Zack...Wood Spirit

[Woodchuck]

Sat down last night and started cutting on a piece of basswood. After awhile, Zack started to appear. After he finally came out, I had to give him a little color to make him presentable. Hope you like him. Comments and suggestions always welcome. Thanks for looking.

Chuck

 

[rcflyer23]

Man you are cranking them out. I am starting to feel lazy.. Again this one looks great as well. I am really going to have to give this a try sometime.

 

[adowden]

That is so cool! I have a few questions:

1) What thickness of basswood do you start for someone like Zack?

2) What carving tools do you use to make him? Is it all done with a detail knife?

3) How long did it take for carving and painting?

Keep up the great work!

Amy

 

[PChristy]

Chuck, Zack looks great:icon_thum Keep up the good work

 

[Woodchuck]

Kevin, I guess it does seem like I "just crank them out" Actually I do these in my spare time and sitting watching TV at night. Amy, I start with a 2"x2"x6" piece of basswood. I rip it diagonally on my table saw so that I have 2 pieces shaped like a pyramid with the width in the back being approximately 2 3/4" wide. I then start carving on the top edge of the "pyramid". This gives you a jump on the shape of the face. I use just a knife and a gouge for the beard. In all, I have probably 4-5 hours from start to finish. I use an acrylic wash for the paint. Hope this helps. Philip, thanks for you comment.

Chuck

 

[rcflyer23]

Spare time. So is that what I am supposed to do with that. Where did you learn to do that. Did you get books, video, etc. Are you using a pattern or just freehanding it.

 

[Sealeveler]

Looks great.Makes me feel lazy as said above.All I got done today was glued a decoy head on and plugged a hole.Tony

 

[Woodchuck]

Kevin, I'm retired but still have to work, if you know what I mean. If you use the internet you will find a lot of info on carving, that's how I picked it up.

Chuck

 

[christopheralan]

Wow! You have great work. I really admire your talent. BTW, do you sell your work to people? I'm sure you would do well in the right market.

 

[TracyP]

I agree with Christopheralan, you could sell tons of stuff this time of year with your talent.

 

[rcflyer23]

I'm with you Chuck. I am watching my Dad go through the same type of thing. Hopefully for a only a few more years. You really should sell those. I will do some internet searching. I almost bought a cheap set of knifes at Michaels tonight they would have been $6 for a set of 12. LOML had a 50% off coupon. Looked like it had a couple of gouges and the different size Skew looking knives. Not sure if that is correct for the carving world.

 

[Woodchuck]

Kevin,
I"m familiar with the tools that you are talking about. Don't waste your money, even at 50% off. They are trash. If you are interested, buy the best that you can afford. As with anything in woodworking, the better the tools the easier the job. A good carving knife can be had from $15-18. Gouges, chisel etc. start around $12-15 each. Check with Woodcraft, if there is one in your area. They have good started kits. Also, Rick, at http://littleshavers.com has a really good beginners set and they come extra sharp. Rick hand sharpens every tool before it leaves his business. Good Luck and try this carving thing...It's additive!

Chuck

Chuck

 

[rcflyer23]

Kevin,
I"m familiar with the tools that you are talking about. Don't waste your money, even at 50% off. They are trash. If you are interested, buy the best that you can afford. As with anything in woodworking, the better the tools the easier the job. A good carving knife can be had from $15-18. Gouges, chisel etc. start around $12-15 each. Check with Woodcraft, if there is one in your area. They have good started kits. Also, Rick, at http://littleshavers.com has a really good beginners set and they come extra sharp. Rick hand sharpens every tool before it leaves his business. Good Luck and try this carving thing...It's additive!

Chuck

Chuck

I will check out the little shavers site. I appreciate the link. I figured they were junk and that is why I didn't bother with them. I do have a woodcraft close. I just bought a couple of knives from their for the Chip Carving I am trying to learn. What I forgot to get was the Ceramic Sharpening stones and although the knives were sharp they are not where they need to be as they were starting to drag through the wood on the second piece I started working on.

 

[Woodchuck]

Kevin, If the knife was sharp when you bought it, it probably does not need to be sharpened again. Buy you a strop and some compound and use it. In most cases, that is all you will need to do, strop it a few time when it starts dragging. And, if I remember right, your first piece of wood was hard pine. I would strongly suggest starting out chip carving on a basswood blank. One of the best places to buy basswood is from a company in Wisconsin, Heinecke Wood Products. Northern basswood is much better than the stuff you get from the south. Check them out, www.heineckewood.com. You call your order in, they ship it and then send you an invoice. Great people to deal with. I was in Michaels yesterday and saw a wood blank, 2"x4"x12" for $30. Highway robbery! That piece from Heinecke would cost you about $5.

Good Luck, Chuck

 

[flatheadfisher]

Wow, www.heineckewood.com/blockwood1.htm does have much better prices. I have thought about trying my hand at carving but I always thought the wood was expensive. This place has some good deals - some pieces big enough for decoy blocks.

Thanks!

 

[rcflyer23]

I will try and strop it some more. I may not have had enough compound on the wheel. I will give another whirl and see how that works out. I may have screwed the edge up already I tried to touch it up on my wet grinder. I think I have the tip nice and sharp its just the back of the blade that really needs some work. I will get out there tonight and play. I thought it was the hard pine that I used the first time but when I pulled it through some basswood that I got a WC it was about as difficult and the chips are not coming out clean. It could be alot of me doing it wrong but it just feels like they need to be a little sharper than they are.

Guess I will be spending some time sharpening this weekend.

 

[JohnW]

Great thread folks...Very good information. Thanks TopKnot.

Zack is a piece of art. That makes Chuck an artist:icon_thum

 

[Woodchuck]

Michael, They will cut you any special size blank that you might need. Good prices, Great service.

Chuck

 

[rcflyer23]

Chuck,

Stroping the blade did help. I am going to spend a little more time with it and see if I can fix the blade a little more. The other thing that dawned on me as I was doing another piece is that I am trying to cut to deep into the wood. I guess I really wasn't getting that from the book. I was just playing with different depths and the shallower cuts looked more like what I was looking to get. I am also going to order some wood from those guys you mentioned next payday and try some of their wood out. They are much cheaper than anything local.

 

[Woodchuck]

Kevin,

From what I have read and from my little experience, I have learned that if your blade is sharp, stropping is all that is needed to bring the edge back. Be sure and hold the blade flat against the strop. Holding it at an angle with only the edge of the blade touching will create a roll on the edge and limit the blades cutting ability. The blade should be like a wedge and will cut through the wood a lot easier and cleaner. Only if you drop it and ding or chip it should you need to try and resharpen it. In chip carving you don't have to go deep. I think shallow cuts are all that are needed to produce an excellent piece. Remember, in chip carving that is all that you are doing...producing a chip to create a pattern.

Good Luck,

Chuck