Roughing in the Base

Just a few minutes with my Arbortech mini grinder and the base is roughed in. I love this tool. It has a 50mm tungsten carbide blade and removes wood quickly. It is great for removing a lot of wood on a small carving, like this one, or detail work on larger carvings. I will use hand tools to finish shaping the base, but this is a time saver.

Stumpy

Here is my second attempt at a portrait carving, actually carving from a photo. As you can see it is suppose to look like Walter Brennan. Stumpy is carved from 2" thick basswood and measures 8" wide and 9" tall not including the cherry base.

Hickok

Here is my latest caricature carving. It's an original design of Wild Bill, carved from basswood and mounted on a cherry base. It measures  nine inches tall including the base.

Update - Hickok took second place at the 2013 Kansas City Show and was selected as a purchase award by Woodcraft in Lenexa KS. It will be on display in the store. I now have two carvings on display at Woodcraft. What an honor!

Walnut Cowboy

This one is hand carved, a chunk of walnut from the firewood pile.
Hard to carve, but a great finish.

Kid Rojo

Here is my recent attempt at caricature carving. Carved from basswood and mounted on a red oak base.