New Dust Collector

I finally broke down and bought a table top dust collector. I use a Foredom to rough out some of my smaller carvings, and it can really make a mess. This is a great new tool to help keep my work area clean and my lungs healthy. Should have bought one long ago.

Tree Troll

Here's another carving from butternut. Most of my carvings lately have looked stoic, thought it was time for a happy one. This little guy looks happy with his oak leaf beard and hair.

Butternut Wood Spirit

Carved this guy from a cut off piece for a larger carving. One advantage of carving from large logs, you end up with big chips. I use all of the log that I can, especially butternut. I really like how the heart wood and sap wood look in this carving.

Wild Bill

Here he is, after a few coats of satin lacquer. I debated trying to bore out and fill the knot hole in his neck, but decided against it. After all nature put that knot hole there, so who am I to say it doesn't belong? I think it adds character, along with the wormy holes. I've had several people ask why I would carve wormy butternut? I respond, why not? Take whatever the world gives you and make the best of it. Good advice for carving and life.

Applying the Finish

Wow, the grain really popped out on this carving. Began applying the finish on Wild Bill today. Two coats of boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits mixed 50/50. I apply generous coats and let it soak into the wood. I will follow up with a couple coats of Deft lacquer after a few days. Linseed oil takes a long time to dry, cutting it with mineral spirits helps speed up drying time. The lacquer also acts as a drying agent.

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.

Progress Update

Today's progress on Wild Bill....

Progress

Here's some progression pics on my newest carving. Still a long way to go.........

First Carving of 2015

Now that Christmas has passed, and all the santas and angels have been carved and given away, I can get back to what I really like to carve. This is a butternut log I bought at last year's Kansas City Show from Krantz Wood Sales. It measures 8" in diameter and 15" in length. I started by removing some of the waste wood with a chainsaw. Then I switch to mallet tools. Here is the progress so far......

Angel Ornament

Now that Christmas has come and gone, I can post photos of this year's ornament. Every year I carve an ornament for some family members, and since some of them follow my blog I didn't want to spoil the surprise. The angels are carved from butternut. I sealed some with lacquer and the remaining I applied danish oil. I'm not sure I like how dark the oil made the wood, this was the first time I used it. The relatives all liked them, so I guess that's what matters. I carved a total of ten this year, and it was a nice change from the santa or elf ornaments.

Santa Feeding the Birds

Each year I carve a Santa for my mother and the wife's father. This year's are from a Ross Oar pattern. The are designed to sit on a shelf. Should look good on the fireplace mantle. They are carved from basswood, and are 7" tall. The cardinal was carved separate and connected with a steel pin and epoxy.

Olaf

Well, I guess it was just a matter of time before I carved him. Here he is, Olaf from the movie Frozen. He is a Christmas present for  my wife. His body is carved from basswood, the arms and hair are walnut. Painted with acrylics and sealed with a poly matte varnish, he measures 9" tall including the base. This one was a lot of fun to carve.