some carvings

[imahic]

Well since I think I have the picture thing figured out, I will try to post some of some carvings I have done. These were in the shop when I was taking pics and I took some of them just playing around.







I'm a rank amateur but I do enjoy it. I call it my therapy ;D

[Joe Lyddon]

YES!

Just sit on the porch and whittle away...
... nice way to relax... while watching the World go by... ;D ;D

Very nice Playing around! ;D ;D ;D

[Leo Voisine]

Boy - if you're a rank amateur - I don't even want to try. You should not say that - it just scares away someone that might want to try it.

WOW - those are fantastic.

[jb34]

Yeah therapy most definately. I use woodworking for that. Along with playing with my boys, playing baseball, basketball, time with the beautiful misses, and of course a few miller lites occassionally. otherwise all work and no play makes jack a dull boy.

[imahic]

Thanks for looking guys and also for your comments. Leo, I meant the amateur comment mostly as compared to others who are much much better at it than I am. There is still a lot to learn and I most certainly won't ever know it all for sure. As some say it is the journey that makes it interesting. I bet you would be surprised at what you can do with carving. There are different types of carving. The first and third are known as carving in the round. The second is more of a relief carving and was initially on a walking stick but I cut it off and mounted it to a base, drilled a hole in the top to make it a candle holder. It's never had the candle in it yet though. Most of the time relief carving are done on flat surfaces and can be scenes or whatever. There is a form of carving called chip carving that I am wanting to try. I don't know how to describe it but you can google it. I saw a guy who built some boxes and trunks at the Edom festival where I met Cody and Boodrow that had decorated his work with chip carving. I think it added a little something extra to his work. Again, thanks for the comments and taking time to look.

Mike

[Ruffnek]

Those are great, Mike. Thanks for showing.

[larryh86gt]

Those are very cool.
Larry

[boodrow]

Mike those look real good , thanks for givin us a peek
Boodrow

[Doug B]

I sure have to admire you guys who can carve like that. That takes some real artistic ability above and beyond woodworking skills. That is a gift, and you are using your well Mike. Nice job!

[boodrow]

Doug I agree with u , I cant even draw a stickman!
Boodrow

[imahic]

Thanks for the kind comments, guys. I guess I got my "artistic" side from my mom. She was very artistic and a pretty good artist. You guys should try it though because it is a great stress reliever for me. From some of the work I have seen in here from you guys I bet you could do it if you were to try it.

[wisardd1]

Excellent. I really like your style.

[autobodyman]

Looks great Mike.

Do you start out cutting anything on the bandsaw or just start wackin at a log section?

I've only done a few full 3D things and it always seems easier to me to cut the basic shape on my scrollsaw. I've got a couple I'd like to do but they are to big for my scrollsaw and I can't seem to get blades less than ½" to work well on my Grizzly 16" bandsaw.

Nice work.

~Mike

[imahic]

Mike, the first one was cut on a bandsaw but it was just to cut the curve for the hat and the beard. I got the idea from a book or perhaps Woodcarving Illustrated, but I can't recall which one. The others I just pulled from my head. I kind of have a basic idea of what I want to carve when I start but just go with whatever comes up. If I mess it up I just put it aside until I can figure out how to fix my screwup....lol. I had one that I messed up and an older aunt of mine was looking at my carvings and she asked how much I wanted for it. I told her it was messed up and I hadn't figured out how to fix it. She said she liked it like it was so I told her if she liked it she could have it. She was happy and it made my day that she enjoyed it so much. I have never sold any carvings but have given most of them away to family and friends. I look at carving as something I do to relax and enjoy. If I had to do it to make money then it would be a job and I already have enough of those...lol. Kinda weird I guess but that's the way I look at it.

Thanks to all who have looked and commented. Your kind words mean a lot, especially after seeing your works on here.

[mcbryde]

WOW! Like others said, if you are a rank amateur, I'd be out back with the dogs! Those look great to me. Those guys as well as yourself that do woodcarvings with all the great details in them have always amazed me!

Emerson

[Gecko]

Another batch of very cool carvings! I really like the first one a lot. Carving is one of those talents I just don't have. But you sure have it. Thanks for showing.

[dburkhart]

its allways amazed me that someone can see a picture or a face and be able to duplicate with their hands very nice

[boodrow]

Mike what kinda carvin tools do u use , or better how good a quality , low dollar ? High dollar ? Just wonderin , I would like to have a low dollar set to play with , but I havent really seen any I would like to buy. Any advice would be appreciated.
THanks
Boodrow

[imahic]

Boodrow, I have several different brands. I started out with Xacto knives because I couldn't find anything around here. Someone gave me a Woodcraft catalog and I ordered a beginners set from them. At that time the internet wasn't as handy as it is now. The set I ordered were palm gouges and I think it was a set of 6. I think I paid around 40.00 for them. I also ordered a strop and it came with some aluminum oxide. The sets are a little more expensive now. I still have them and they hold their edge pretty good. There is a place called Rick's Little Shavers and he is supposed to have a really good beginners set. I haven't bought one but I have seen several people over woodcarvingillustrated.com recommend them. Here is a link to Rick's littleshavers.com/

www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/forum/ is a really great place if you are interested in carving.

It is like this forum and has a lot of really great guys and gals who are more than willing to answer any and all questions pertaining to carving. I have never ever met a carver who was not willing to answer any questions I had....Never. The other forum reminds me of this forum as the people there are always willing to help if possible. There are a lot of pictures of carvings that folks post but I think you have to register in order to see them. It is free to register and it is a really educational place to visit. There are different types of carving as well. My first ones were relief carving. Basically drawing a picture on a flat piece of lumber and carving down around it. The ones I have above are referred to as carving in the round or some call it 3d carving also. There is another type called chip carving that I am trying to get started in. There are folks who carve with chainsaws even. Some guys do what is called power carving and is done with dremel type tools. Carving is like woodworking and you can spend more money than you want to but there are lots of carvers who use nothing more than a pocketknife and turn out some amazing carvings. If I can answer any questions for you feel free to ask or pm and I will be more than happy to help. I am not an expert by any means but it is a very relaxing hobby for me. I can't tell you how many times I have been out in my shop and carving away and look up and see it is 1 or 2 in the morning and I needed to go to work the next day...lol. If you get a beginner kit be sure and get a carving glove as well. It won't stop puncture wounds but will help prevent slicing type wounds.

[Joe Lyddon]

Very good links...

I really enjoyed some videos...