Carvings

Congrats on the Lone Star. I like that pattern, just haven't been able to shark one... Yet.

Just messing with ya about the knife pics, no apologies needed.
Enjoy that LS EDC. You never know if the carving ability is in the genes.
 
For those of you that carve indoors, how do you contain the mess? I'm looking for some ideas...
 
schmittie said:
For those of you that carve indoors, how do you contain the mess? I'm looking for some ideas...
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I picked up one of these, and I find I use it quite a bit indoors when the kids are doing "projects." Especially when glitter, hairspray, glue, sand or food coloring is involved.

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Scmittie,
I use a cloth bucket, kinda like a small cloth picnic basket. It's small enough to put it in my lap but large enough to catch the pieces that pop off. It makes real easy clean up.

 
Uncle_P said:
Scmittie,
I use a cloth bucket, kinda like a small cloth picnic basket. It's small enough to put it in my lap but large enough to catch the pieces that pop off. It makes real easy clean up.

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Great Pic!!! I use a broom!
 
That is a really nice set up Uncle P.!

I do miss a scandi-Fiddleback in your line up though ;)


The Bushboot passed it's first test with flying colours, wooden Bushboot & spoon are next!

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Spoon-fail :grumpy:

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This happens 9 out of ten times with wood I've harvested myself. I've kept this piece wet in a plastic bag in the basement, but it still cracked eventually. If anyone has any tips on how to prevent this from happening I would love to hear it.
 
GB, I will say, you were off to a very good start. Besides, it's the woods fault.

What part of the tree are you using? Different parts of the tree have different tension on them. When you cut a limb off, tension is gone and when moisture is gone it splits. If you want a handle for a hammer, axe, etc. - trunk wood is great (less splitting). I prefer to carve the roots. Lucky for me, no one really wants the stump and roots :D And they split less.

Also, let the wood dry out first. I leave the bark on when drying. If any cracks too much, toss it in the burn pile. The moisture has to escape. If I have a piece that I don't want splitting - I use Anchor Seal. There are other products that do the same thing. It does not discolor the wood, and the wood will not split (much). The wood still dries out, but it takes a little longer.

You might want to test a few pieces with drying - different types of wood, different sizes, bark on, etc. You will be able to see pretty quick what works for you.

This is what works for me, thanks to trial and error. Good carving GB.

Preston
 
Ah, I did not know that but it makes a lot of sense since most of the pieces I've gathered myself are tree-limbs, lol

That cracked spoon above was from a trunk though, but it's more a bush than a tree probably. I think it's called Lilac in English.

I really like the colour and grain of this wood (it's a bit like olive-wood but with a pinkish tint), and when you carve it it smells just like the flowers. But I haven't had any luck with it not cracking yet so I think I'm going to give up on it now.

I have already started on a new spoon but that's made out of a limb as well, chestnut I think, so I'll just assume it's going to crack too then and I'll just enjoy carving on it without expectations.

I do have a piece of freshly cut Birch-trunk though, what would be the best way to let that dry in your experience? I have a basement where it's cool but humid, or warmer rooms where humidity is pretty low, or a garage where it's a bit in between. Or should I just keep it outside in the stack of firewood perhaps?

Thanks a lot for your advice & sharing your experience, I really appreciate it!
 
GooberBoober said:
Ah, I did not know that but it makes a lot of sense since most of the pieces I've gathered myself are tree-limbs, lol

That cracked spoon above was from a trunk though, but it's more a bush than a tree probably. I think it's called Lilac in English.

I really like the colour and grain of this wood (it's a bit like olive-wood but with a pinkish tint), and when you carve it it smells just like the flowers. But I haven't had any luck with it not cracking yet so I think I'm going to give up on it now.

I have already started on a new spoon but that's made out of a limb as well, chestnut I think, so I'll just assume it's going to crack too then and I'll just enjoy carving on it without expectations.

I do have a piece of freshly cut Birch-trunk though, what would be the best way to let that dry in your experience? I have a basement where it's cool but humid, or warmer rooms where humidity is pretty low, or a garage where it's a bit in between. Or should I just keep it outside in the stack of firewood perhaps?

Thanks a lot for your advice & sharing your experience, I really appreciate it!
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I thought that wood looked familiar!
I've got a lilac bush in my yard as well that I've tried carving and have had a lot of problems with splitting as well.
And it does smell amazing :) Not sure what to do with the lilac myself, as to drying first or what, but I seem to have better experience with carving greener wood. That lilac seemed relatively tough wood, a lot like a cherry wood spoon I carved a little before it.

For the cherry wood I carved it green and had no issues at all with it splitting. I think some wood maybe is just more prone than others. And since lilac is generally smaller in diameter, it's harder to find a big chunk of wood that has a lower moisture gradient in it, unlike a large thick section of cherry.
 
pechelman said:
I thought that wood looked familiar!
I've got a lilac bush in my yard as well that I've tried carving and have had a lot of problems with splitting as well.
And it does smell amazing :) Not sure what to do with the lilac myself, as to drying first or what, but I seem to have better experience with carving greener wood. That lilac seemed relatively tough wood, a lot like a cherry wood spoon I carved a little before it.

For the cherry wood I carved it green and had no issues at all with it splitting. I think some wood maybe is just more prone than others. And since lilac is generally smaller in diameter, it's harder to find a big chunk of wood that has a lower moisture gradient in it, unlike a large thick section of cherry.
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I thought we might just have a bad bush or something here, but I guess not :)

So far every piece of the Lilac cracked no matter what I tried. I only managed to postpone it by keeping the wood wet until I was almost finished carving, but even that piece cracked as soon as the moisture left. If I leave a piece to dry first it usually cracks within days.

I want to try a root some time if I get the chance but I'm still trying to convince some one that their Lilac-bush needs to come down, haha

Yeah, it is the toughest wood I carved on so far, dry or wet.

I don't have access to cherry, but we do have an apple tree that could afford to miss a limb... :rolleyes:
 
It's been a little while since I posted up a carving. Truth be told, I've been pretty darn busy and my free time has been consumed with family stuff. Which is great, just doesn't allow for much carving time.

A while back I purchased a rotary tool from a local woodcraft store and it has sped up my process greatly.

Ok, enough rambling...







I would say the new rotary tool has increased my production level a bit.
Hope you like my horsey.

Preston
 
Very nice work Preston. That took a steady hand and a good eye for 3 dimensional detail......giddy up horsey !
 
That's a very nice little horse Preston, well done!

All I've done recently were some silly sticks like these to pass the time with:

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