Kari had made such a beautiful reproduction of the one she saw I decided that I would have my first attempt at carving by trying to make one to my own design (about time I used the 50 or so carving chisels I've collected over the years).
To start with I decided to relief carve a jack saw just to make sure it was within my abilities.
This didn't come out too bad (maybe a little like a child had done it) so I decided to draw up a design that could be transferred to wood. I thought that if I used my name on the wood it would make it personal to me, I also chose four tools I use a lot - a mallet, jack saw, level & bevel (in case you couldn't tell!).![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9hEzKj19vlcEapwUAywKHlONdTvvoAfUPxBH3anxlfyrs84vksO1UmUUro4rp8zF1tcYT7yxDyt-J81jpEuDXNi5d25YZf3a2VsCx5dYA9OzlM_ITnlYn03IHTz86_gaqnAQqIK-NvbY/s400/P1070610.JPG)
Using some spray adhesive I fixed it to the piece of beech I'd decided to use. I know beech isn't the ideal wood for carving (believe me I know now!) but it this has got to survive in the back of my van so needs to be hardwaring and pretty tough.![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheZAj_ipeDP0dkw_GD9U-T0VdOqesEvltcc1Yf_w3_7cq4VOXoVMvBHLG31C7_mKs3Ny8FSsDODvMXVUoWW0DIm8igDIm7OZXkX4aygJhIm-OH0wps92NQ5cLfVbC9RF1hDmiwev7MCn0/s400/P1070613.JPG)
Happy with the layout I set about chopping round the design then removing the background. It's pretty difficult to get the background smooth (I'd imagine it would be easier with lime or a softer wood) and I got to a stage where I was going to do more harm than good if I carried on. ![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-p54VHEVzwMrDZ51mOKLVVKmvvH-Elb3OVEvfbaRl_iEr3tEPHAfv5NsonCQ60w12ZJIDHjB7ETWOVAz9tULlqkS8I5FAD0KJ2fzkmB-nP5X826H4Bo5OA_hhbMv8VXKcAWc3xLNwIA/s400/P1070643.JPG)
I then tried to make the tools look 3d and give them detail before giving it a coat of linseed oil.![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_u_r_JEaCbFHtPt8f9U3Qu4M6TOupvjOZ3am7YYBiYIXw45VKFIIOfmOS7Gs7gEDG6wPrJNpekI6l2_ZiDszyenq41zbAXRcLMbyfCrhUrgER4xXJD7Io6YfxK1oHMKodSmXDDvMissk/s400/P1070646.JPG)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-RXk4BvsvgseljB7TrH4xr92Jp77aCegzLcDok65yg58s8V9vMemZC1ehrDBmBdK_-2N5J9tC8exfH1iBuUHGAmfzt6o8N38YM34r28Uktc_1UUyM-pzomu5LrLlUt_Y-FPHuLYj6XM/s400/P1070647.JPG)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY6hKEfdjG2mDjX8LX-hU7KkL9Jop5O6AEAoYU9XR-R6bAD5X_IYVYPWtFuDVrtHKroccBAboghia08-ua1ROwxI-LnbocjgCMgy3ZSkv5V6G892Yrp0qAZMggJwnSKwvztkcN14FH7A4/s400/P1070648.JPG)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHWbXA9Z_cwZ0cv8uH-dDPxarvC_FHzZfPWfs0u_zz2jV-FOWGrka5B-0BvOuaTCnhoyZ_IqEBiE7yTx1HHv-CWRHE5qAsWZVmASsmyrQbEEIsXfCzSO04tm1vZlAzvx_VUGWfPqvHxlY/s400/P1070649.JPG)
I'm now going to buy a piece of walnut to make a box for a new(ish) oil stone I brought at a car boot and mount this in the top so it should contrast nicely.
It's never going to win any awards, with so many imperfections everywhere I look, but I'm quite pleased that I managed to have the patience to carve it (and I really enjoyed doing it)
Pretty good for a first attempt kev!
ReplyDeleteThats a nice bit of work, well done. carving can be very satisfying and its pretty quiet so its relaxing too .
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed, I cant have a go at you for owning carving chisels and not using them now!
ReplyDeleteWell done. That's a beautiful piece, even for an experienced hand.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments everyone. It's really encoraging, I'll have to try a few more but I'll need an idea that grabs me first!
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