 and a small # 5 to get into
the tighter areas. There is also a v-tool here to help keep the bottoms
of the cuts perpendicular to the surface.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVoUUvd8Tfc2Z5uWdLE-XqRdVzEa946290mJXYdR42oRhkfV5I1FlP6_8kxzPyiLVNkHslHshe2ZPMYwY_Ry6uNDnmBqXxNCZiFdrCBrNJpATjke4sKoHbJqNhmnxpHv-jFuvw0bVSedKT/s1600/camera+083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVoUUvd8Tfc2Z5uWdLE-XqRdVzEa946290mJXYdR42oRhkfV5I1FlP6_8kxzPyiLVNkHslHshe2ZPMYwY_Ry6uNDnmBqXxNCZiFdrCBrNJpATjke4sKoHbJqNhmnxpHv-jFuvw0bVSedKT/s320/camera+083.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;">This is the proper way to hold a chisel when working with a mallet to
stop-cut the areas needed to be removed. Holding the tool like this
allows for quick placement of the cutting edge when going around the
pattern lines. Place tool, whack, whack with the mallet. Place tool,
whack, whack etc. Working this way you get into a nice steady rhythm. </span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-SEWGSxo0iOsGrmIpohl2Z-6ggwuCJBtXej-cVP2076wBOItZcViIvS7Rb4NlSxemeZBRJOZoKtuhNORqiQ81YSojj9AIoJJJLi_JhcaEPpzNqM5SN6DJwEHSf2XWMQb3AkSSwUvm4x9/s320/camera+085.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I have taken the corner and removed the first piece of wood to set the
depth of the rest of the carving. This wood is 1" thick. The general
rule of a deep relief on panel is the go halfway into the wood, thereby
allowing the wood to retain its strength which will discourage any
future warping. The larger a piece of wood, the more noticable its
reaction to the relative humidity of its surroundings can be. Sometimes
wood can act like a sponge and absorb good amounts of the water in the
air which can slightly change its size and shape.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjLU-zB931Kz58gVm7QWslijKYSVvJCBff49G1AINvxaCbXii9oeeTbKzefpQTpr-oz8wZgYOwMH9_C6e_HSM7pSMkIWE6QKBgul49LAas_ddF6RKvNNUsFpoKe4Nj-4rwyic2Ab_sbgWR/s1600/camera+086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjLU-zB931Kz58gVm7QWslijKYSVvJCBff49G1AINvxaCbXii9oeeTbKzefpQTpr-oz8wZgYOwMH9_C6e_HSM7pSMkIWE6QKBgul49LAas_ddF6RKvNNUsFpoKe4Nj-4rwyic2Ab_sbgWR/s320/camera+086.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">Using a depth-gauge, a tool any relief carver should have in his/her arsenal, I have set the depth of this background at 1/2"</span></h4>
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<h4 style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"></span></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LUEE7GoDw1J9u6nyH2xrtvgED-DK_2Rsshth9sq3-hxbW9GsdRDLrlfd0YgpAfAugRvTJTOWHww1qlsu36mN1bzNFoc08R_BKO7SnZ_-YbKrST-_vN1Gt6GHodo1cQDQckCon4pKvis8/s1600/camera+087.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LUEE7GoDw1J9u6nyH2xrtvgED-DK_2Rsshth9sq3-hxbW9GsdRDLrlfd0YgpAfAugRvTJTOWHww1qlsu36mN1bzNFoc08R_BKO7SnZ_-YbKrST-_vN1Gt6GHodo1cQDQckCon4pKvis8/s320/camera+087.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">Here is what a proper stop-cut should look like. It should ride just shy
of the pattern line into the waste wood. the red area will be removed.</span></h4>
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<h4 style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"></span></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2QknJ1EEwM17-LIDxC2oZwprS8eAtaAwPmaiddZZ4TORIP8CLPPk6_riz7g45SSnIvR_Us6Q0A8ygxu5w4IP13Ny4EVko_bT7mS1QA27W55DS_QwUgT_msLfjm6QKntDtSws05a6mLLUQ/s1600/camera+092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2QknJ1EEwM17-LIDxC2oZwprS8eAtaAwPmaiddZZ4TORIP8CLPPk6_riz7g45SSnIvR_Us6Q0A8ygxu5w4IP13Ny4EVko_bT7mS1QA27W55DS_QwUgT_msLfjm6QKntDtSws05a6mLLUQ/s320/camera+092.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">This is where I am after a couple hours of carving. I told you this
will be slow going due to the hardness of the wood. It takes quite
awhile to remove 1/2" of walnut and level the bottom in spaces this
tight and irregularly shaped.</span></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBarTJKlNSXDfGaJ64uYke5KGQIq2N8uBksv4YA9mQq5kUAl9qep219neGuESGxFHQ35Z5O022uvJUnBH4ZYKx6By9feWeyr_d9dGM-ZEOJNUp5XAV3CThMbOxWTRUZRXhdq6vCKdx0tiA/s1600/DSCN5632.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBarTJKlNSXDfGaJ64uYke5KGQIq2N8uBksv4YA9mQq5kUAl9qep219neGuESGxFHQ35Z5O022uvJUnBH4ZYKx6By9feWeyr_d9dGM-ZEOJNUp5XAV3CThMbOxWTRUZRXhdq6vCKdx0tiA/s320/DSCN5632.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">All the waste areas have now been cut away. It is time to do what I consider the "fun part", the shaping of all of the forms</span></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoovN9yuip9b0aIM2AgwFshcluIrzLvY-9ticeDuT3gIXPAYjcs3OoKTA2x8oyGTrZXfyZHzfium9FOLGieQgGxqKndxhPWAdmA7o7ZadvDH2TAjIMTbTjMFLr3zizHC4O8EnvruzjurIH/s1600/DSCN5635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoovN9yuip9b0aIM2AgwFshcluIrzLvY-9ticeDuT3gIXPAYjcs3OoKTA2x8oyGTrZXfyZHzfium9FOLGieQgGxqKndxhPWAdmA7o7ZadvDH2TAjIMTbTjMFLr3zizHC4O8EnvruzjurIH/s320/DSCN5635.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">After looking at the entire pattern, I start the design at the part that will need to be pushed the furthest back. once the lowest depth has been established, it is easier to figure out how deep to go with the rest of the carving.</span></h4>
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<h4 style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"></span></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWPHYNnZk1W1Vo1Z4bkNlOxa0z6eBHmNFnxyzd6jxLZ0Q_SoN0Pe_ShAnv025TWutNLQarG2ONgvuXBeI0vv1V6A3oRh0OiCAPtbi4-Jp7XujmCc3bjy4Y7_l8KBo4kwXJx7BG89h9wJ1V/s1600/DSCN5637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWPHYNnZk1W1Vo1Z4bkNlOxa0z6eBHmNFnxyzd6jxLZ0Q_SoN0Pe_ShAnv025TWutNLQarG2ONgvuXBeI0vv1V6A3oRh0OiCAPtbi4-Jp7XujmCc3bjy4Y7_l8KBo4kwXJx7BG89h9wJ1V/s320/DSCN5637.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">I find the corresponding flower on the wood checking to make sure it is the correct area. when working with a large pattern, it is easy to get side-tracked and mistake one area for another. Always check and double check.</span></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijqGnp80-LxqRdLRL73c-IgYitHU876l5AEF0-tITlAsNkE74oz7OG8IwajDi4Dt1zUHfVXQSmCBTe5x3KUpQpjP0l5KBlmS3PnVml6MdrAGHXCS-vQU3qZr3l13XcHI7-JpSykoEAkiJM/s1600/DSCN5641.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijqGnp80-LxqRdLRL73c-IgYitHU876l5AEF0-tITlAsNkE74oz7OG8IwajDi4Dt1zUHfVXQSmCBTe5x3KUpQpjP0l5KBlmS3PnVml6MdrAGHXCS-vQU3qZr3l13XcHI7-JpSykoEAkiJM/s320/DSCN5641.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
</td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">The first cut is made with the v-tool around the center of the flower</span></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlfoS_pC758SJSfiJ584lkI0zHB3LRSkSdckn1riIxe4ruPFLGfnzBMfAAZ9WCZTlilWtIcxVxWH8V_e8ZcZ75OU0Af_P1pWlGRr18W7RCw2K68MQ5uDx36nrU_llD-h9TdIwShSUwft0K/s1600/DSCN5644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlfoS_pC758SJSfiJ584lkI0zHB3LRSkSdckn1riIxe4ruPFLGfnzBMfAAZ9WCZTlilWtIcxVxWH8V_e8ZcZ75OU0Af_P1pWlGRr18W7RCw2K68MQ5uDx36nrU_llD-h9TdIwShSUwft0K/s320/DSCN5644.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">The purpose of this cut is to protect the center part of the flower when carving the petals in towards the center.</span></h4>
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<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd71flA8xsNNENUOzla354uBq0_Vu16ZfwQP5dndc6ipwyXxf2ton6o_Y-3dGnCo7eDx1Lf-RJDhCeb32g_s0X3datHkjY1zkPCS-vNl4R1QR6v-vYRsGC2L7Ya1Iy4P8na3Ut7ov3YmUR/s1600/DSCN5646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd71flA8xsNNENUOzla354uBq0_Vu16ZfwQP5dndc6ipwyXxf2ton6o_Y-3dGnCo7eDx1Lf-RJDhCeb32g_s0X3datHkjY1zkPCS-vNl4R1QR6v-vYRsGC2L7Ya1Iy4P8na3Ut7ov3YmUR/s320/DSCN5646.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">I then move on to the rest of the flower, separating each petal.</span></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6OR2wjpn7h_QAPBqBcjPMMR3lYwtBNdasWE6S-fYjMLkVLylkXqEzMiomXzdgaNR6SaaPK0rEmx4yAfSWeyo40lP6os7gcvIP-_RRFdiFVsQqkc8BBv2do5DersaSCDLoLN7J-1UHl8u/s1600/DSCN5653.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6OR2wjpn7h_QAPBqBcjPMMR3lYwtBNdasWE6S-fYjMLkVLylkXqEzMiomXzdgaNR6SaaPK0rEmx4yAfSWeyo40lP6os7gcvIP-_RRFdiFVsQqkc8BBv2do5DersaSCDLoLN7J-1UHl8u/s320/DSCN5653.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">The actual shaping is done using gouges. here I am using a #7 gouge which will create a deep curved surface which the light will play off of.</span></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkUMSlRIlZDAeeqAgZHMoJBeJHu4bOmenpC1-i_Q_T6wekYDxgdQ05xH99pUg3-ZKlEY2Pyj-Suh5K9W6Fy5ElkGby7luZvYE82YYs9ygpVIQhM5O3UOiLrxTF-lqA9XZmootHiehBM7L/s1600/DSCN5655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkUMSlRIlZDAeeqAgZHMoJBeJHu4bOmenpC1-i_Q_T6wekYDxgdQ05xH99pUg3-ZKlEY2Pyj-Suh5K9W6Fy5ElkGby7luZvYE82YYs9ygpVIQhM5O3UOiLrxTF-lqA9XZmootHiehBM7L/s320/DSCN5655.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">Here you can see that the petal now has a shape to it.</span></h4>
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<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv_fJO5BwVXw1ZEHEPNh1aPdnoVueyO8JjW_ffUx515qIUZhrt-Mo6_Wg621ljJrWDGqtSMoUXZlgccZXonpJwGwcMdLkKsX2x2mBs6kmOtTzbDrmhCpVBHRwIB0SrQLu8ijAamk-6IzvQ/s1600/DSCN5671.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv_fJO5BwVXw1ZEHEPNh1aPdnoVueyO8JjW_ffUx515qIUZhrt-Mo6_Wg621ljJrWDGqtSMoUXZlgccZXonpJwGwcMdLkKsX2x2mBs6kmOtTzbDrmhCpVBHRwIB0SrQLu8ijAamk-6IzvQ/s320/DSCN5671.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">All the petals have now been shaped. The direction of the light source can create interesting shadows. It is always advisable to have adjustable light sources placed at the sides while doing relief carvings. The shadowing effects will change as the light sources moves. It will enable the carver to decide when the form is pleasing to the eye. </span></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ9OBJmE-iq_5L63Oe7-DBCTsw252qZvkBRXvu931IBFXGWaAQ5wK3D74mrSHKGSxfjU3n14tOvLTpEHIhUkLDxvzGcb9q_Joo2rhUFCE9MeeqowBNOriWQL1a_cNMAAf1J6_vf9QUZBTG/s1600/DSCN5684.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ9OBJmE-iq_5L63Oe7-DBCTsw252qZvkBRXvu931IBFXGWaAQ5wK3D74mrSHKGSxfjU3n14tOvLTpEHIhUkLDxvzGcb9q_Joo2rhUFCE9MeeqowBNOriWQL1a_cNMAAf1J6_vf9QUZBTG/s320/DSCN5684.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">The center button is now formed and pushed further back into the wood.</span></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyyGNmWJhKVZ1rGzxXl8ak7U-nbtlblka_kzVcDw2Vp6rbGK3JEhWxtRjryvj_hOEBZdgJokSMRS_8BHq_cVMv6E4I9JYVJF1AzwGThdlOk8wlMknxBmlaELZfAEJrvkdMFy4V6u6K1RSB/s1600/DSCN5726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyyGNmWJhKVZ1rGzxXl8ak7U-nbtlblka_kzVcDw2Vp6rbGK3JEhWxtRjryvj_hOEBZdgJokSMRS_8BHq_cVMv6E4I9JYVJF1AzwGThdlOk8wlMknxBmlaELZfAEJrvkdMFy4V6u6K1RSB/s320/DSCN5726.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">The broad leaves are now shaped using #5 and #7 gouges</span></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinYCDP7S3xxGRGbjqx3AxCmoyuryl8DmxA6mBDKJ-bpt7cpXEzcnvB7zYqOmCU85uIMTE4WnhYVp8TU0fBQqxFdCc3Tp0oA-pOQmNBrFzJgn34fglkI0D4CAF3aCAJ8FFiiATEIRToUKQ6/s400/DSCN5724.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></h4>
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<tr style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">The stems are shaped and played with as an acanthus form. Acanthus carving is a very old form of carving originating with the ancient Greeks. It is a stylized (rather than realistic) form of leaf and stem carving which creates flowing forms.</span></h4>
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<h4 style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"></span></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDzGTLjNndYNSyMZnuH4NANrU8gm3-klKhbBjFN8_ComG0OR9i06DH2haBOAwNPE5rVhnFAP4GpWcy0ojgesVr7DpWyLa9E7iNSNRJt3JR4CCeQMOWgeDeAgUYFLYlV3D3TPoQXI4eUYNs/s1600/DSCN5730.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDzGTLjNndYNSyMZnuH4NANrU8gm3-klKhbBjFN8_ComG0OR9i06DH2haBOAwNPE5rVhnFAP4GpWcy0ojgesVr7DpWyLa9E7iNSNRJt3JR4CCeQMOWgeDeAgUYFLYlV3D3TPoQXI4eUYNs/s320/DSCN5730.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">The rest of the carving is now being worked on. Each main form is separated from the next by using the v-tool.</span></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid-u1xzEgZlcWoy5djwEjmfgUXxhzCUm6oiNb7kDTpp9UjHqtAYCrN2U-PxEmaLTMnLVsjQE-w_CSynUv37extQq5zrtH51yIgGRwUPGXmyTeMyihwadMSqPsFhLMKf0E_Tp1mebAqvWPD/s1600/DSCN5737.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid-u1xzEgZlcWoy5djwEjmfgUXxhzCUm6oiNb7kDTpp9UjHqtAYCrN2U-PxEmaLTMnLVsjQE-w_CSynUv37extQq5zrtH51yIgGRwUPGXmyTeMyihwadMSqPsFhLMKf0E_Tp1mebAqvWPD/s320/DSCN5737.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Once you complete an area, you work on the next adjoining area. The level of one area will be dependant on the level of the previous area. In this way, things will appear in the right relationship to each other with some things higher and somethings lower, depending on what the pattern requires.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6F5xlyJ9xLt1bDBiEzzH2Y1q2FToErXHdaSKucNSctftkG0u3VAFgM9yuzsVeczUoI-KGwgMQCh24QYy6jC3niywY0-kBYnp63kTN6WT1hIU3j0l8bOVtt8oq-bwYwBuP9YoQODq1JHR/s1600/floral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6F5xlyJ9xLt1bDBiEzzH2Y1q2FToErXHdaSKucNSctftkG0u3VAFgM9yuzsVeczUoI-KGwgMQCh24QYy6jC3niywY0-kBYnp63kTN6WT1hIU3j0l8bOVtt8oq-bwYwBuP9YoQODq1JHR/s320/floral.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The carving is now well underway with only a few forms on the left side still to be finalized. </span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfu713-hGVfvmPTMYuiGB3vCyqVGpLNeo-SGCWmoYIgu14-Fm-b3Ga-emgyUhRytKpg2lkC_cogt8w8aI3Kx43CMBFzz0sGBwAtXQBKzF5AcpBip2Bof5G-p_wHIni8vreglrDED9i82CV/s1600/DSCN5891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfu713-hGVfvmPTMYuiGB3vCyqVGpLNeo-SGCWmoYIgu14-Fm-b3Ga-emgyUhRytKpg2lkC_cogt8w8aI3Kx43CMBFzz0sGBwAtXQBKzF5AcpBip2Bof5G-p_wHIni8vreglrDED9i82CV/s320/DSCN5891.JPG" width="320" /></a></h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLcOjvHOpm7GyDBagApivfrHualJF0PE8XNb1UWMMrrjL8G13BYQtj-4FW8DiqM6sVVsqRkokIfCRHy706rYVwA8RvmSX8W21PsNBT_GHEs6q8l2R1tvJqJ_L4e2lqF1r8l8c71MRl6vqB/s1600/DSCN5893.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></a></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">The carving is basically finished and I am working
from right to left cleaning it all up. The undercutting is successfully
giving nice shadows to the form. </span></h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLcOjvHOpm7GyDBagApivfrHualJF0PE8XNb1UWMMrrjL8G13BYQtj-4FW8DiqM6sVVsqRkokIfCRHy706rYVwA8RvmSX8W21PsNBT_GHEs6q8l2R1tvJqJ_L4e2lqF1r8l8c71MRl6vqB/s1600/DSCN5893.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLcOjvHOpm7GyDBagApivfrHualJF0PE8XNb1UWMMrrjL8G13BYQtj-4FW8DiqM6sVVsqRkokIfCRHy706rYVwA8RvmSX8W21PsNBT_GHEs6q8l2R1tvJqJ_L4e2lqF1r8l8c71MRl6vqB/s320/DSCN5893.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"> I have used some texturing punches to give a contrast to the background.</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">My last step before applying the finish is to sign my work. </span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">I have used Minwax Satin Polyurethane for the protective coat. </span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"> Now the beauty of the black walnut shows through.</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">I hope you can understand why I choose this wood for this particular</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"> design. Another wood might not have given such spectacular results.</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">In time and with some exposure to light, this walnut will turn a deep dark</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"> brownish-black and will have a very rich feeling to it. </span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNPxdDSkefcIefMerodLfaqhSCDUTtr0jWEYk_ZydxI_QmP1DGskSx0IuAomhF-YduM4qkO4HyZjr49jysqG6JAuv-CUob0-8j59tH6fe4F4bQi-VGKdP4fQp3ZEBG0TkKIQQAxN4vYw6n/s1600/DSCN5945-copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNPxdDSkefcIefMerodLfaqhSCDUTtr0jWEYk_ZydxI_QmP1DGskSx0IuAomhF-YduM4qkO4HyZjr49jysqG6JAuv-CUob0-8j59tH6fe4F4bQi-VGKdP4fQp3ZEBG0TkKIQQAxN4vYw6n/s400/DSCN5945-copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">This is the finished carving. </span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">The reward for carving hard wood is wonderful details it takes. </span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">Thank You for the inspiration, Jim Linnell </span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">I hope you've enjoy seeing it progress as much as I've enjoyed carving it.</span></h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj912LWhQ-hInJIfWfRfyo3tlsIHyF3amTHiPATo4zGVgl1ebAac88HLr2r_W32zImFl4LBKR6FUdkYDcLXNnh9KpVUrgAozZQHTYzKTfQIkxLCE3vwz8v07QHooZ3KpNdXAFQClC098KyB/s1600/DSCN5457.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<br />CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-26019717499688036402012-05-20T16:34:00.002-04:002012-05-25T23:40:22.394-04:00pierced relief swag step by step<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghSsyS6xOVQ_BcZJ-IoKQBGhXLPwcNaTwMTJf-W-SZj6Zmy_BYj7e4RAmfT5dM_1oQXnCXQC02515iAbQdt11hAWWNwVws5Cm5vuZtJYHz6QHYU8rwL_Oco7b9C-h6jFHhEM-cDA6bs7TO/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTfP2RXGCLIpq1gHcXcoUNUGLuD082f8Y7BUwrdQXkcSA8pNCaepOx4fCE1S4TJmy-HrewZT4K8ZaPUzLygHg0PR_FVlMug3wc4XnGwX5DMQ-e-UedOvztsQ6XC0oPGfLqNyY5MkqXZVCU/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTfP2RXGCLIpq1gHcXcoUNUGLuD082f8Y7BUwrdQXkcSA8pNCaepOx4fCE1S4TJmy-HrewZT4K8ZaPUzLygHg0PR_FVlMug3wc4XnGwX5DMQ-e-UedOvztsQ6XC0oPGfLqNyY5MkqXZVCU/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div>
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<h2>
pierced relief carving step by step</h2>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghSsyS6xOVQ_BcZJ-IoKQBGhXLPwcNaTwMTJf-W-SZj6Zmy_BYj7e4RAmfT5dM_1oQXnCXQC02515iAbQdt11hAWWNwVws5Cm5vuZtJYHz6QHYU8rwL_Oco7b9C-h6jFHhEM-cDA6bs7TO/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghSsyS6xOVQ_BcZJ-IoKQBGhXLPwcNaTwMTJf-W-SZj6Zmy_BYj7e4RAmfT5dM_1oQXnCXQC02515iAbQdt11hAWWNwVws5Cm5vuZtJYHz6QHYU8rwL_Oco7b9C-h6jFHhEM-cDA6bs7TO/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div>
<h4 class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
drawing out design</h4>
<div style="background-color: white;">
After looking at approx 20 different examples of this type of work, I
drew out my original design, directly onto the wood. It will be a floral
design, with petaled flowers, buds, leaves and tendrils. In free-handing
this design i worked from the center out and mirrored the image on both
sides. I tried to keep the tendrils connected as much as possible to the
rest of the work to give maximum support to the delicate hanging
tendrils. (35 min work)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR8US7ktCEDnyr0sAaCq9MmEQ3kO8vusf5T76D2DiOhIcqettcMKLa__yN3snuTvFMJal6sDjXAR7v1uTjwchOddAt3aqkenhmwWjWJ0mKx20ptLUQgqbiaZYdtkNSdu91psBYy_DNbkt5/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR8US7ktCEDnyr0sAaCq9MmEQ3kO8vusf5T76D2DiOhIcqettcMKLa__yN3snuTvFMJal6sDjXAR7v1uTjwchOddAt3aqkenhmwWjWJ0mKx20ptLUQgqbiaZYdtkNSdu91psBYy_DNbkt5/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div>
<h4 class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
color coding </h4>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
In order to ready it for the scroll saw work, I color coded the design,
black was the area of the design that would be cut around and red were
the areas to be certain not to cut out. (5 min. work) </div>
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</div>
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design completed</div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
this is the final design, ready to be cut on the scroll saw. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<h4 class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
Drilling guide holes</h4>
<div style="background-color: white;">
Using my drill press, I then drilled holes into all places that would
require interior cuts. (you can use a hand drill to do this, being
careful to keep the bit 90o vertical to the board) interior cuts cannot
be accessed from the edge of the board. Holes are drilled so that the
scroll saw blade can be inserted and the inside areas cut out. (5 min.
work) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04TvrtWz_FL0Go52PuUzBQ5UhXpexFXSPcoE8fc3TtVPBBpHlHT8YNdriUE_dL67KyGEhIdpOKP98iMsMJRtQwPjW2Ltmc4x4QtBNf2uJZQtuWuHvjNuuARuWEBN2cb3AyfSBzStAAP6P/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04TvrtWz_FL0Go52PuUzBQ5UhXpexFXSPcoE8fc3TtVPBBpHlHT8YNdriUE_dL67KyGEhIdpOKP98iMsMJRtQwPjW2Ltmc4x4QtBNf2uJZQtuWuHvjNuuARuWEBN2cb3AyfSBzStAAP6P/s320/6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<h4 class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
cutting away the waste</h4>
<div style="background-color: white;">
using a scroll saw, I selected a size 3 spiral blade. Spiral blades must
be used for the piercing as the work is too large for the 16" capacity
of my scroll saw. spiral blades allow you to cut in any direction. All
interior cuts must be made first to give support to those pieces so they
don't break off. next step is to cut all the exterior waste off.
(interior-1.25 hr work, exterior- 1.75 hr work)</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
waste removed</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieXF3kRjF3LCx9C_tQqTZU-MOrQ093BVCh5Pbhz_tH76ANFEQLJwxz00QS2oLoIqPnlEJ470abAvsYrKGT_Sg4NI6sHkj2_6X1ju6wC900A44L_zm5XAP_5eHPtP_-vE8WoNV3uFPgnUBO/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieXF3kRjF3LCx9C_tQqTZU-MOrQ093BVCh5Pbhz_tH76ANFEQLJwxz00QS2oLoIqPnlEJ470abAvsYrKGT_Sg4NI6sHkj2_6X1ju6wC900A44L_zm5XAP_5eHPtP_-vE8WoNV3uFPgnUBO/s320/7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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</div>
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at this point all of the waste, interior and exterior has been removed.
The final demensions are 32" long, with the arch being 6" wide</div>
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close-up</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
close up of final pattern now ready for carving. from this point on, the
carving will be very delicate to work with because there are a lot of
unsupported tendrils. I will lay it flat out on top of my workbench for
the carving, using an anti-slip mat under it so that it will not require
clamping down. using clamps at this point would likely break off some
of the unsupported tendrils.</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<br /></div>
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<h4 class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
carving tools selected</h4>
<div style="background-color: white;">
as this will be a delicate carving I have selected small hand tools to
do the job. Left to right: #5 gouge, #7 gouge, #1 bent gouge, sloyd
knife, 60o v-tool and a #3 fishtail gouge. After selecting tools 1st
step is to hone them so that they will slice thru the wood cleanly. They
will be honed repeatedly over the course of the carving stage. this is
an important step in this carving as any unneeded pressure will break
off the delicate pieces.</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h4 class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
begin carving</h4>
<div style="background-color: white;">
first step is to use a v tool to separate all flower petals, leaves,
buds and tendrils. I will start carving at the strongest points of the
carving, working my way down to the most delicate pieces, allowing those
pieces to be supported as long as possible</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
<h4>
carving the pansy </h4>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXftb6CO9e8cA7aWNXZDC84Uv2Cc0NS4SZW4h-1CTk-2uw3Sj7vgktgZOwdx62IlDqhvjfv0_7MjV_Dp-5-zh4geVm5sEJRCwvEpELb-VSiX1xdxqATzDpa3OUG30UuTwJKErQ5V_Aywf-/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXftb6CO9e8cA7aWNXZDC84Uv2Cc0NS4SZW4h-1CTk-2uw3Sj7vgktgZOwdx62IlDqhvjfv0_7MjV_Dp-5-zh4geVm5sEJRCwvEpELb-VSiX1xdxqATzDpa3OUG30UuTwJKErQ5V_Aywf-/s320/12.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
gouge out the center of each petal </div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
make a stop cut around the center mound </div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="background-color: white;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
gouge out 1/4 of each petal in towards the center </div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
round over the outside edge of each petal</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="background-color: white;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
round over the center mound</div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
redefine the valley between each petal using a v-tool</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="background-color: white;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
using a gouge round over the top of each half of the petals</div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
using a knife, make a v cut between each petal to define the separation</div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
using a knife clean out and define area between the petals</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="background-color: white;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
clean up area around center mound </div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="background-color: white;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
using a v-tool, put 2 or 3 wrinkle lines into bottom 1/3 of each pedal, working in to center </div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
<h4>
Carving The Daisy </h4>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="background-color: white;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
after making a stop cut around the center mound, gouge out about 1/4 of each petal, going down and into the center</div>
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<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
Round over the edges of each petal </div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
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<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
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<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
round off the last 1/4 of each petal and then shape the sides of the petal </div>
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round off the top of each petal </div>
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do another stop cut around center mound </div>
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clean up the center mound</div>
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round over center mound </div>
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redefine the valley between the petals using the v-tool</div>
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using a knife, make a very steep v cut which will separate the petals more </div>
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redefine edges of petals going deeper in the area between each petal </div>
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finished daisy</div>
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<h4>
texturing the button</h4>
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using a nail, gently tap in many random spots on center mound to create texture. Texture the buttons on all the pansies and daisies</div>
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<h4>
Carving the leaves </h4>
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Gouge out a section approx. halfway on the leaf. This will give a wave to each leaf. </div>
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leaf gouged out</div>
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after making a stop cut along the edge of the petal, gouge out 1/4 of leaf in towards the flower</div>
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using a gouge remove the end of the leaf </div>
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round off and shape each leaf </div>
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after rounding the leaf over use either a knife or small v-tool to make veins. make a curvy line down the center of each leaf and then make veins from the center line out to the edges angled to the tip of the leaf </div>
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pansy and leaves carved </div>
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<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
<h4>
carving the bud</h4>
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first shave off 1/2 of the edge from center out to tip of bud, then make a stop cut along base of bud </div>
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gouge out stem into base of bud </div>
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round off base of bud </div>
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round over top of bud</div>
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using a v-tool, make curvy line from base to tip of bud</div>
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carving the tendrils and bud stems </div>
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Make a stop cut where stem attaches to flower </div>
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gouge out stem in towards flower, remove enough wood so that the level of the stems and tendrils are lower than the flowers and buds</div>
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make stop cuts wherever tendrils meet each other and where they meet flowers</div>
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round over stem working in towards flower </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqnWLKPO3nyJAlaVrUrjdi88CbHBLxU7-lmBiIrieHwbqDTrOXtHRfgvnWTvsUvj7YTNI0nxlmqzrW2Tkut1lqfelg5CfP2wjlHOwQSIucnd_Fzig_pqpmTopYo-riTCTbV_i0NXHgHEL/s1600/55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqnWLKPO3nyJAlaVrUrjdi88CbHBLxU7-lmBiIrieHwbqDTrOXtHRfgvnWTvsUvj7YTNI0nxlmqzrW2Tkut1lqfelg5CfP2wjlHOwQSIucnd_Fzig_pqpmTopYo-riTCTbV_i0NXHgHEL/s320/55.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
completed bud stem </div>
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continue rounding over all stems and tendrils </div>
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<h4>
cleaning up the carving</h4>
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this is much to delicate a piece to do any hand sanding on. I have cleaned it up using rotary power tool with a fine ceramic pointed stone</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR9lBo5CEM8TKjyo6YgwwAeG39cGrRTJEpbhHIykWcoIU_RjQMpWj0iVrRH9RZEY2TWUizYwv1q3sBt9nd2ExAUgwDWvjC8SqBcpFXsXTchAl00mNCa3QtbrLe7im9xK5AQIh7I9EhVcFN/s1600/59.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR9lBo5CEM8TKjyo6YgwwAeG39cGrRTJEpbhHIykWcoIU_RjQMpWj0iVrRH9RZEY2TWUizYwv1q3sBt9nd2ExAUgwDWvjC8SqBcpFXsXTchAl00mNCa3QtbrLe7im9xK5AQIh7I9EhVcFN/s320/59.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
tendrils and bud stems completed </div>
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I used a different stain on each part of the design </div>
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<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
carving stained </div>
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<h4>
painting</h4>
</div>
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I used thinned water colors to tint the carving </div>
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<h4>
completed caving</h4>
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carving mounted over archway</div>
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Of all, this is truly my favorite! A lot of work with the scroll saw
and hand tools, but the paint job to achieve the colors are what amaze
me. Almost like a stain glass look. Really nice job on the whole
project.</div>
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Oct. 26, 2008 By: banjo52us Delete</div>
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A very nicely done carving and an excellent tutorial</div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
Jun. 8, 2007 By: Charles Hand Delete </div>
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<br /></div>CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-8900962363959701172012-04-17T15:53:00.001-04:002012-04-17T15:55:30.629-04:00Quick Tips<br />
<ul>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Woodcarving can be taught,
creativity can’t.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">A good tool is worth the price
you pay for it.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Safety can never be
underestimated.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Boil a cypress knee and the
warm bark will peel off </span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">There are more woodcarvers
than you think there are.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Most people are held back by
their own fears.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Crazy glue can be used to glue
cuts closed. </span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Wood does talk to you</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">You can put wood into a
microwave to dry it or to kill bugs in it</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Smaller pieces of wood can be
glued together to make larger pieces of wood.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Crumpled up brown paper bags
can be used for fine sanding</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Patterns are easy to make</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">If you want to know something,
just ask.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Strop often, sharpen less</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Different woods carve
differently.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Bad tools don’t get used</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Don’t carve after sanding, the
grit will dull your tool</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">A good tool becomes an
extension of your arm. </span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Inspiration comes from
unexpected places. </span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">There are no mistakes in
woodcarving, only new opportunities.</span></b>
</li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Sawdust in the air can,
combined with a flame or spark, can cause an explosion.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Anybody will buy anything if
you make them think they need it</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Always bring wood into your
shop at least two weeks before you plan to use it.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Find cheap tools at estate
sales</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Keep your tools well and they
will keep you well</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Gouges can be used upside down</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">It is much easier to carve
using two hands and hold down devices.</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Use a sharp straight edge of
broken glass to clean up a carving.</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Don’t be afraid to learn</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">You can sharpen your tools
with sandpaper</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Original carvings sell better
than carbon copies </span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">A V-tool actual has 3 separate
blades</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Always plan to demonstrate at
any show you attend. Those who demonstrate usually draw a crowd.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Cover your workbench with
inexpensive rubber mats. </span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Wood carves easier when “wet”
but most likely will crack while drying.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Couples together will spend
more than they would separately </span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">It is not terribly difficult
to make a website</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">A chisel is not a pry bar</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">The width of one eye is always
equal to the space between the eyes.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">No matter how much wood you
have, you won’t have the right size for your next project </span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Carving tools usually sell for
what they’re worth on internet auction sites</span></b>
</li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Remove pencil marks with
rubbing alcohol</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">There is always lots of free
wood on trash day.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">If you price a carving too low
it won’t sell</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">The most valuable lessons are
learned from your worst mistakes.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Wood dust can explode if there
is an open flame nearby</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Use spar varnish on wood which
will be displayed outside </span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Do not use a mallet on palm
tools</span></b>
</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Agree on the price for a
carving before you start it</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Use a scraper to remove excess
glue</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Standard drying time for
fresh-cut wood is 1 year to 1” of thickness.</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Any wood can be carved</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">The corners of the mouth line
up with the centers of the eyes.</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">A high swivel chair with a
back and footrest is the perfect carving chair.</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">People will buy unique items.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">There are cheap tools to be
found at yard sales and estate sales</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Always complete a commission
carving when promised</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">After cutting away the skin of
a golf ball, use the excess skin for a paint cup. </span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Turn a problem area upside
down and then try to carve it.</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">There is never enough time or
money</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Wood dust can cause cancer and
other diseases.</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Most carvers have a variety of
different woods stored away in their workshops and will pass a piece or two on
to a new carver.</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Young children can carve soap
but the chips are slippery.</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">If you have wet paint on a
palette, put it in the freezer between painting sessions</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">You can make excellent
woodcarvings with a single knife.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">You can never use too many
pictures</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">A power saw can cut faster
through flesh than wood.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Never stand in a direct line
with a table saw blade.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Rubber bands can be used as
clamps</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Use a v-tool for outlining,
not using stop cuts will save lots of time and you will not crush the wood
fibers.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Thin cardboard can be used as
a strop.</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Shave the hair on your arm to
test the sharpness of a tool.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Books are worth their weight
in gold but a good carving video is better</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">When picking something thing
up, you will knock over another, maybe even 2 or three.</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">The more costly a tool, the
more likely it is to jump off your workbench.</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">A mixture of 50% rubbing
alcohol and 50% water sprayed on wood will make it easier to carve.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Tools should be purchased as
needed </span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Looking and acting like a
professional will make you one</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Tools can sense when you’re
afraid of them</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Someone will buy it</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Bartering is alive and well</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">The best way to learn is to do</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Wood contracts and expands</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Sell the right things at the
right shows</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Grinling Gibbons glued layers
onto his carvings.</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Let the customer be involved,
update them on their carvings progress. Email them pictures in various states of
completion.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Big things start from small
things</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">You can soak a thin board in
water, cover it with a wet towel and use a household iron to remove any warping
or cupping</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Word of mouth is the best
selling tool</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">There could be only one master
carver in any one municipality. </span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">You can burnish wood by using
a rounded piece of hardwood to press into your carving.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Wood is dry when it has a 10%
or less moisture level</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Woodcarvers are the most
helpful group of people that I have ever met.</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Cuts usually happen reaching
for tools</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Always get a deposit which
will cover the costs of a commission carving</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Clean sandpaper using hard
rubber</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">It is not expensive to own
your own website</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">There is always more than one
way to do something</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Share your knowledge</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Slowing down wood drying time
will lessen checking. </span></b></li>
</ul>CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-14653238156380674052012-03-31T12:50:00.000-04:002012-04-12T15:31:33.267-04:00I need a wife<HTML>
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<BODY>Why this carving woman needs a wife----Its Saturday morning and I wake up. I sit at the pc for a moment to collect my thoughts and read my email. I think about what I will do with the rest of my day. I know what I want to do, I want to carve. But then I think about what I have to do. Laundry, food shopping, cleaning dust bunnies, take the dog out, If I want to eat I will have to cook. I just want to play today. I have been in a carving slump lately. Today is a dreary rainy day. It is a great day to carve. However, if I don't take care of the things that need to be taken care of, no one else is going to. Sometimes, it seems like it would be better to be a man. When a man and a woman live together, they must have their own activities. The man usually wanders out into the garage or down into the basement, or goes to a friends house so that he is not underfoot. This allows his wife to get her work done. Now I am a woman so this may sound funny coming from me but I do believe that a wife does housework better than a man. My brain is more like a man's. I tend to walk over and around things. Until I actually trip over something I don't really see it. I have no explanation for why that is. I like to work on the cars. I like to do repairs. I like to work in the yard. It's not only that I like these things, I am actually better at them. I am not good housework. If I were given a task to do, I could do it adequately. But I just do not see what has to be done. I am sure that this comes in some way from how I grew up. My mother did not do housework. Things did get to the point where we tripped over the clutter. It is almost as if my brain is programmed not to see something until it absolutely must. So for me housework does not come naturally. It takes a great deal of effort on my part. I find every excuse in the world not to do what I should be doing. Right now I'm sitting here writing a blog instead of doing my dishes. I did take the dog out but that was only because she cried to go out. All I want to do today is carve. Is that so wrong?CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-11420096201143987202012-03-30T15:35:00.001-04:002012-04-15T16:35:35.249-04:00A Note on the Passing of a Woodcarver<title>Killing time and slaying dragons!</title>
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George
Reinfried 1932-2010</div>
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As a relative
youngster in the woodcarving world, I have witnessed the passing of many older
woodcarvers. Each has been special in
his or her own way, and I have felt the usual feelings one does when a mentor,
friend or colleague leaves this world but the recent passing of George
Reinfried, 78, of Lancaster
Pennsylvania, has had a profound effect, not only on me but on the woodcarving
world at large. For those of us lucky enough to have known George, there are no
further words needed. He was a humble
man who probably would have preferred not to have any fuss made about him but
for those of you who never had the pleasure of meeting George, allow me a
moment. I know George will forgive
me. </div>
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George Reinfried
was a simple man, leading a quiet life.
He was born and died in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
He was married to his wife Ann for 29 years. Together, they raised 8 children,
had 12 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.
He was a printer for the National Cash Register Company for 25 years and
was an avid hunter, fisherman, camper and golfer. He was a man of faith and a
member of the <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Emmanuel</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Lutheran</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Church</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Lancaster</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">. </span> He found no greater way to spend his
retirement than to be in the company of his beloved family. These things alone
would have been a great legacy for the average man. But George was not your
average man. George was a woodcarver.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
George had never
planned to be a woodcarver but the day that George met Jack Miller of the
Lancaster Woodcarving Club at a woodcarving show, the direction that George’s
life would take changed dramatically. What began as a hobby to pass the time in
his retirement years soon became a passion to promote woodcarving in his corner
of the world. Jack, already an accomplished carver, invited George to start
carving with him in the evenings and George took him up on his offer. Georges’
first carving was a labor of love, a cane with his pointer Katie on it, his
beloved dog who had just passed away. George continued on his personal carving
journey in his basement workshop and could often be found on nicer days,
carving out on the patio. He graced his
family with many a wonderfully carved gift. George also found that he enjoyed
carving birds, with each and every little feather burned into the wood. George
eventually joined the Lancaster Woodcarving Club. Along the way, he also became
a member of many other woodcarving groups, the York Carving Club, the American
National Cane Club and</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
a small group of guys that would get together each week in
Ted McClains garage. they</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
kept the number to 7 members and called themselves the
WoodBee Carvers. The story could end here but the best is yet to be. As George got deeper into woodcarving, he and
his wife, Ann began accompanying Jack Miller, traveling in their RV to other
carving events throughout the country. After traveling to a large woodcarving
roundup in Evart, Michigan
a few times, where free carving instruction was being offered, George had an
idea. “Why don't we have anything like this on the east coast? Lets give it a
try.” <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Sandy Holder of the
Michigan Roundup reassured, “If you have it, they will come.” </span>With the support
of his wife, Ann and Jack Miller, he
contacted family friends Al and Cindy Waiter who just happened to be the owners
of a large camp ground in Honesdale PA, high up in the Pocono
mountains. There was no
stopping George. He just kept talking about it and dreaming his dream. In 2003,
George and Jack began contacting
talented carving instructors around the country. Ann contacted lots of carving
clubs to get the word out. The Northeast Woodcarvers roundup, which became
known as the NEWR was underway. As a result of the first NEWR, a caving club
was formed at Cherry ridge. Bob Muller
and the Cherry Ridge Woodcarving Club got involved in this endeavor and things just took
off. George, Ann, Jack Miller and the Cherry Ridge Carvers
have since been organizing this annual event. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The NEWR now attracts
approximately 300 woodcarvers from all over the east coast, from Canada
to Florida. Its premise being that it was a place for
woodcarvers to get free excellent instruction from skilled instructors and
while it excelled in its intended goal, I find the NEWRs greatest achievement
was the camaraderie among woodcarvers that it has fostered. There was “something for everyone” at the
NEWR, carving contests, pot luck suppers, non-carving classes, beginner classes
and classes for children as young as 14, ice cream socials, trips into
Honesdale, Pa for Music in the Park, sing-alongs and funny presentations by the
instructors. George was the leader of a merry bunch of misfits and cut-ups, who
made the NEWR special. What I personally
will always remember was the twinkle in his eyes when he laughed. It was contagious. George set the tone for
the NEWR and down played any of the work involved with organizing it. The NEWR
was playtime for George, often sneaking into town to partake in huge bowls of
ice cream with dear friends. If he had one fault, it was said that George could
not talk and carve at the same time and woe-be-gone to the carvers who sat in a
class that George also took. There would be much more laughing than carving
going on. </div>
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George also had a
more serious side as a woodcarving promoter on a national level and became a
personal mentor of mine as he playfully cajoled me into becoming a NEWR
instructor. I was already an instructor for the Parks Dept in New
York City but George did not understand that teaching
in a city of 9 million people was immensely less intimidating than joining the
ranks of his esteemed carving instructors at NEWR. It took him a few years and he never let up
on me, never let me doubt myself as he put his gentle hand on my back and
pushed. That’s who George was, a playful
man with a big heart, who encouraged children and adults to try their hand at
carving, much as Jack Miller had once done for him. He even helped his wife
start carving. </div>
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</div>
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The Lancaster Woodcarving Club awarded
George their highest</div>
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honor, the John Harrington Award, not just for carving but
for participating in all</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
club activities. Jay Herr and George started beginner
carving in the Park and it had</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
been held each fall in Lancaster.
He and Ann were contacted by a woman that taught home school and asked if it
would be possible for their club to teach 14 students for 10 weeks, 3 hours a
week. Of course George said no problem, and in turn George and Ann approached
the Lancaster Woodcarving Club members and had many willing to participate, and
now for the last 6 years the club has been teaching students age 14 - 18.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
George also started inviting guest carvers, Floyd
Rhadigan, Mike Bloomquist, and Don
Dearolf for seminars at the Lancaster Woodcarving club, George handled all
details.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Two years ago, George thought it would be great to
have carving seminars held in a beautiful building in the Lancaster
County Park,
with his wife, Ann cooking breakfast and lunch. Forty carvers attended. The
instructors were Pete LeClair, Don Dearolf, Jan Oegema and Bob Statlander.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Georges’ story
could end here, but it doesn’t. His true
legacy is yet to be seen as George has had a direct hand in beginning and
improving the carving careers of many a talented woodcarver. Ann and Jack
Miller will, no doubt, continue to be driving forces behind the dream that
George once envisioned. There will be
more carving and more laughing as the NEWR has now become bigger than George,
Ann and Jack could have foreseen. It has taken on a life of its own. This year
will be a tough one for the NEWR as the pain of losing George will be a fresh
wound on the hearts of many. Among the
din of all the carvers talking and laughing and the instructors teaching, there
will be an unplanned moment of silence when I will swear I can hear Georges mischievous
laugh float through the air. I will choke back a sob and I will smile. Thank You George Reinfried! Thank You for all
you’ve done for the woodcarving world but more importantly, thank you for who
you were, a humble giant. George will be
looking down on us from that golden workbench which is magically always clean,
where the tools are impossibly always sharp, the wood is wonderfully sweet and
carvings actually get finished in a timely manner. He will still be laughing and smiling. He
will still be George, my friend. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: white;">Maura Macaluso</span><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span>CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-3849345543040576622012-03-30T15:31:00.002-04:002012-04-12T15:24:31.322-04:00Chisel Sharpening and Repair<HTML>
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<h1>
<br />
</h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">To
start with you should determine if the chisel has to be sharpened or repaired.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h2>
Sharpening a Chisel</h2>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
Clamp the chisel into a fixed table vise so that the taper
or bevel is facing up. To determine what grit to start the sharpening process
with check to see how sharp the edge is. If it is very dull but still has some
bite start with 400 grit wet/dry paper or stone. If you use paper put it on a
block to make the paper sit even on the bevel. Make sure to lay the block or
stone flat on the bevel. It doesn’t matter if this is a round, flat or “V”
chisel. Press down evenly on the block with a slight more pressure to the front
or cutting edge side. Use the back and forth motion or round and round motion.
But do not rock the block or stone back and forth. A good way to see where you are sharpening is
taking place on the bevel is to see where your scratches from the paper or
stone are taking place. When you can see that your edge is getting sharper you
can advance on to the 600 grit paper and after you have done a few strokes and
advanced the sharpened edge go onto the 800 grit. Do the same with the 1,000
and the 2,000 grit papers. After this you will want to use the 10,000 grit
paste on the leather strop. You can use a flat strop on the bevel and on the
inside use a strop that is wrapped on a dowel. The inside of your chisel will
determine the radius of the dowel. Do the majority of the stropping with the
flat strop on the bevel side and clean the burr off with the round strop on the
opposite side. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
Again when you are sharpening the chisel do not rock the
sharpener back and forth because what happens is you will set up a convex bevel
and it will have very little if any bite going into the wood, To determine if
the bevel has a convex area put the
bevel down on a flat area if you can see a crown or a convex surface it is time
for a repair. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<b>Repair A Convex Bevel</b></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
If your chisel is not too hard you can use a <b>good or
new file. </b>If the file slide off of it you will have to resort to the slow
speed belt sander. Use a course, 80 grit belt,
Determine the angle you want when you are finished and work toward that
angle. Press the convex area lightly on
the belt for a two seconds and determine how hot the metal is getting. To do
this you will have to touch the sharpened end to determine the heat. You don’t
want it over a hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Dunk it in the water to keep it
cool. Also yopu can press on for 2 second and off the belt for two seconds then
back on for 2 seconds. Keep on dunking it every onces in a while. Don’t get in
a big hurry with this process because you can make lots of work for yourself if
the chisel turns brown or blue in color from sharpening. If this happens the
structure of the steel has been changed to get it back to a normal harness for
this steel it will have to be re-tempered. <b>So go slow</b>. In this case slow
is fast. After you have taken the convex out and you have the angle on the
bevel you want then you can start with the 400 grit and use the sharpening
instructions above. Remember avoid the rocking motion with the sharpener be it
the paper or the stone . To do this watch where your scratches are taking
place.</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<b>Repair a Hollow Bevel Chisel ( Recess bevel on the round chisel ) </b></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
This will happen if the back of the bevel has been
sharpened too much. To recognize this you will see the inside or bottom side of
the chisel goes back and the shape looks elongated.</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
Take a new or good file and file the cutting edge
straight. This means knocking the corners back. Then get the bevel you want
either with the file or belt sand as above. If you are using the belt sander do
it slowly and lightly so as not to cause
too much heat in the metal. After the corners have been knocked back then get
the bevel you want. Watch the bevel it maybe convex at this point too and this
will have to be straightened out also. When this has all been straightened out
then use the sharpening method to touch up the edge to where you want it.</div>CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-91312612698643771442012-03-30T15:31:00.000-04:002012-04-12T15:25:49.865-04:00An Intoduction to Classical Carving<HTML>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -1.0in; margin-right: -1.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 9.0pt; margin-right: -.5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="color: black; font-size: 16pt;">Carving Safely </span></u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 9pt; margin-right: -0.5in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 9pt; margin-right: -0.5in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Be Alert!!! Keep a well stocked first aid kit nearby as
eventually you will cut yourself. Keep
you’re your tools sharp and in good condition. Remove unnecessary items from your
workspace. Use carving gloves and tape
to protect hands and fingers until you have the experience to go without
them. Pay attention to the direction
your tool will take if it slips. Protect
your fellow carver when carving in close quarters. Do not carve on your lap. Keep all body parts out of a tools path. Try not to carve towards yourself and if you
must, use part of your arm/hand as an anchor to prevent the tool from injuring
you. Use hold-down devices such as
clamps, vices, carving hooks/sleds, rubber mats or carving arms and carver’s
screws. Remember that most carving injuries happen when reaching for and
putting away tools. If you don’t know
how to do something safely, ask someone who does!!! Listen to the little warning voice in your
head. </u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">I choose to teach classical woodcarving because it is
important to me that this knowledge not be lost and it seems almost no one is
teaching it today. After doing much research, I understand my place as it
relates to the tradition of historical woodcarving. There is a reason that this knowledge has
been passed down through time, simply put, it works!</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Classical
Carving </span></u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"> Classical carving is not a new way of
carving; it is the oldest recognized form of carving. Classical carving does not refer to any style
of finished carving but involves the method used to carve something. It is a system of techniques which stresses
safety, efficiency, speed, ergonomics and tool specific knowledge. Classical, or traditional woodcarving, traces
its beginnings back through time although no one is really sure when it came into
use. It is a method which has been handed
down through the generations, from master to apprentice, from father to son and
in the modern age, from teacher to student.
It began sometime before 1000 a.d in </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Europe</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">. Classical carving relies heavily on the use
of a v-tool or veiner with stop- stop cut only being used when absolutely
necessary. It should be accomplished on
a proper work bench, the height of which should be one palm-width below the
point of your elbow. It is important the
carver stand in order to get the maximum benefit of leverage. </span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"> Classical carving may or
may not involve the use of a mallet to maximize the strength of a stroke of a
carver’s tool. Woodcarvings should be
securely fastened to the workbench in any manner available and suitable for the
carving being produced. You may use
vices, clamps, smaller carvings being glued onto larger surfaces or in the case
of in-the-round carvings, a “carver’s screw”.
Instead of moving the carving, the carver moves around the carving and
learns to use both hands to add great efficiency to his method. It is to the advantage to the carver to learn
to become ambidextrous while carving and also to learn the proper way of
holding their tools while carving. The
coordinated use of both hands can not be understated as it will bring the greatest
efficiency to any technique. You have to be able to work with your left as well
as your right hand. If you can't, there will be certain cuts you cannot do.
Both hands should always be kept behind the cutting edge. Speed
will come from the repetition of
using these techniques over time.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">It is very important for a carver to get to know
their tools and what they can do. For
the most part, a single chisel or gouge is capable of making 4 different cuts. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">#1 almost horizontal to the wood with the bevel
facing down</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">#2 almost horizontal to the wood with the bevel
facing up (upside down)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">#3 with the shaft vertical to the wood (stop cut)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">#4 with the shaft held angled and vertical to the
wood (slicing cut)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">In
order to carve efficiently, you must get familiar with the tools you have at
hand and pick the proper tool for the cut you want to make. A carver who practices classical carving will
accumulate a wide variety of tools in his lifetime. It is important that these tools are kept in
good working condition and be kept cleaned and sharp. We do not whittle in classical carving but
make clean precise cuts which for the most part, will eliminate the need for
any sanding. This alone is a great
timesaver</span> .</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Carving
History</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Woodcarving
in general traces its beginnings much further back in history to at least the
Paleolithic (Stone-age) era. Due to the fact that wood is an organic material,
there are no known examples of woodcarvings which have survived from before
4000 b.c. However, when we look for
stone carvings created by Neanderthal man, there are findings nearly 300,000
years old. The theory of intelligence
strongly suggests that woodcarving was a highly developed skill long before
stone carving was attempted. And that
any tool that a prehistoric man would have used to produce a stone carving,
would have been perfected as a woodcarving tool beforehand. It is debatable which came first, woodcarving
or painting, but it is generally accepted that that the first art was drawing,
using charcoal from fires to make marks on rock faces and it now is thought
that woodcarving or wood etching was the second art form in wide usage. A sharp rock scrapped across a soft piece of
wood could be used to remove some of the wood, leaving other parts behind.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"> Wood
itself existed before man ever stepped foot on this earth. Primitive cavemen
are sometimes depicted with a wooden club and wandering tribes probably used
branches as walking sticks. It is known that stones were affixed to
wooden handles and used as hammers and axes. Smaller, sharper stones were
affixed to thinner, longer pieces of wood to create arrows which were used for
hunting and eventually for protection from other humans. At some point,
longer and sharper pieces of stone were attached to shorter wooden handles,
thereby creating a knife-like instrument. Wood was probably one of the most
abundant resources early men made use of. It must be assumed that even
though early mans time was primarily taken up with survival related activities,
there also must have been moments when he was left to his own devices. I
would guess that the origins of art must have developed from the cavemen's
boredom. Imagine the wonder of man as he touched his flint knife to a soft wood
and realized that he could remove some of that wood, leave other parts and wind
up with something completely of his own creation. Now imagine that
caveman bringing his object back to his clan and being greeted with grunts of
awe and admiration. I think that alone would spur him on to carve again
and again until he was producing usable items for his tribe, eating implements,
personal items and hunter gatherer tools. His skill at producing
necessary items most likely elevated him above the non carving males of the
tribe. Imagine also, at the dawn of primitive religions, the skill to
carve Idols and other religious items elevated the status of woodcarver even
higher.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"> The
earliest known woodcarvings have been found in the hottest driest regions of
the world. It is ironic but the climate
in which the scarce trees grow is exactly the climate needed to preserve wood.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">The Tomb of Hesy-Ra</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"> In 1860, the tomb of Hesy-Ra, the
royal physician of ancient </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Egypt</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">, was opened.
Eleven wooden relief carved panels were discovered to have stood the test
of time. Each of these panels measured two feet by one and one half feet. It is
estimated that theses carvings date back to 2600 B.C. The majority of these panels were in well
preserved condition. It is thought that
the wood used is either Acacia or Sycamore as these were the only carving
friendly woods known to be growing in </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Egypt</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> at the time.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">The
earliest three dimensional figures yet found is thought to have been carved
around 2500 B.C. The carving is three feet high and is in the usual Egyptian pose,
walking forward with both feet flat on the ground and holding a staff in one
hand. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"> There is even mention of
woodcarving in the ancient texts of the Bible, in the book of Exodus, Chapter
35</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">30-35:And
Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the Lord hath called by name
Be-zal'e-el the son of U'ri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; And he hath filled him with the spirit of
God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of
workmanship; And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and
in brass, And in the cutting of stones,
to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -9.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"> It is thought that woodcarving was
practiced in all parts of the ancient world, very rarely have any examples
survived for thousands of years as in </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Egypt</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> and </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">China</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"> In Medieval Europe, Woodcarving had
,along with the other arts, became subject to mans inhumanities .Particularly
in the Dark Ages, the art of woodcarving was pretty much confined to
Monasteries as that was the only place that was safe enough practice it. Most
parts of the world experienced long periods of war and the horrors that
accompany war, looting, burning and the attempts to eradicate treasures of
those foreign cultures. From approximately 700 A.D. to about 900 A.D. the
practice of idol worshipping was strictly forbidden in some parts of </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Europe</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">. Death was the punishment for the carver or
possessor of an idolic symbol. This did
not only relate to religious images but to any depiction of a human or animal
form. This is still practiced today in
some parts of the world. I had a friend,
Wendy, who moved to </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Saudi Arabia</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> in the early 1980's to take a lucrative position in
an oil company. She had a vast
collection of Hummel porcelain figurines that she had shipped ahead of her in
anticipation of her arrival. Imagine her
shock and dismay, upon retrieving her Hummel's from Saudi Arabian customs
officials, finding that each and every Hummel had had their heads and faces
smashed by the authorities. Photographs
which depicted people were also subjected to this form of eradication and the
heads and faces were torn off.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"> Woodcarving was not the only
art form affected by these barbarian times.
All forms of arts and artists were forced underground and much of the
art work was searched out and destroyed.
It is only natural that Woodcarvers fled to the safety of Monasteries as
Monasteries and Churches had been the main employers of woodcarvers in Medieval
Europe. The woodcarving that was done
in these monasteries was mostly elaborate relief carvings done on doors and
wooden panels. Carvings done in each country in </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Europe</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
were remarkably similar which can be attributed to the carvers traveling from monastery to
monastery practicing their trade. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"> After the year 1000 A.D. the
arts experienced a revival in </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Europe</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> known as the Renaissance period. All of the arts came
out of the darkness and oppression of the past years, with a renewed vigor and
flourished. Woodcarvers were influenced
by stone carvings and based some of their work on artifacts uncovered in parts
of </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Europe</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">. In </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">England</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> carvings were also based on stone carvings. These
carvings were not usually statues but decorative carvings. Some of these seem
to be based on carvings done in Scandinavia. Century’s later Scandinavian
woodcarvers would seem to have been influenced by early stone carvings found in
</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">England</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">. Some works carved between 1000 A.D. and 1200 A.D.
can still be found in old Churches in </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">England</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">. Unfortunately during this time, many new carvings
were made to replace old carvings which were by then, showing their age. Almost all of these old carvings were
destroyed. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Carving
in </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">America</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> began with the Native American cultures. Jewelry, totems, pipes and household items
were regularly carved. Traditional
woodcarving in </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">America</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> evolved from the building and furnishing of timber
frame ships and buildings. Ship carvers were our first traditional sculptors of
wood as exhibited on the mastheads of the wooden ships. Other early American
carvers produced wagon wheel spokes and highly decorated stagecoaches.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"> As the next waves of
Europeans landed on these shores, they brought with them a wealth of
traditional carving knowledge. This was
employed mainly on the east coast as the fine furniture industry
flourished. In </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Philadelphia</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">, the Chippendale-style furniture made reached the
climax of mahogany carving in </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">America</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">. There seemed to be a very competitive spirit among
these furniture makers and they continually tried to outdo each other, their
fine designs and execution of such shows in the elaborateness of the
pieces. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Philadelphia</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> highboys and lowboys were unmatched in beauty of
workmanship either here or in </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">England</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">. Richly carved feet, knees, skirts, central drawers
of highboys and lowboys, quarter columns, frets, finials and cartouches were
done in shells, scrolls, flowers, and other beautiful carvings which sometimes
was merely lines of beauty, not necessarily modeled on any realistic forms, and
usually surrounded the shell like carvings on the center of the piece. Although
mahogany was the favorite wood of the period, there was furniture made of other
woods. Some fine specimens are to be found in maple, cherry, and curly
maple. As factories began using modern
wood shaping equipment, there was less and less demand for quality woodcarving.
Subsequently, less and less young adults choose to pursue carving as a career.
Quietly, behind the scenes, in almost every town and city, folk carvers took
over where the traditional carvers left off.
Craft woodcarving came to the forefront in the late 1800's and did well
right until the mid 20th century. Almost
every house was adorned with some type of carving, from weather vanes, decorative
and functional kitchen items, picture frames and architectural moldings and
details. The skilled carver could
usually find employment. Wooden sign
makers were in huge demand as cities grew and more businesses were established.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">But then something happened in </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">America</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">, Factories were starting to
churn out plastics and other moldable synthetics which in turn other factories
used to mass produce items that had traditionally been made out of wood.
Mass producing meant better prices for the general public, and there were less
and less people paying for woodcarvers’ skills. As the older generations
of carvers began dying off all over </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">America</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">, middle aged men and women
started inheriting their father's tools. Most were discarded or left to
rust, but here and there, as their own retirements approached, people started
playing with wood again for their own enjoyment. As Americans began
living longer due to advances in medicine, they had the time in retirement to
perfect their carving skills. The hobbyist carving business took off in full
flight. Clubs were formed and businesses were started to cater to these
new woodcarvers</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 16pt;">The Guild
System</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">.</span> <span style="font-size: 11pt;">Many
European carvers believe that one of the weaknesses of carving in </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">America</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> is that so many carvers are
self taught. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Europe</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> used the guild system in
which carving was approached much the way that a college degree is today. The history of the European guild system
stretches back to at least the 12th century.
The members of the guild were divided into masters, apprentices, and
journeymen. The masters were the proprietors of the businesses and were
required to take on apprentices. The apprentices were bound to the masters;
they were accepted to the apprenticeship for a agreed upon sum paid to the
masters for training. The masters paid the apprentice just enough money to live
on. Often the apprentices slept in the
workshops. The amount paid and the length of time varied from one craft to
another and from one city to another. The masters had complete control over the
work and education of an apprentice but the conditions of control were set by
guild regulations. The journeymen were men who had finished their training as
apprentices and were no longer bound to the masters but could not yet attain
the status of masters. The number of masters was limited to a certain quota. A
master craftsman was a member of a guild. In the European guild system, only
master craftsmen were allowed to actually be member of the guild. To become a
master, a carver had to first become an apprentice and then in turn a
journeyman. He then had to wait until a
master died or retired, sometimes replacing his own master in the guild. He would often times have to pay a hefty sum
as his guild entrance fee and also had to produce a masterpiece before he was
even considered for election to the guild. Becoming a master was often no easy
task. In many guilds the master craftsman was regulated and had strict
obligations, one of which was to take on an apprentice (or several depending on
the craft) to help ensure the survival of the guild</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Over the centuries in </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Europe</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> groups of woodcarvers worked together. Technical knowledge was passed down from one
generation to another. In </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Europe</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">, woodcarvers were only paid a little more
than furniture makers and were by no means rich. If they made a mistake they would have to
re-do it and if a piece broke off, they would have to glue it back on. They
couldn't lose any time with bad habits so they had to develop the most efficient
way of carving. Carvers had to learn to work with both hands. Being ambidextrous has great advantages. You can make the same cut on the right and
left side of your carving without repositioning the carving, or yourself, which
leads to much greater efficiency. When
just starting they were taught to carve with small cuts so that they always had
complete control. Like the old masters, you must have control of the tool so
that it does not run away from you and take things off that you don't want it
to. Speed will come with time and
practice</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: black;">On Purchasing Carving tools</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">Unfortunately, buying carving tools is
an area where it pays to buy the best. Buy one or two at a time when you can
afford to. Buy quality tools by from reputable manufacturers. A cheap tool is simply that: a cheap tool and
it will frustrate you and not get used. Buy the best you can afford. If, as a
new carver, you feel you must buy a set, do not buy larger than a 6 tool
set. When buying larger sets you will
find that there will be a few tools you will never use. Learn what the different profiles can do and
buy tools for specific purposes. Keep track of which profiles you already own
so you don’t duplicate them when buying new tools. The easiest way to do this
is to take a piece of cardboard and make marks in the surface with all of your
chisels, keeping like sweeps together.
Take this cardboard with you wherever you think you may purchase new
chisels. There are differences in handles and metal weights from different
makers, ask other carvers if you may try their tools before deciding which to
buy. While it may take time and be
expensive, one day you will have a set of quality tools which will suits you
well in whatever type of carving you choose to do.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Your
carving Tools</span></u></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">There
were once approx. 2400 carving tool profiles available to the carver. Almost half have been lost to time. How do we know this?, from old shipping
manifests which have been uncovered during archeological digs. There are almost 1200 profiles still being
manufactured today. Before the
industrial age, highly skilled metalsmiths and blacksmiths were relied upon to
make a carvers chisels.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 16pt;">The Steel</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">The Rockwell C scale is a way of measuring metals
hardness and its ability to indent into a softer surface. The higher the # the
harder the steel. Soft steel will not hold an edge for very long. Harder steel will tend to be brittle and will
chip and perhaps crack. A good carving tool will have hardness 56-62 with most
top quality tools at approx 59</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Sheffield</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> (English) and soligen (German) steel is the best steel available today</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 16pt;">The </span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Sheffield</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> List</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Carving Knife<br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">
Probably the first tool any carver starts with is a knife. Its primary use is
for whittling and chip carving. The blade is about 1 1/2" long, and has a
handle designed to fit the hand. Like gouges, it should be made of high carbon
steel that will hold an edge for a long time. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Carpenter's Chisels<br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">
These chisels have a flat edge (#1 Sweep). They are not usually used for
sculpture, because the edge of a flat chisel tends to dig into the wood,
twisting and plunging the tool deeper on one side than the carver may have
desired. They can give a crude, unschooled look that may be desirable on some
types of sculpture</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">U-Gouges</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">
Gouges are the work horses of carving. U-gouges are designated by the <i>width</i>
of the cutting edge (in inches or millimeters), the <i>sweep</i>, or amount of
curvature of the edge (an arbitrarily assigned number), and the <i>shape</i> of
the shaft (straight, bent, spoon, and back bent).<br />
Gouges can be purchased:<br />
- in widths from 2mm (1/16") to 60 mm (2 3/8")<br />
- in sweeps from #2 (a barely perceptible curve) to #11 (a very deep,
half round curve)<br />
- in straight, bent, spoon, and back-bent shapes</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">V-Gouges <br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">
V-gouges are designated by the width between the top edge tips and the angle of
the vee bottom edge.<br />
Gouges can be purchased:<br />
- in widths from 2mm to 30mm<br />
- in 60˚ (#12 sweep) and 90˚ (#13 sweep)</span><span style="color: #408080;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Bent
and Spoon Gouges<br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">
These specialty gouges are used to get into inaccessible spots on a carving
that a straight gouge can't reach.<br />
<b> Bent gouge</b>: the entire length of the shaft is
curved.<br />
<b> Spoon gouge</b>: the final 1 1/2" of the shaft
is deeply bent in a spoon shape.<br />
<b> Back bent gouges</b>: a spoon gouge with the curve
reversed so the cutting edge is convex instead of concave.</span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Skewed Chisel<br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">
A skewed chisel's cutting is angled back from the leading edge at a 45 degree
angle.<br />
They come in straight, bent, and spoon shapes and in
varying widths.<br />
These are specialized tools and are seldom, if ever,
used</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Palm Tools<br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">
Most of the above tool shapes can be purchased as smaller palm tools. A
chip-carving knife and an assortment of palm gouges are all that is needed for
creating small carvings in basswood or other soft woods.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Mallet<br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">
The traditional mallet for carving is cylindrically shaped and made from a
heavy, dense hardwood.<br />
I prefer using a rubber mallet. While it doesn't have
the driving power of a wood mallet, it is less noisy, easier on the chisel
handles, and has some spring that brings the head back up for the next swing.</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">Basic Carving Strokes<br />
Tool Patterns</span></u></b><u><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;"></span></u></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">As a beginning carver, the choice of carving tools
available can be overwhelming. Which tools you really need to learn this craft
and which tools you really will use can be a hard decision. There are several
basic tool shapes that are standard to this hobby. The primary carving blade is
the carving knife. </span></b><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
<b> KNIFE</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">The knife has a thin blade that will be about 1 3/4 inches
to 3 inches long, and tapers to a point at the tip of the blade. The entire
straight faced edge of the blade is sharpened to provide you with an ability to
cut lines into the wood and to whittle away long slivers of excess material.
Short blades are usually referred to as bench knifes where a longer style blade
will be called a Sloyd knife. Carving knife styles are also marketed under the
names of 'detail knives', 'whittling knifes', and 'straight knives'. Of
all the tools that you will purchase, this one is the main stay of your kit and
it is worth the investment for any beginner to begin with an excellent quality
of blade. There are many fine examples of detailed carving that are done using
only the knife.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<tbody>
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<td style="padding: 0.75pt; text-align: center;"><b>Gouge</b></td>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">The second style of tool that you will be using is the
gouge. Where the bench knife tapers to a point, the gouges end with a blunt
cut. The full length of the blade is either rounded for c-curve gouges, tightly
rounded for u-curved gouges also called veining tools or parting tools. The
final edge of the blade is sharpened to slice out the wood. Gouges remove great
quantities of wood at a time and so are used to do the rough cutting in
carving.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;"><b>V tool </b><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">This tool comes to a sharp "v" point at the tip
creating a deeply scored line in the wood. "V" gouges are
available in a variety of angles from very tight "v"s to widely open
"v"s. Use this one to carve along joint lines in the design and for
detailing as the beard and hair in a North Wind pattern.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">Chisels also have only the final edge of the tool
sharpened, however the end will be cut in a flat end or angled end. These flat
blades are used for the stop cut in relief carving, for removing large areas,
and for crisping corners. They are also excellent for scraping the final
surface of your work to leave a clean smooth finish. Chisels cut at an angel
are called "Skews"</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">There are many specialty carving tools that have been
developed over the years. For undercuts and removing the background areas in
tight corners you might want a dog-leg skew. There are also bent gouges,
backbend gouges, spoonbit, and fishtails available for your use. As your craft
is developed, like most carvers, you tool kit will increase with a variety or
knife shapes. Tools also come in a variety of widths from the micro carvers
that are used for very fine detail and miniature works to the large fish tail
gouges and awls that remove great quantities of wood with one stroke.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;"></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">Each tool creates it's own pattern of stroke in the wood.
Use a scrap of softwood to practice and explore each of your new tools.
Remember also that each individual blade style can create a variety of strokes
depending on the depth of the cut and the angle of the blade entry into the
wood. A c-curve gouge will make a beautiful tear dropped shape stroke that both
tapers into the cut and then back to the surface of the wood. Yet if you hold
it upright at a very slight angle and push into the carving you can make fish
and dragon scales with the blades imprint.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: black;">Odds and Ends</span></u></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">Most carvers are self-taught or taught by someone who was
self-taught. The problem with this is
that bad habits are learned and taught.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">There is no “magic” tool which will make you a good carver,
only knowledge, quality tools and practice will accomplish that.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">Long standing techniques have come down to us through the
centuries. The reason why they are still
being taught is because they are reliable methods that work.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">A good tool is an extension of a carvers arm. Tools by themselves do nothing but look
pretty. It is the carver who makes them
work.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">Modern carving tools have only been around since the
Victorian era, before that Blacksmiths individually fashioned tools. Before the
iron age, bones, obsidian and rocks were used to fashion carving tools. Carving is one of the oldest, if not the
oldest, craft. The possessor of carving
tools and skills assured himself a valued place in the harsh primitive times. A
6000 year old carver would recognize most of the modern profiles and would
understand their purpose.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;">Carving tools are not disposable and are
manufactured to last several lifetimes.
Pass them on!</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: black;">Now get carving!!!</span></u></b></div>CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-21416568913230013782012-03-30T15:14:00.002-04:002012-04-12T15:31:33.275-04:00Tool Sharpening Tips and Techniques<HTML>
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<a href="http://members.aol.com/KnifeCut/carve.html"></a> </div>
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<br />
I've found that there are two types of carvers when it comes to tools. Those
that see the tool as just a means to carve the wood, and those that see the
wood as a chance to use the tool. I fall into the later category. <br />
With a bent blade, the first type sees this as a loss of carving time,
while the second type sees this as a chance to reshape the tool. Now you may
fall into the first type, but even if you don't really like messing with your
tools, you will find a great deal more freedom when you develop the skills to
fix and reshape your tools. So here goes. <br />
When I started carving, I was extremely frustrated with sharpening. I
finally found that practice was what made the difference. Sharpening a tool
is not rocket science, its being able to hold the tool in the same position
repeatedly while going through the sharpening process. The other part is
having some basic knowledge about edge shapes. If you are at all mechanically
inclined, and can visualize what the edge looks like, then you have all you
need. <br />
Pictures make all the difference, but text editors don't do them, and I'm
no good at doing that funky ASCII art. So here are words for some basic
principles. <br />
1. The shallower the angle (smaller), the sharper the knife edge.
Conversely the shallower the angle, the weaker is the edge. So for choking
done trees, you need a much steeper angle then for shaving your beard. Angles
in books are nothing more then general guidelines. If you are too shallow,
then the knife cuts great, but gets dull quickly. If too steep, then the
knife cuts less great, but does it for a lot longer before resharpening. As
you continue wood carving, you will form opinions about what that angle
should be based on the particular tool, the wood being carved, and your own
particular style. Don't agonize too much over the proper angle.
"Good-enough" goes a long way here, but I like 27.43 degrees. <br />
2. It is the microscopic edge (the leading edge) which determines how
sharp the blade is regardless of the angle used. That's why you can shave
with an axe that's well sharpened. Once you have an appropriate angle, all of
your effort is to make this microscopic edge; clean, polished, and true. How
this is accomplished is where you get all of the differences of opinion. <br />
3. You can sharpen your knife with a flat rock found in the back yard. It
will turn out just fine. But, it will take a lot of work, and it will be a
pain. You will need to buy some things to make your job easier. What you buy
though is wide open. It mostly depends on: <br />
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- $ or $$$$</div>
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- Are you high tech or low tech
(new fangled vs old fashioned)</div>
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- You like hand tools or power
tools.</div>
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- You just want it sharp, or you
want to perfect the craft of sharpening.</div>
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- Big workshop or small box in
the hall closet</div>
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<br />
--> I am a cheap, low tech, tool sharpener with a garage (part of it at
least, the rest keeps filling up) </div>
Now, since you have no opinions, and are looking for specifics, I will
give you my idea of the basics you should have. This is roughly in order of
priority. <br />
1. a double-sided carborundum stone at least six inches in length. This
can be found in any hardware store. This is your basic stone for reshaping
and establishing the edge. It has two sides, a rough side, and a medium side.
Note: you will need to use oil or water or spit to keep the pores clean while
cutting (see 2 below). For these stones I find spit best. Oil is too messy,
and water soaks right through too quickly. <br />
2. a soft Arkansas stone, again at least six inches in length. These are a
little harder to find, but any store that handles knives will have one of
these. You should get a small bottle of honing oil for the stone. It usually
comes with the stone. The oil keeps the particles of metal from getting
embedded into the pores in the stone (the little crystalline cutting edges
which do the work) and clogging them up. You can use any light oil for the job,
including cooking oil. Water or spit works too, but I like to stay consistent
with a stone. <br />
3. a honing strop (sp). This you make your self. Instructions below. <br />
4. polishing compound for the strop. These look like big fat Crayons. It
is a polishing powder mixed with wax to hold it together. You rub it on the
surface of your strop, or on some cotton or felt power sharpeners. You can
find this at many hardware stores hidden away someplace. Also you can find it
at jewelry supply and some auto supply stores. It comes in different colors
(the color of the powder used). They have different hardness and polishing
characteristics. The box they come in will give you some guidelines. I've
just always used the red rouge and never really experimented with the rest much.
You don't need much. It goes a long way I still have the original set after
20 years (but I don't use power buffing tools much). <br />
5. two good flat files. A medium one, and a fine one. By good, I mean not
too small, and one with a decent handle. <br />
At this point you have everything you need. It's about as cheap as you can
go. From there on, you are getting into specialty items which can make things
easier or faster. You can get: <br />
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- harder Arkansas stones for
finer polishing</div>
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- specialty ceramic stones instead
of Arkansas </div>
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- Japanese water stones instead
of Arkansas </div>
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- Diamond surfaced stones instead
of Arkansas </div>
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- cotton and felt polishing pads
for a bench grinder </div>
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- belt sanding rigs replacing the
carborundum </div>
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- water bath power sharpeners </div>
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- bench grinders for fast
reshaping and blade making </div>
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- $$$$</div>
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<br />
Ok, now how do you fix the point on your new knife. I have not had much
success with bending the points back. If you have a hammer and a solid
surface (like a metal anvil) you can try hammering it flat. It will still
need some fix-up, but not as much. </div>
With your file, file off the bent point. When it starts to get flat, you
can switch to the rough carborundum. Work on it until all of the bend in the
metal is gone and you have only the original "plane" of the blade.
Then its decision time. <br />
You said it was a roughout knife. Not knowing what it looks like, but
clueing off the word roughout, I'm figuring that a pointy type end is not
real important. If so, you are almost home free. You just resharpen the end
to make it match the rest of the blade. <br />
- well no, not really because you will find that you are going to put an
entirely new edge on the blade anyway which take some time. <br />
If you think you want a point back on, or want to reshape the end, then
you are going to do some major surgery. This is the real hard part - it takes
faith - take the edge off your knife with the rough stone so you don't cut
yourself while reshaping. Have faith, you will get the edge back on. <br />
With your file, filing perpendicular to the edge, file the point until the
shape looks right. You can use the rough stone here too. You aren't trying to
put an edge on, just to get the shape (profile) right. <br />
Ok, now how to resharpen. I would use this as an opportunity to practice.
This will take about 30 minutes, so get a good flat surface, and a chair to
sit in. You are going to go rough side, medium side, soft Arkansas, and
strop. You want to develop control and consistency. You want to experiment
with pressure, and with different postures of hands and body which help the
consistency. Some people use a round-and-round motion when sharpening. I just
do a sweep in one direction - cutting edge leading rather then trailing. I
will use a round-and-round motion when I want to take off metal faster,
particularly at the start, but then switch. This is personal preference (and
it works for me) <br />
Ok, here is where the visualizing comes in. What your are doing is
grinding a face on your blade. In the books and instructions, this face looks
nice and flat, but because you can't keep the blade at exactly the same angle
your face will be more rounded. The flatter the better (consistency). As you
are working you blade, stop, wipe it off and take a good look at the edge. If
you have a good magnifying glass, use it. Also, get a black magic marker and
go over the edge with it. Then go back to the stone for a little. Stop, and
look at the edge. You can see real clear where you are grinding and where you
are not. Bright light helps too. <br />
You will likely get a bias in the blade from change in angle as you move
it across. This means that one side is at a different angle then the other,
or that the front or back of the knife is at a different angle. Try to
minimize this bias. <br />
To test the knife, use your fingernail rather then shaving your arm. Push
the edge across your thumb nail as if it was the sharpening stone (not a
slice or saw motion). Don't push down on the knife, let the weight of the
knife be the pressure. When it starts to get sharp, it will "grab"
the nail rather then slide over it. This is rather dramatic, and you will
know it when it happens. Also slide the edge of the nail along the knife edge
feeling for smoothness. You can feel the slightest micro-nicks this way. Do
this slowly and cautiously. We don't want to cut ourselves. <br />
You will spend the most time on the rough stone. Your are going to remove
a lot of metal. Stay with it until it starts to catch your nail, and has a
good face on the edge. Figure 15-20 minutes here (but it depends). <br />
Next go to the medium. You want to make sure to keep the same face angle.
The magic marker works well here. You are also smoothing the scratches from
the rough stone. You are done here when the edge starts to look polished, and
there is a significant increase in sharpness. If you "think it feels a
little sharper", then you aren't done. If you aren't making progress,
then you are probably changing the angle and are trying to grind a new face.
This is the mistake I always made. With a magic marker and a magnifying glass
this is real obvious. <br />
With the Arkansas stone, you want to finish the polishing of both the edge
face and the edge edge. Watch your angles here. Check yourself. You will see
some improvement in the sharpness as measured on your thumb nail, but it will
be more refined. Keep going as long as you see increased progress. Use the
magnifying glass and watch the edge. <br />
When you think you are ready, You want to put about 5-10 strokes on each
side at a steeper angle - just slightly steeper, say 5 degrees. This puts on
your micro-cutting edge. It is this micro edge that you will be
reconditioning as you resharpen your knife while carving. You don't have to
go back to this major resharpening as described here until you no longer have
success in touching up the micro edge. The strop and Arkansas stone will be
your tools for the touch-up. <br />
Wipe the knife, and then under a bright light gently press the knife
almost flat on your thumbnail. If you have done the job right, you will see
the extreme edge appear to bend (the reflected light lets you see this). The
part that is bending is called the "wire edge". It is very thin,
and is an artifact from the sharpening process. If used this way, it will
break off causing micro-nicks (can't see them, but can feel them with the
nail). We use the strop for this. <br />
Take the strop, and lay the knife flat on it and use some pressure pushing
it against the strop. Then draw the knife with the edge trailing (else you
cut the leather strop) across the strop switching from side to side. 10
strokes usually does it. If you test the knife for sharpness on the thumb
nail, you should see a dramatic increase in sharpness. Keep stropping until
it doesn't improve. Use this same procedure to touch up your knife while
carving. When you don't feel an improvement, then go back to the Arkansas and
re-do the micro-edge. Eventually you have to go back and put the face back
on. How often depends on the steel, the original face angle, and the carving.
Re-doing the face is never as dramatic as putting the original face on the tool.
Much faster. <br />
The knife should now catch immediately in your thumb nail. It doesn't skid
at all. You are doing this with little or know pressure. The weight of the
blade is all it takes. If your are unsure of the feel of this, get a razor
and test it on the nail. This should be your benchmark. <br />
Now, how to make a strop. Get a 14-16 inch piece of 1x2 pine. Carve a
decent handle in the first six inches, and leave the rest flat. Now get a
chunk of leather at least 8-10 inches long and 2 inches wide (and not real
thin). Glue the leather onto the rest of the stick. White glue or contact
cement work fine. Clamp or weight the thing down to set overnight. When set,
use a sharp knife to trim off excess leather. Take the polishing compound as
described above and rub it all over the leather putting on a reasonable coat.
Every so often I will scrap off the old stuff and put on a fresh coat. Well,
there you have it. <br />
Chris Nelson <br />
<br />
Duane: <br />
Any sort of buffing with any type of wheel/strop/buffer will EVENTUALLY
round off a tool's edge. That is because the is always a little deflection of
the buffing wheel as it comes off the tool,... as sort of depression... that
rounds the tool edge ever so slightly. The buffing wheel, though, rounds the
edge off less than, say, a stitched cloth wheel. Unless of course, the person
at the "handle end" of the tool is causing the tool to contact the
felt wheel at too "blunt" an angle. <br />
I watch my students buff their tools on my felt wheel, and honestly,
sometimes I just cringe. They may as well just push the "sharp"
edge right into the wheel, the way they are attempting to buff the tool. When
a tool's cutting angle becomes blunt from buffing, it is a very simple matter
to take the tool to the bench stone, dress the edge with a few stroke, take
the burr off with slip stones, and buff the edge to a fresh, sharp finish. I
can do this in less than 3 minutes in a pinch. <br />
No sharpening system is EXACT, especially when it comes to buffing. This
is because the person who holds the tool is not EXACT (like a machine) and
also because buffing wheels/strops deflect. Instead of trying to find
something that is EXACT, try your best to develop the SKILL you need to keep
your tools in shape. It takes practice, but the effort is worth it. <br />
Just accept the fact that ONCE IN A WHILE you will have to reshape the
edge on your bench stone to bring the cutting angle back to specs. It's a
fact of life where sharp edges are concerned. Hope this helps. <br />
Bill Judt<br />
Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada <br />
<br />
One of the major advantages of felt is that it will deform to the shape of
the applied object - it has some "give" to it. How much it will
round (or deform) the edge depends on the amount and aggressiveness of the
compound applied, the angle at which the edge is introduced, the length of
time in contact, and the force with which you apply the edge to the wheel. <br />
With that out of the way, yes it will round your edge, but how much and
how soon depends on your individual sharpening practices. I personally use
two cardboard wheels to sharpen with, one charged with 220 grit aluminum
oxide abrasive and lightly coated with wax. The second is plain cardboard
with slots across the face, and a buffing compound, usually white rouge
applied, for honing. <br />
I use the grit wheel for normal sharpening, which is only required
occasionally, unless an edge becomes damaged. I use the honing wheels for
final honing and light touchup. This is on all knives and the outer bevel of
all sweeps and gouges, including vees. The commercial name of this system is
Frizzell's Razor Sharp, but I have seen similar under other names. <br />
I also use a muslin buff, a fairly stiff one, as a final touch to remove
all traces of rouge from the edge and on the inside of gouges. <br />
I know many professional carvers who use felt wheels, but always in
conjunction with some sort of hard wheel, most frequently a conventional
grinding wheel. <br />
If you use felt, eventually the edge will round enough that you must go
back to something else to flatten it. <br />
If, however, your edge will cut a thin curl across the end grain of a
piece of basswood, that is a curl thin and smooth enough to curl near full
circle before breaking, it is suitable for carving. <br />
Regardless of all the theories and pundits - myself included - the
ultimate standard in sharpening has to be the ability to cut clean and
smoothly, without requiring excessive force.
Jim <br />
<br />
<b>From: Graeme Vaughan (vaughan@webnet.com.au)</b> <br />
The best information I have received on sharpening (after a good deal of
reading and asking and trying) is from Les Miller at the recent Working with
Timber show here in Melbourne (Les also produces videos on this and other
subjects but I don't have the contact details - sorry! perhaps some other
Ozwoodie can help).Advice as follows: <br />
The sharpening process is best divided into three parts:<br />
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">grinding or setting
the bevel </li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">honing </li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">stropping or polishing
</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
1.Grinding </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
For this you will need a soft
start bench grinder with an 8 inch white Aluminum oxide wheel (NOT the
Silicon Carbide wheel which is sold with most bench grinders), 46 grit and
rated K or J for hardness. The wheel is large, quite coarse and soft. The reason
for this is that it enables material to be removed quickly without heating
the tool and ruining the temper. There is no need to dip the tool in water to
cool it as it remains cool throughout the process. To clean and true the
wheel do not use diamond sticks etc, but use a silicon carbide dressing stick
as this keeps the wheel true. You will also need a tool rest which adjusts to
any angle. Daniel Starbuck's point about maintaining the bevel is absolutely
spot on. It is very difficult to maintain the correct angle freehand. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
2. Honing </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
For honing, use a diamond
impregnated steel plate or Arkansas slate slipstone (the former is
preferred). Use WD40 to keep the stones clean. For plane blades, chisels etc,
use a bought or shop made holder to keep the blade at the correct angle to
the plate. See any good sharpening book on the techniques. Hone the flat side
of single bevelled tools first. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
3. Stropping </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
For this you will need a leather
wheel and polish rouge. There are power strop systems available for power
drills. Hope this helps. Cheers. Graeme </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-68080892032313151162012-03-30T15:03:00.003-04:002012-04-12T15:31:33.307-04:00Sharpening and Maintaining an edge<HTML>
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<BODY><br />
<b><br /></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span><br />
<div align="left" class="MsoSubtitle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoSubtitle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Always be</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Alert</u> and never attempt to sharpen
if you are not in full command of
your mental and physical faculties. </b></div>
<div class="MsoSubtitle" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoSubtitle" style="margin-left: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">If you maintain your knife blade after it has been
sharpened you will not have to sharpen it. To maintain the blade
give it a couple of strokes as suggested below, with the 1,000 grit or 2,000 grit wet/dry sand paper
or stone. Then strop it with the 10,000 grit paste.</span></div>
<div class="MsoSubtitle" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoSubtitle" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Straight
Single Edge Blade</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoSubtitle" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">If the knife is very dull
start with a 600 or 800 grit wet/dry
sand paper. Lay the knife flat on the
edge of the paper. Lift the back of the knife slightly about 5 to 10 degrees so
as the edge that is to be sharpened is resting on the sandpaper. Slide the
knife away from the cutting edge. See diagram on the bottom. Do this two time
on one side then turn the blade on the other side and repeat the same process
on the opposite side of the blade. You have removed metal about 1/16” from the
cutting edge, which is normal. The key is to keep it almost flat on the paper
and rotate from side to side. The pressure you put on the paper should be light
but firm. After you have a good edge with the 600 or 800 grit paper you will
want to repeat this process with the 1000 grit paper and the same with the
2,000 grit paper . You may want to go to a higher grit, for a finer edge. You
may also want to strop the blade, on leather with the white compound , to clean
off the burrs at the end of your sharpening. To strop put compound on the strop
and raise the back up </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">5 to 10</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> degrees and use the
sharpening motion. You can go back and forth so long as you keep the knife
fairly flat so you don’t cut the strop. When the compound gets black and shiny
it is used up so scrape it off and recharge it and let it dry.</span></div>
<div class="MsoSubtitle" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Caution:</span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> Do not raise the back of the blade too high
you will remove the cutting edge with a couple of strokes or put shoulders on
the or cutting edge side of the blade.</span></div>
<div class="MsoSubtitle" style="margin-left: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoSubtitle" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Double Edge
Curved Blade</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoSubtitle" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">If the knife is very dull
starting with the 600 to 800 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Rip the paper sheet into
¼’s. Wrap one of the ¼’s around a dowel
that will fit on the inside of the curve or hook on the blade. Lay the paper
& dowel flat on the blade. Lift the paper & dowel up 5 degrees toward
the cutting edge then stroke away from the edge. Do the same amount of strokes
on each side until you have the desired edge. Remember to do the same amount of
strokes on each side for even wear. Repeat this same process with
1,000 and 2,000 grit wet/dry sandpaper or sharpening stone. You may want to go to
higher grit, for a finer edge. You may
also want to strop the blade on leather to clean off any burrs at the end of your sharpening.
Spread some white lightning stropping compound onto the leather strop. When the
compound dries on the strop use the sharpen method on the compound. When your
compound gets black and shiny gently scrape it off and recharge it with clean
compound. It is about a 10,000 grit and
brings the tool up to a super fine edge.</span></div>CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-65831708911507251632012-03-30T14:58:00.003-04:002012-04-16T19:14:54.880-04:00Woodcarving Tips I wished I had learned Years Earlier<title>Killing time and slaying dragons!</title>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> I started out in woodcarving not
knowing much. I had some general novice
woodworking skills, some middle of the road household tools and not much
else. When I actually began carving, I
didn’t know any other woodcarvers so I was a true self-taught hand carver,
toiling away in the basement in the middle of the night while my family and the
rest of the world were fast asleep, using whatever tools I had at hand. Some things came easily, other things I struggled
through, but little by little, I learned.
It would have been great to have had an experienced carver guide me
along, but that was not to be. If there
was any advice I would give to a beginner carver, which he would carry with him
through all his future years of carving, it would have to be some tips on
accumulating tools.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> Initially, I thought I needed to
have a whole bunch of different sets of tools and being on a budget; I wound up
with a whole bunch of useless tools. I
was buying economy tools and judging the value on how many tools I bought vs.
how much I spent. It didn’t take long
for the inferior tools to frustrate me and to come to the conclusion that I was
going about things the wrong way. I soon
came to accept that a quality tool was easily worth its price and if cared for,
could last a carver’s lifetime and perhaps generations longer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> The first tool purchase should be an
all purpose carving knife, not a utility knife, not a bench knife but a knife
made specifically for carving. I personally
recommend the 1 1/2” Mora Frost carving knife.
It is a top quality knife at an economical price. It can be found many
places on line for $10-$20. It is made
in </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Sweden</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> of laminated steel and
is a strong knife that will hold a well sharpened edge with only occasional
stropping needed. You should also at this time purchase, sharpening stones, a
strop and some decent polishing compound.
Your carving tools will only be as good as they are sharp. A dull tool is a dangerous instrument in any
hand.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> The next tool purchase should be a 6
piece set of top quality carving chisels and gouges. These should be full-size professional
tools. If you buy a larger set, you will
find that there will be a few tools that you will never really use. It is wise
to spend your money on tools that you will want to use often. I recommend Pfiel (swiss-made) tools. They are a well constructed balanced tool and
come pre-sharpened from the factory. You
will not be disappointed. A starter set should include a 60 degree v-tool, a
straight chisel, a skew chisel, a veiner, a #5 gouge and a #9 gouge. These are the basic profiles that you will
use again and again. From this point on,
chisels and gouges should be purchased on a need by need basis, or from a
personal preference point of view. There
are over 1200 profiles of woodcarving tools manufactured today. There are
detail and roughing knives, palm chisels, micro chisels, bent, dog leg chisels
and more, all to be considered when fleshing out your original set. Try out different brands, different styles of
handles and different sizes and weights.
Other carvers’ recommendations can guide you but the tool must feel good
in your hand or you will not reach for it.
Remember to be careful reaching for any chisel, injuries seem to occur
more often when reaching for or putting away the tools rather than when you are
actually carving.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> When contemplating before beginning a carving,
imagine where the difficulties will lie and try to purchase a chisel which will
make the job easier. When estimating a
commission carving, I will sometimes include the cost of a certain chisel which
will be used. You can purchase one
chisel every month or every two months and before long will have a set which
many will envy and you will have a core selection of chisels that you not only
will use but that you will look forward to using. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Maura
Macaluso</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">www.carvinginnyc.com
</span></div>CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-90865037072214977642012-03-30T14:56:00.002-04:002012-04-12T15:31:33.319-04:00What the Beginner and the Novice Should Know About The Bent Knife<HTML>
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<div class="MsoTitle">
<span style="font-size: 20pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 20pt;">What
the Beginner and the Novice Should Know
About The Bent Knife </span><span style="font-size: 20pt;">Carving Tools</span></div>
<div class="MsoTitle">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;">Carving Tool History: </span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Through some research I have found out some interesting facts about the
start of the carving tools. The tools started out very primitive. They were made
of jade, obsidian, bone, seashells and beavers hind leg. Certain fish shins
were used for sanding. Stories have been told of people coming to the </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Americas</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> northwest coast from different parts of the world,
pre 1700 century. There were reports of people boating over from </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Hawaii</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Japan</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> and </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Russia</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. These are the people that introduced steel to the
Native Americans. Also steel had been retrieved from floating debris from
wrecked ships. This steel would have
been in a very primitive state but a big improvement over the bone and tools.
The proof of this is that the carvings started to get bigger and more detailed.
The oldest bent knife I have seen was one that belonged to Wayne Carlick who
said it belonged to his grandfather. The blade was made of bone and shaped in a slow curved. It was lashed with sinew to
an arbutus brand that was the handle. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Wayne</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> is a carver at the </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Capilano</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Suspension
bridge</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> in </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">North Vancouver</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">BC</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoTitle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;">Tools</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: </span></div>
<div class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> A good quality tool will be one of the most
important investments you can make as a carver. A good tool can be just as
important as the experience you gain. It is very discouraging to have a tool
that won’t stay sharp or a tool that is too hard to sharpen and will quite
often chip or break. A good way to find good tools is to ask a master carver.
They have usually established a working relationship with a retailer or a knife
maker.</span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">When
looking for a carving tool ask the retailer or knife maker a few questions like
what is the blade hardness and what kind of steel are they made from. If the
retailer can’t tell you what kind of steel it is made of stay away from it. The
hardness should be RC 57+ and the steel
should be tool steel. L6 is about the best I have found for wood carving tools.
The cutting edge stays sharp for a long time and there is a bit of flex in the
blade. With the right heat treatment this blade has what is called a tough
edge. There will be an explanation further on. </span></div>
<div class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: justify;">
<u><span style="font-size: 12pt;">When
purchasing a tools get one that has been
pre-sharpened .You don’t want to sit for hours sharpening to save maybe a few
dollars. If the knife comes with a guarantee you can be assured it has some
quality . This will be a commitment to the carver that this is a quality tool.</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;">Carving Tool Steel: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span>The
composition of the steel is one of the things that makes or breaks a quality
carving tool. The main function of a carving tool is to cut with the least
resistance. To do this two things have to be considered, the thickness of the
blade and the ability of the blade to stay sharp. The best steel for carving
tools is tools steel. There are different grades of tools steel. The best is
the one with the high nickel and high carbon content, preferably L6. Stay away
from the tool steel that has a high content of carbide, Carbide can make a tool
very hard but with a thin edge the is no material to support it and it will
chip under a bit of stress. When it chips you have to have it repaired. A good
tool steel will be made up of the following composition: .75% carbon, 2.60%
nickel the high carbon and high nickel content gives the blade a tough edge. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Analysis of the L6 tool steel is
.75% carbon, .25% silicon, .42% manganese, .025% potassium, .011% sulfur,
.03%chrome, 2.60% nickel.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;">Straight Single Edge Knife:</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
There are many of these type of knifes. The ones we are
most concerned about are the chip knife, the skew knife, a traditional straight
edge. These blades can be different widths and lengths.</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<b><i>Drop point</i></b><i>: </i>This knife is favored by
many carvers because it require a lot less wrist reaction then the ordinary straight
back blade. To be effective the blade should be thin to offer little resistance
while going through the wood. The top of the blade should lean forward so the
knife will be doing a slicing motion while going through the wood.<span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>Chip carving knife:</i></b>
You can identified this knife by the straight cutting edge leading to point.
The back or spine of the blade has a curve leading down to the cutting edge.
This knife is excellent for “V” cuts or any line cuts. While making the cuts
you can hold the knife perpendicular to the work piece making easy on the
wrist. You can use your thumb on the back to guide it while making a cut. This
knife should lean forward so the knife is doing a slicing motion while going
through the wood. While making tight circle cuts this knife should do very
little if any chattering on the wood.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>Skew knife:</i></b> This
knife can be identified by the 45% angle on the cutting edge. Usually this
knife blade is very slender a can make very deep cuts. It is very good for “V”
cuts because of the depth you can go into the wood with it being so slender.
This is an excellent knife on the straight cuts. Because of the width of the
blade it is not good on tight curves.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h1>
<b><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-style: normal;">Bent
knife:</span></b></h1>
<h1>
<span style="font-style: normal;">The bent knives usually have a cutting
sharp cutting edge on either side. Some carvers prefer having the knife sharp
only on one side because they like to push one side with there thumb and that
would be a safety hazard if both sides were sharp. </span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These blades can be different widths and lengths. What will
determine the size is the size of the carving that is being done. The blades I
have made are from 3/16” to 1 ½” wide by
¾” to 6” long. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are basically four different bent knives and all the
other knives are a variation of these four. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>A</b>. Straight double edge knife :- </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Although this blade is not bent it is the same shape and
used to complete a bent knife set of six knives. This knife is used for clean
up and detail work. While selecting this knife it will be important to make
sure the blade is sharpened from close to the handle to the tip of the blade.
All though it is not bent it is of the same design. It will be used for the
hard to reach areas and tight corners. This blade can also be used for cutting
lines </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>B.</b> Slow curve knife :- </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is also known as the planer blade. At the front of this
blade there will have a slight bend. There are different variations to the bend
in the slow curved blade. There can be a bend from about 5 degrees to 30
degrees bend. This blade should be sharp along the level part of the blade to the
tip. Some of the cuts you will be requiring from this knife will be against the
stop cuts. This will require the use of the very tip of the blade. The
selection of this bend will depend where the carver wants to carve. This knife
can be used to level off the flatter part of the carving. It can be used for
shallow cuts</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>C. </b>High curved knife :-</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This blade has a serious bend in it. It will usually be bent
from about 45 % to 90% with a large curve. This blade should be usable, meaning
sharp, from the heel right to the tip.
With this knife you will be able to get into deeper areas. This knife will
usually have a bit of a flat area and this can be used for leveling cuts you
have made with a knife that has an aggressive bend like the hook knife. The
wide curve of this blade can be used for cleaning these same cuts in a rounded
area, for example, in a bowel or spoon.</div>CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-81854036959484862452012-03-30T14:55:00.002-04:002012-04-12T15:31:33.313-04:00To Effectively Use A Double Edge Bent Knife<HTML>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;">To Effectively Use A Double
Edge Bent Knife</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<h1>
Inside beveled blade</h1>
<div class="MsoBodyText2" style="text-align: justify;">
There are two different types
of double edge knives. There is the inside bevel and the back side bevel. This
particular knife is identified by the bevel on the inside radius of the blade. I
will also discuss the backside bevel knife.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">The blade is mounted on the handle in such a way
that you can get close to the wood with the back of the handle. With the blade
positioned the way it is you will have more control of your cuts then you will
with a chisel and with the cutting edge on each sides you won’t have to turn
your carving around to cut the opposite way. With the bent knife you can start
and stop your cuts where and when you want .You are not pushing you tool like
you do with the chisel.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3>
What the knife can be used for</h3>
<div class="MsoBodyText3" style="text-align: justify;">
To understand how the blade
cuts I will explain the areas were the bent knife is very efficient On a relief
carving you can get down into areas and cut up against the stop cut. For any
concaved areas you can use the high curved or the hooked knife. Bowels or
spoons can be carved with the high curved or the hooked knife. The slow cured
knife is very useful for leveling off or plaining an area. It is also useful
for shallow relief or digging. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3>
How to hold the knife</h3>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">To use the knife place the back of the handle in the
palm of the hand you will use for carving. The tip of the curved blade should
be pointed upwards. Place the thumb toward the top of the handle and the little
finger is toward the blade. In this position you will effectively be able to
guide the angle of the cut. <i>See
diagram <b>A,</b> below</i></span><i>.</i> </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2" style="text-align: justify;">
There are a few different ways
to use the bent knife most of them will be the right way to use them I have
observed carvers and also used the carving tools myself. I have found to get
the best use of this knife, holding it in your hand as mentioned above. Put the
bottom of the blade flat on the wood you will carve. Meaning 90 degrees to the
wood to be carved. Use the heal of the
blade to carve with. So the knife should be angled back (about 15 degrees) and
the blade laying flat on the heal of the
blade. Now take and angle the knife toward you about 5 to 10 degrees. Put some
pressure on the knife and drag it toward you. Make sure that your elbow is
tucked into your side and remember to keep your wrist straight unless you want
to finish your cut. In this case you change the angle by angling the knife back
up to the 90 degrees. The angle of your knife will determine the depth of your
cut. You should not have the knife angled any more than 20 degrees off the 90
degrees at any time. Too steep of an
angle will prevent you from making an easy cut. This theory works for all the
different bent knives. This usually takes some practice so don’t get
discouraged. Just practice the cut on a piece of scrap wood before you get into
a carving </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">See
diagram B, below for the angle of the knife</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">This knife is sharpened on both sides so you will
want to use both sides, you will be able to do a pushing or pulling action.
This will save you the effort of turning the carving around every time you want
to cut in a different direction. Sometimes the grain in the would changes and
you have to cut in a different direction. This is extremely helpful when the
wood grain starts to run in different directions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2">
There are three basic bent knives, a slow curve and high
curve and a hooked knife. Some uses for the three styles of knives are:</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Slow
Curved Knife</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;">The slow curve is as it suggest. It has a very
gradual curve toward the end of the knife The knife can be used for shallow
digging or to plane a surface. Sometimes the surface has to be planed to draw
lines or to complete or finish off an area. Sometime you have to make cuts up
against a stop cut so the blade should be sharp right out to the tip. With this
blade you should be able to cut with both sides of the knife. If the grain in
the wood is changing direction you don’t have to turn the carving around, just
change the direction of cutting with the knife</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">High
Curve Knife</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;">This knife is also as it suggests. The curve is
high. Usually it is bent up to 90 degree. The wide curve makes the knife
excellent for cleaning out the knife marks made by the hook knife in a concave
area. This knife acts as a wide scorp. Being sharp right to the tip you can cut
up against the stop cuts with this knife. This is an excellent knife for deep
relief carvings. I especially like it for relieving the background.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Hooked Knife</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16pt;">Easily recognized by the hook at the end of the
blade<b> </b>this knife is very useful in roughing out the bowel or spoons and
any other concaved areas. This knife can be used in a scorp. In a manner more so then the high curved knife. I would
like to remind you that the angle that you have the knife off the wood determines
the depth of your cut. In other words if you lay the heel of your knife flat on
the wood it will not cut anything, if you tip it toward you about 5 to 10
degrees and pull the knife towards you it will dig in. To start with put your
elbow into your side and keep your wrist straight . Just cut a shaving off the
surface until you get used to the knife. Don’t bend your wrist unless you want
to cut out. Try to pull and push it to get used to it. See diagram A and
diagram B for proper angles. </span>CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-16590025423044108822012-03-30T14:52:00.000-04:002012-04-12T15:31:33.271-04:00If You Loved Me<HTML>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
If You Loved Me</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
If you loved me, you’d bring me pine</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Basswood, Linden,
Ash or Lyme</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Some Apple, Spruce, perhaps redwood</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Catalpa and Aspen
are also good.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
If you truly loved me, you’d bring sycamore</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Birch and Mahogany I am sure</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Rosewood, Acacia and Tupelo
too</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
If you loved me as much as I love you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Prove that you love me, bring me some cedar</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Some ash, some Elm, Cherry is sweeter.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
If you really love me, treat me good</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Bring me Walnut, Hickory
and Dogwood</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Maple or Oak, perhaps Douglas Fir.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Show me you love me with some poplar</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Cypress and
Butternut would be nice from you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
If you loved me as much as I loved you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Maura Macaluso </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Copyright 2010</div>CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-43990258718997973332012-03-30T14:47:00.003-04:002012-04-12T15:31:33.295-04:00The Woodcarvers Palm Reading<HTML>
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<br /><u></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
It was a mistake to have picked up that chisel</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I was tired with a great lack of sleep</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
My favorite tool was jagged, nicked and dull</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And about to get in trouble deep.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
But with nothing else I’d rather do</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Carving was what I had planned</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Down in the mess of my small workshop</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I took that tool in fated hand</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Carving Rules: First thing, stay alert</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And keep all tools safe from harm.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
My first clue should have been the blood</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Which was dripping down my arm</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
At first I thought that all was well</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Though I struggled with every chip</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And it’s funny how I knew it was coming</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Before I even felt the damned tool slip.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Today’s carving would be delayed</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I’d put the chisel through my palm</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And looking down on the ghastly sight</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I wondered why I was so calm<br />
twitching to and fro with my pulse</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The chisel danced, as if to mock me</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
To leave it in or pull it out</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Became a question of some urgency</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Now what would you do if you were me</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
With a chisel stuck in your hand</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Call for help, perhaps seek first aid?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
But You’d have to be me to understand.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Of course, I pulled it out you see</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And I bandaged my hand up good</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Then I sharpened up my tool </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And went back to carving wood.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
It’s some years later now, though scarred</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
My hand has healed quite fine</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
The best lessons are born of tragedy</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I now have an extended lifeline.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Maura Macaluso</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
</div>CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-42317384523332199562012-03-30T14:45:00.003-04:002012-04-12T15:31:33.291-04:00The Mighty Tree<HTML>
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<u>The Mighty Tree</u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Rising from the forest floor</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
How proudly they have stood </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I look upon majestic trees </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And all I see is wood.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Going to the lumberyard</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
To buy a few board feet</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I choose a wonderful mahogany</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Straight-grained and oh, so sweet.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I sit a piece on my workbench</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Turn it over in my hands</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Think how many years its’ lived</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Bring some justice with my plans</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I bring it up to my nose</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
And inhale it’s earthy scent</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Then reach out for my pencil</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
What shall it represent?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Chisel and knife standing ready</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
A gleam across the blades</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I try to find some inspiration</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Before the daylight fades</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Then in the quiet of the night</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
My tools just seem to dance</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Taking away what isn’t there</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Having nothing left to chance</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
A glorious sunrise greets the day</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
My masterpiece sits before me</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
In celebration of the wood</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
I have carved a mighty tree.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Maura Macaluso </div>CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-70709449689631909912012-03-30T14:44:00.002-04:002012-04-12T15:31:33.310-04:00The Custom Carver<HTML>
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<u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The Custom Carver</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">It
was just a few short years ago<br />
when i picked up my first knife<br />
Just a magic moment in a day<br />
that forever changed my life.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
that day a woodcarver I became<br />
and I wore my chips with pride<br />
and I learned everything I could<br />
left no technique untried.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
I called myself a custom carver<br />
and built my own web site<br />
spent the next few years carving<br />
staying up very late each night.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
I heard that one must find a niche<br />
and believe me, I have tried<br />
I still carve almost anything<br />
whatever my customers decide.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
While I like to carve my own designs<br />
I do not wish to starve<br />
so I create what others want<br />
At least I get to carve.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Maura Macaluso</span><br />
</div>CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-14425775654647654042012-03-30T14:43:00.002-04:002012-04-12T15:31:33.263-04:00Wood Chips<HTML>
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<BODY><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><u>Wood chips</u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">wood chips, wood chips everywhere<br />
whatever should I do<br />
sweep them all up into a pile<br />
and grab a bottle of glue.<br />
To the carving that they came from<br />
I try to paste them on<br />
little piece here, little slice there<br />
until the pile is gone<br />
now I'm right back where I started<br />
with a modest block of wood<br />
Can no longer see my carving<br />
It wasn't very good.<br />
But again I start to chisel<br />
again the wood chips fall<br />
covering up my legs and feet<br />
till I can't see them at all<br />
I look up at my carving<br />
and its exactly as before<br />
just a mediocre carving,<br />
a pile of wood chips on the floor<br />
Some days can just be magic<br />
other days nothing goes my way<br />
wood wants to be what it wants to be<br />
and tomorrow's another day</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Maura Macaluso </span></div>CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-37917955772562229662012-03-30T14:41:00.001-04:002012-04-12T15:31:33.285-04:00Listen to the Wood<HTML>
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<u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Listen to the Wood</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I
must first have a plan<br />
I try telling myself<br />
As I reach for some Basswood </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">High
up on the shelf.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">My
chisels are sharpened.<br />
The woods' in my vise.<br />
Some say wood can talk.<br />
I try listening twice.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">All
I hear is silence<br />
Not one single word<br />
So I give it a second<br />
And then maybe a third.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I
try picking it up<br />
Turn it round in my hands <br />
And then I start looking <br />
Through my filed away plans.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">It's
a half hour later <br />
And I haven't a clue<br />
So I google for pictures<br />
But its now half past two.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">So
I get up and stretch<br />
And I then sit back down<br />
My sleeve catches a chisel<br />
I curse, stomp and frown.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">So
I pick up the chisel<br />
Hold it up to the light<br />
Realized I've chipped it<br />
Understanding my plight.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">So
first to the grinder<br />
Keeping the bevel flat<br />
I waste some more metal<br />
The noise scaring the cat.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Then
on to the honing<br />
Of the new bevel I've ground<br />
I get the blade gleaming<br />
With some german compound.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Its
now after three<br />
Tool hasn't touched wood<br />
I'd like to start carving<br />
And I would if I could.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">But
my mind is a blank<br />
And my wood is a mute<br />
Taken a vow a silence<br />
And I'm not finding it cute.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">So
I yell at the Basswood<br />
"Damn, what will you be,<br />
your just useless splinters<br />
Spit out by a tree".</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Well
the wood didn't like it<br />
Not one little bit.<br />
Boy, it started talking.<br />
I thought it never would quit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">And
a half hour later <br />
It was still going strong<br />
It was yelling at me<br />
Telling me I was so wrong.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">It
called me a sorry carver<br />
And insulted me good<br />
I never dreamed of the fury<br />
That hid in the wood.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">So
I picked it up gently<br />
And tried to make it my friend<br />
But it started screaming<br />
And this just had to end.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Into
the woodstove<br />
The basswood went flying<br />
Sending up embers<br />
Which had gently been dying.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">A
few moments later<br />
The wood engulfed in flames<br />
No I wasn't sorry<br />
It had called me bad names.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">And
let that be a lesson<br />
To all the rest of my wood<br />
You better start talking<br />
Or I'll fix you good.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Since
that fateful day<br />
Cooperations been key<br />
The wood carves itself<br />
As it now listens to me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">by
Maura Macaluso</span></div>CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-64800201377896176122012-03-30T14:33:00.000-04:002012-04-12T15:31:33.301-04:00Notes on Human Proportions<HTML>
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<h2 class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Arial;">Notes on Human Proportions</span></u></b></span></h2>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Head</span></u></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="color: black;">shape is oval from three
views:the front, side and top.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Upper portion wider than lower</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The
distance from the chin to the top of head is the same as from the back of the
head to the front. The mid-point of the face, when measured from chin to top of
head, is at the base of the eyes or eye sockets</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Widest part<b> </b>= distance between the two parietal eminences.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The head sideways is one
head high and one head wide. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">face- If looking
straight ahead, ends of face will stop at 1/2 of collarbone. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> facial proportions are universal regardless of
race, sex and age, and are based on the phi ratio of 1.618. For example, if the
width of the face from cheek to cheek is 10 inches, then the length of the face
from the top of the head to the bottom of the chin should be 16.18 inches to be
in ideal proportion. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The average main face
triangle touches the two pupils, the widest part of the nose and the point
between the front teeth. To me this is an important character trait. The
triangle goes from the center of the pupil, touches the outside of the nose
nostril and stops at the center line, every bodies triangle is a little
different. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">. <b>Eyes:</b> The space
between the eyes is about the same width as one eye. If the width of eye is
used as a unit of measurement, the head is five eyes wide.The eyes are halfway
between the top of the head and the chin</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The space between the pupils
is two and a half inches. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The width
of one eye is always equal to the space between the eyes</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Eyebrows</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> extend beyond the eyes on both
sides.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Ears:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> The top of the ears line up with
the brow of the nose and the eyebrows, and the bottom of the ears with the tip
of the nose.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The top
of the ears line up above the eyes, on the eyebrows</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> The ear hole is in line with bottom of the
nose, and just above the backbone- skull pivot point. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Nose:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> The bottom of the nose is the
midpoint between the eyes and the chin.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Face is three noses long</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Length nose = length ear</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Width nose = width eye</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Mouth:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> The corners of the mouth align with
the centre of the eyes (if you're not smiling). The line where the two lips
meet is slightly above the halfway point between the end of the nose and the
chin.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">.Mouth is two<b> </b>eyes wide</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> Chin:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> The mound of the chin starts at the inner corners of the
eyes</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">the body</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The
average adult is <b>seven heads tall</b>.<br />
- The top of the hips are four heads high.<br />
- The pelvic region is about one head high.<br />
- Elbow to fingertip is about two head lengths.<br />
- Wrist to fingertip is one head length.</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">HEAD- Width
of torso (sans shoulders) </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">HAIRLINE-
One eye-length above eyes </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">FEET- Length
of half of shin (or roughly the size of the forearm). </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">HANDS-
Fingerbase (across knuckles) half as wide as face </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">LEGS- Torso
length (hip to knee) </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">TORSO- (hip
to collarbone) 2 1/2 head lengths </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">ARMS- Elbow
ends just above waist (not hips) </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">FOREARM- if
hand is on shoulder, wrist is at mid-shoulder. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The width from
shoulder to shoulder is 3 heads width. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The distance
from the hip to the toes is 4 heads. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The distance
from the top of the head to the bottom of the chest is 2 heads. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The distance
from the wrist to the end of the outstretched fingers of the hand is 1 head. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The length
from top to bottom of the buttocks is 1 head. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The distance
from the elbow to the end of outstretched fingers is 2 heads. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The neck is
1/4 of a head high. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> The chin to shoulder line is 1/4 of one heads
length. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The chin to
nipples line equals one head length. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The nipples
to the belly button equals one head length. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">From the
belly button to the space between the legs is one and 1/4 head. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The width of
the waste at the belly button is one head length wide (not head width wide). </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">From the hip
[trunk] top triangle line to the space between the legs, is one head high and
two head widths wide. Not more. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The center
of the body is the bend line, it is 1/4 head above the space between the legs
and two head widths wide. Not more. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The torso
triangle is from the ends of the shoulder line to the center and the top line
of the bend line triangle. That is the quarter head high triangle within the
trunk triangle. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The rib cage
can be represented by an oval two heads high, starting 1/4 head length above
the shoulder line. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The upper
arm, from the shoulder triangles outside edge, is one and 1/2 heads long. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The lower
arm is one and 1/4 heads long. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The hand is
3/4 of a head long, equal to the average face. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The chest
side view is one head width wide at the nipples. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The upper
arm is one and 1/2 head lengths, connecting through the shoulder ball, a
quarter head circle reaching the end of the shoulder line. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Just below
the leg space, the legs and the body are the widest. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">From the
outside point of the bend line triangle down to the center of the knee cap is
two head lengths. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The bend
line is the center of the body. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The knee cap
is a 1/4 head length circle. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The calf
muscle is higher on the outside. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">From the center
of the knee cap to the ground is two head lengths. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The ankle is
1/4 head high off the ground. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The foot is
one head length long. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The ankle
bone is higher on the inside. </span></li>
</ul>CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-40107840102058234082012-03-30T14:19:00.001-04:002012-04-12T15:31:33.288-04:00Carving The Human Head<HTML>
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<BODY>Carving The Human Head<br />
<br />
First, lets talk about carving the human head. The following information came from the archive files of the Knotholes List. Robert Mace, the moderator of the List, re-published this information for a second time. The original author of the email was Mr. Gene Graham. Mr. Graham has additional information about carving eyes at his web site. You can view it at http://www.angelfire.com/tn/treetotreasure/index.html.<br />
<br />
Subject: "Rules" for carving faces<br />
<br />
THE HEAD:<br />
<br />
1. The height of the face is about 1 1/2 times the width.<br />
2. The side of the head fits roughly into a square.<br />
3. The neck cuts straight back, then angles back & down, then straight down <br />
4. The head sits forward on the shoulders.<br />
<br />
THE FACE:<br />
1. The forehead-to-nose-to chin angle is approximately 120 degrees.<br />
2. The left cheek-to-nose-to-right cheek angle is approximately 90 degrees.<br />
3. The face is divided into three equal parts: the top of the head to the brow, the brow to the bottom of the nose, and the bottom of the nose to the bottom of the chin.<br />
4. Both sides of the face are NOT symmetrical.<br />
5. The forehead is the only place on the face that is allowed to be flat. <br />
6. Narrow the temple area.<br />
7. The face is "five eyes' wide.<br />
8. The eye area is the widest part of the face.<br />
9. Cut the cheek areas straight back.<br />
10. Define the cheek muscles.<br />
11. From the nose to the cheek to the side of the head should have a smooth rounded transition.<br />
<br />
THE NOSE: <br />
1. The "half in - half out" rule. Half of the nose should extend out from the face. The other half should extend into the face.<br />
2. The outside edges of the nostrils line up with the inside corners of the eyes.<br />
3. Taper the nostrils back NOT out.<br />
4. The nose widens slightly then tapers back in about half way between the bridge and the tip.<br />
5. The nose has a ball on the end of it.<br />
6. Do not carve away the muscle structure that connects the nose to the cheeks.<br />
7. DO NOT hollow the inside of the nostrils until the face is completely finished.<br />
<br />
THE EYES: <br />
1. The eyes are in the middle of the head.<br />
2. The eyes are one eye width apart.<br />
3. Round the eyes and face back around the head.<br />
4. Recess the bottom of the eyes farther back than the top.<br />
5. Under normal circumstances, the eyes should be small slits.<br />
6. The pupil of the eye makes up 80% of the eyeball.<br />
<br />
THE MOUTH: <br />
1. The mouth line is 1/3 of the distance from the base of the nose to the base of the chin.<br />
2. Dentures are not flat! Round the mouth area.<br />
3. The corners of the mouth line up with the middle of the eyes.<br />
4. The corners of the mouth should extend behind the nose.<br />
5. The bottom lip should set back under the top lip.<br />
6. The corners of the bottom lip should tuck under the top lip.<br />
7. Add dimple lines at the corners of the top lip.<br />
8. The mouth has little "pockets" at each corner.<br />
<br />
THE CHIN: <br />
1. Keep the ball of the chin small.<br />
2. The chin sets back behind the lips.<br />
3. The chin has two muscles on the end of it.<br />
<br />
THE HAIR: <br />
1. Hair has several levels. Carve them!<br />
2. Hair must have a starting point and an ending point. It does not start and/or end in the middle unless it comes out from or goes in under something.<br />
<br />
THE NECK: <br />
1. The veins in the neck disappear behind the ears.<br />
2. The jaw turns into the ear.CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-45860639505661085502012-03-30T14:14:00.006-04:002012-04-12T15:31:33.298-04:00Joe Dilletts Woodcarving Apprentice Program<HTML>
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<BODY><h2 style="color: #cc0000; text-align: center;">
Joe Dilletts </h2>
<h2 style="color: #cc0000; text-align: center;">
Woodcarving Apprentice Program</h2>
To achieve an Apprentice 1 level they began with a simple project that they choose. They learn safety precautions. They must be able to take a knife and gouge and V-tool from a wide blunt edge and get them razor sharp. All have certified through the sharpening. They are all working on carving moldings.<br />
Each molding teaches them right and left hand carving, grain structure and direction of cut. The first molding is a chase carving with a V-tool or veiner (spoon carved design). The next molding is a row of small raised<br />
buttons surrounded in a conceived circle. The third molding is a ropedesign. Two are still working on the rope design and the rest have certified through this point. Egg and dart is the next molding. A shell in the next<br />
molding. The last molding will be their design. After completing all themoldings they must apply a finish. Then they must certify to knowing how to calculate mathematical ratios and proportions and certify to enlarging or<br />
reducing a picture to create a pattern per my requirements. They must certify to knowing the common types of wood they will be carving and how tochoose the direction of grain to orientate a face or how to choose the bestand finest grain direction to orientate the carving. They must develop arespect for wood and the source it comes from through good conservation practices inside and outside the shop. Than they must complete a project.That will get them to Apprentice 1 level.<br />
<br />
Apprentice 2 level will have exercises that refine their chisel techniques,uses power to improve productivity and studies good design techniques and human and animal proportions. They must know how to construct a block for carving and good gluing practices by calculating how to even out clamping pressure. There will be much time devoted to drawing which will be taught from the book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards.They will be learning woodburning techniques and develop a wide vocabularyof texturing techniques by using chisels. They must develop the ability to make clean cuts in remote areas so to eliminate 'hamburger'.<br />
<br />
To get certified to Journeyman they must have logged about 1000 hours of carving time, demonstrate originality and uniqueness of design. Capable of designing and drawing their own patterns from several sources. Produce a carving from real life, both in the round and in relief. Does not need instruction to design, carve and finish a carving. Understand the material of wood and how it is effected by moisture changes, UV exposure, various drying techniques, strength and weatherability. Understand, know when to use different finishes and how to apply those different finishes. Able to make several carvings of the same subject, like an oak leaf, and express different feelings, such as serenity, anxiety, sadness, and joy . Knowledgeof all laws and regulations that apply to the carving business, such as sales and income tax, EPA regulations, MSDS sheets, different business structures such as s-corporation or sole-proprietorship, accounting practices as applied to running a carving business. Demonstrate a willingness to share their knowledge by teaching woodcarving classes.<br />
<br />
To achieve the Master Carver level they must have knowledge of good business practices, know how to quote jobs, write work orders/contracts, create invoices and estimate completion times accurately. Demonstrate good marketing skills. Demonstrated a desire to promote woodcarving and teaches on a regular basis. They must demonstrate a willingness to give back to their community by getting involved in community activities.<br />
<br />
<br />
Joe DillettCarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-89107333486013872612012-03-30T13:47:00.002-04:002012-04-12T15:31:33.316-04:00What is Art<HTML>
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<BODY><h2 style="text-align: center;">
What is Art</h2>
<br />
Art and Artist are part of a trine with the third point being the viewer. None can exist without the other two and all form a never ending symbiotic evolutionary relationship. Art is created by an artist and is absorbed by and reflected off the viewer. an artist must create art to be an artist and needs support of the viewer to exist(not necessarily financially). The viewer is dependent upon the artist to create and the art to evoke. Art, is simply anything created by man solely for its intrinsic value and serves no purpose other than to exist, occupy space and arouse negative or positive feelings in the viewer. The artist is simply the creator of the art. Though an artist may create with a purposeful meaning behind his art, it is up to the viewer to interpret his statement, to keep or discard what they will, until they have made some sense of it. While some artists believe that they are compelled to create and are not at all dependant upon the viewer, they are mistaken; art is not art unless it is viewed and felt even if it is the artist himself who does double-duty as the viewer.CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-23738847304248747702012-03-30T13:43:00.001-04:002012-04-12T15:31:33.279-04:00Woodcarving Tips<HTML>
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<BODY>Woodcarving Tips <br />
<ul>
<li>Strop often, sharpen less</li>
<li>A good tool becomes an extension of your arm. </li>
<li>Keep your tools well and they will keep you well</li>
<li>Find cheap tools at estate sales</li>
<li>Attend a carving show. You will be inspired</li>
<li>Always bring wood into your shop at least two weeks before you plan to use it. It needs to acclimate to the humidity.</li>
<li>Keep your tools well and they will keep you well</li>
<li>Anybody will buy anything if you make them think they need it</li>
<li> It is much easier to carve using two hands and hold down devices</li>
<li>Sawdust in the air can, combined with a flame or spark, can cause an explosion.</li>
<li>Use a sharp straight edge of broken glass to clean up a carving.</li>
<li>There are no mistakes in woodcarving, only new design possibilities.</li>
<li>Gouges can be used upside down.</li>
<li>You can sharpen your tools with various grades of sandpaper.</li>
<li>You can put wood into a microwave to dry it or to kill bugs in it</li>
<li>Never carve when you are impaired or tired.</li>
<li>Don’t carve after sanding, the grit will dull your tool</li>
<li>A good tool is worth the price you pay for it.</li>
<li>Carve away from yourself.</li>
<li>Crumpled up brown paper bags can be used for fine sanding </li>
<li>Bad tools don’t get used</li>
<li>Crazy glue can be used to glue cuts closed. </li>
<li>Boil a cypress knee and the warm bark will peel off </li>
<li>A chisel is not a pry bar.</li>
<li>The width of one eye is equal to the space between the eyes.</li>
<li>No matter how much wood you have, you won’t have the right size for your next project </li>
<li>Remove pencil marks with rubbing alcohol</li>
<li>If you price a carving too low it won’t sell</li>
<li>The most valuable lessons are learned from your worst mistakes.</li>
<li>Wood dust can explode if there is an open flame nearby</li>
<li>Use spar varnish on wood which will be displayed outside </li>
<li>Do not use a mallet on palm tools</li>
<li>Agree on the price for a carving before you start it</li>
<li>Use a scraper to remove excess glue</li>
<li>Standard drying time for fresh-cut wood is 1 year to 1” of thickness.</li>
<li>The corners of the mouth line up with the centers of the eyes.</li>
<li>A high swivel chair with a back and footrest is the perfect carving chair.</li>
<li>There are cheap tools to be found at yard sales and estate sales</li>
<li>After cutting away the skin of a golf ball, use the excess skin for a paint cup. </li>
<li>Turn a problem area upside down and then try to carve it.</li>
<li>Wood dust can cause cancer and other diseases</li>
<li> Always plan to demonstrate at any show you attend. Those who demonstrate usually draw a crowd.<br />
</li>
<li> Cover your workbench with inexpensive rubber mats. Relief carvings will not move.</li>
<li> Smaller pieces of wood can be glued together to make larger pieces of wood.</li>
<li>Most carvers have a variety of different woods stored away in their workshops and will pass a piece or two on to a new carver.</li>
<li>A V-tool actual has 3 separate blades.</li>
<li>Young children can carve soap but be careful, the chips are slippery.</li>
<li>If you have wet acrylic paint on a palette, put it in the freezer between painting sessions</li>
<li>You can make excellent woodcarvings with a single knife.</li>
<li>You can never use too many pictures for references.</li>
<li>A power saw can cut faster through flesh than wood.</li>
<li>Never stand in a direct line with a table saw blade.</li>
<li>Rubber bands can be used as clamps.</li>
<li>Use a v-tool for outlining, not using stop cuts will save lots of time and you will not crush the wood fibers.</li>
<li>Original carvings sell better than carbon copies. <br />
</li>
<li> Wood carves easier when “wet” but most likely will crack while drying. </li>
<li>.Thin cardboard can be used as a strop.</li>
<li>Shave the hair on your arm to test the sharpness of a tool.</li>
<li>Books are worth their weight in gold but a good carving video is better</li>
<li>When picking something thing up, you will knock over another, maybe even 2 or three.</li>
<li>The more costly a tool, the more likely it is to jump off your workbench.</li>
<li>A mixture of 50% rubbing alcohol and 50% water sprayed on wood will make it easier to carve.</li>
<li>Tools should be purchased as needed. </li>
<li>Looking and acting like a professional will help make you one.</li>
<li>Tools can sense when you’re afraid of them.</li>
<li>The best way to learn is to do.</li>
<li>Wood contracts and expands with humidity.</li>
<li>Sell the right things at the right shows</li>
<li>Grinling Gibbons glued layers onto his carvings.</li>
<li>Let the customer be involved, update them on their carvings progress. Email them pictures in various states of completion.</li>
<li>You can soak a thin board in water, cover it with a wet towel and use a household iron to remove any warping or cupping</li>
<li>Word of mouth is the best selling tool.</li>
<li> You can burnish wood by using a rounded piece of hard wood to press into your carving.</li>
<li>Wood is dry when it has a 10% or less moisture level</li>
<li>Cuts usually happen reaching for tools.</li>
<li>Always get a deposit which will cover the costs of a commission carving.</li>
<li>Clean sandpaper using hard rubber</li>
<li>There is always more than one way to do something.</li>
<li>Slowing down wood drying time will lessen checking. </li>
</ul>
<br />CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86398617934200470.post-51111315058174037562012-03-29T19:55:00.007-04:002012-04-12T15:20:35.772-04:00How do you become a woodcarver? A reflection on my 10 year carving anniversary.<title>Killing time and slaying dragons!</title>
www.carvinginnyc.com<br />
<br />
<br />
In my case I did not decide to become a woodcarver. My first few woodcarvings just happened. In fact at the time, I didn't know that traditional woodcarvers existed anymore. On an annual June family reunion in Cape May in 2001, my Uncle Bill told me about a creation that a family friend had given them. It was the same subject, a leaf, I believe, repeated 3 times in 3 different mediums, one of the mediums was wood. I had always had an artistic bent coupled with the ego of an artist and remembered thinking to myself, 'I could do that'. I filed the thought away in the underworld of my cluttered mind.<br />
That July, I turned 40 and it started a dialogue in my head. For the first time in my life, I really dealt with the issue of my own mortality. Was this midlife, were my days numbered, and the writing clearly on the wall? Or would I have many, many more days to waste away getting nowhere fast. There was no mid-life crisis, no therapy, no craziness on my part. It was a quiet yearning for something more, something that mattered, something that when I left this earth, I could be proud of. What I knew then was that I felt unaccomplished and that did not sit well with me. I had no legacy to pass down to future generations, nothing to contribute to mankind. Besides passing my DNA down to my son, there would be nothing to say I had been here. Career-wise, I had been a sign maker, an x-ray darkroom technician, an developer repairman, a New York State EMT for a brief period, a restaurant worker and a US letter carrier. All of these were respectable occupations that sounded good when I began them but within a few short months or years, I knew that I would not want to spend my life doing any of them. To be honest, I was never ambitious. I was always happy with very little. If I could pay my bills, have money to live and a roof over my head, I was content. It had never been about money or fame.<br />
<br />
<i>Looking back on my life, the one thing that remained a constant was my art. I had doodled, drawn and painted since I was a young child and this slowly developing talent led to my first job at the age of 15 as a sign-maker for local businesses. Somehow, it wasn't creative enough for me and I soon grew tired of it. I continued my art as a hobby and even made a few bucks from it, now and then. When I was 17, with high school graduation looming large, my mom asked me what I was going to do with myself. I didn't give a moments pause and told her, "I'm going to be an artist". What came next was one of the most hurtful things that ever happened to me. My mom laughed at me and said "Don't be silly. That's not a job, you will need a real job because when you turn 18, I will be charging you rent". I was crushed, my art was the one thing that held any meaning for me. I was broken. In retrospect, I should not have listened to her but a mothers view of a child holds a tremendous weight in any kids life. I never had any semblance of a good relationship with my mom, but always looking for her approval, I went out into the world of working people only to regret it 20 years later. I know now that I should have suffered for my art, even if it meant sleeping in the gutter for a few years.</i><br />
<br />
In early Sept.01, my Uncle Bill, who had collected a few pieces of my drawings and paintings called on the phone. His son, my cousin, T. Kyle, who lived here on Staten Island had landed a job in the financial district in Manhattan. My uncle, who lived in Pennsylvania, asked me to make him a drawing or painting of something NYC related to keep in his office to reflect this. We bantered ideas back and forth and we agreed that I would create something that had the Staten Island Ferry as its focus. I wrote it down and soon the scrap of paper became buried under other things and was forgotten for awhile.<br />
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A few weeks later on Sept. 11th, 2001, my world would turn and readjust its axis when I watched the Twin Towers collapse in front of me. What I remember of that morning was how beautiful and perfect a morning it was. The sky was crystal clear and a beautiful shade of blue. There were big puffy clouds floating around. The type of clouds that you lay down in the grass and look up at, imaging all types of things in them. It was fall, the leaves were needing to be raked and it seemed like there was no better day for a bit of outside work. I had clipped my walkman to my pants, hung the headphones around my neck, walked down the steps to go outside, when the phone rang. I continued out the door but having a young child in school, I turned back to answer it, in case it was some type of emergency. It was a friend of mine and the only thing she said was "hang up the phone and turn the TV on. I did as asked and saw that it was moments after the first plane struck the tower which was now on fire. How could that have happened I thought to myself and raced out into my car. As I reached the north shoreline of Staten Island, the second plane hit. I was standing there taking pictures a while later when the first one collapsed. I have personal photos in time sequence of the event. As the first tower fell, all the wind rushed out of me, my legs weakened and quivered and I dropped to the ground on my knees. I understood that it was the moment when thousands of people died and were vaporized. Very little was left behind to even prove they ever existed. I felt it to my core. These were, for the most part, innocent working people who didn't deserve to die. Interestingly enough, I had just read a study in which the results were, the number one regret that people have on their deathbeds is that they spent too much time working and not enough time enjoying life. As panic was all around me, I decided I needed to go get my son from school in case we were at war or something, only to find that my ex-husband who was much closer to the school had already picked him up.<br />
I eventually returned home, upset and not knowing what to do but knowing that I needed to stay calm until the world made sense again and I went down into the basement workshop in an effort to do something, anything to distract myself from the terrible events and rumors of the day. I came across the scrap of paper with the word ferry on it. I put it aside to do some thinking. what would I draw, what would I create. The conversation about the leaf in 3 different mediums rose up to the forefront of my mind. I looked around me and surprisingly there was a slab of pine sitting there. It was at that moment I knew what I would do. I would carve a ferry into the wood. While I was laying out the design on the wood in pencil, it looked like a ferry floating in space so I needed to give it a back ground. There was no question in my mind that the background would be the Twin Towers in all their former glory. I finished the design and laid it aside again.<br />
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In the fall of 2001 I went on my annual vacation to Provincetown in Cape Cod, MA. It was my habit to bring something of a creative nature with me. I brought the slab of wood with me and my dremel with all its bits and attachments. There on the beachfront deck of our rented condo, I proceeded to shape the wood into a folk art depiction of the ferry. I eventually mailed it off to my uncle who loved it. Understand even though it was technically my first woodcarving, I did not consider it that. It was simply a drawing/painting of the ferry which had been shaped into a piece of wood.<br />
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A few months later, on Dec. 18th, now a letter carrier for many years, I would slip on a set of stairs. I severely dislocated and catastrophically broke my ankle. This would lead to many months the following year, spent having surgeries and living in a wheelchair with a huge heavy hard cast covering almost my entire leg. I spent a tremendous amount of time laying in bed, reading, watching TV and movies and playing video games until eventually a morose sense of long-term boredom set in.<br />
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At the end of January, 2002, I received a very distressing phone call from my dad in Florida, which would again tilt the axis of my world. My mom had suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized. This was something so unexpected that it didn't make much sense to me in the moment. My dad was older than her. Dads were supposed to die first in my naive view of the world. I packed a suitcase and caught the first plane I could manage to. It was one of the hardest things I had ever done, in a cast, in a wheel chair, going through the post 911 airport security. I arrived in Tampa a day or two after the phone call only to be told that my mom was continuing to suffer a series of heart attacks and that the outlook was not promising. My mom was 59. This simply could not be happening. But it was. The extended family gathered down in Florida for what would be an almost month long vigil.After 2 or three weeks, I returned to NY to attend to some work related business to apply for workers compensation. I was to return to Florida and my mom and dad shortly thereafter. But in the few days I was home, it happened almost as if I wasn't meant to be there. On February 20th my mom passed away. This was a terrible time for me especially because we hadn't resolved our personal issues with each other. Except for a few moments of tears when I learned that she had passed and then again at the actual service, I was numb. I spent a few more days with my dad and our immediate family, When I returned home from the funeral. I guess you could say I was in shock and did not feel much of anything. My concern for my dad was paramount but not much else mattered then. Each day led into the next. and eventually life went on as it always seems to do.<br />
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My Mom</div>
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One day at the end of March 2002, when no one was home, I was utterly at the end of being able to handle my boredom. From my bedroom up on the second floor, still with the heavy cast on, I scooted myself on my butt, down two flights of stairs and into the basement where I had set up a small workbench under the stairs. I had done a lot of repair work in the house and I really enjoyed that. I wanted to do something, anything, to distract myself from the physical and emotional pain I was in. I realized after a few minutes that there wasn't much I could do. Most of the tools were power tools which you needed to stand to use. I tried to go back upstairs, then learning how much easier it was to go down stairs rather than to go up. I sat there in pain and frustration and realized I would have to wait until someone came home to help me. That would be a few hours. I got myself up into a high swivel chair, looked around at what I could reach. I needed something to keep me busy. I saw a small block of wood and picked it up. I looked to the rack of hand-tools attached to the wall on my other side and I saw an old rusty utility knife. Now I held a piece of wood in one hand and a knife in the other. I started whittling. I had a huge collections of penguins. I could picture a penguin in my head so I proceeded to use the knife to carve one.<br />
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My first carving</div>
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The act of carving that day was therapy, mediation and resolution all through a little piece of wood. It was the most incredibly peaceful thing I had ever attempted, just me, the wood and a knife. In the middle of it, I broke down crying, the tears wouldn't stop. I was finally crying for my mom, for all that I ever wanted for us, for her approval which I would never get, for all the words never spoken. I was crying for the loss of my beloved Twin Towers and a world which would never be innocent again. I was crying for the loss of my livelihood and the stability and financial security I had known up until that point. It was a terribly emotional afternoon. But even through the mist of the tears, my hands kept working. I wasn't sure if it was my mom now giving me permission to continue my art or if I was doing my art, in spite of her, because she couldn't laugh at me anymore. Whatever happened to me on that afternoon, I would never, ever be the same. I had finally found myself. And by the time I finished that little carving, I knew who I was and who I was meant to be. .</div>
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Eventually someone did come home and help me up the stairs and back into bed. I was clutching the penguin in my hand. They asked me what I was thinking going down into the basement. "This", I proudly proclaimed and held my little penguin up for their approval. They said, "you didn't make that". And as I reassured them that I did, The next days plan was already forming in my head. I would carve again. The next carving was a series of ducks innocently swimming past a hollow log. A carving for my duck loving little boy. Unbeknownst to him, inside the hollow log I had carved a ready-to-strike snake in perfect position to snatch the littlest duckling, my own twisted sense of humor coming in to play. It was a lesson from his mom, to be careful in this world.</div>
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From small beginnings, come great things. My life changed in so many ways. I had never found something which had ignited such a fire inside me. I carved day and night after that, started purchasing all the tools I would need and eventually understood that carving was how I would leave my mark on this world. In the last 10 years, I estimate I have done close to 1000 carvings, and have taught a few hundred people how to get started. I have written a book, I have gone on many carving journeys and met wonderful people along the way. I have made so many, many dear friends. I have woodcarvings in 23 countries on 4 continents now and even if just one of those carvings lasts beyond my lifetime, someday, someone, somewhere will turn that carving over and find my name. and I will live on through it. I will have my legacy. I found something which I will continue to do until I can not do it any more. And I will be happy doing it.</div>
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It is 10 years later to the day of my first carving and I am about to be officially retired from the postal service. The greatest journey of my life is about to begin in earnest and I can't wait to see where it takes me. I will regret nothing when my time comes. Happy anniversary, my little penguin.</div>
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<br /></div>CarvinginNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853453097503242008noreply@blogger.com11