Wood Carving

[MartinH]

Lol! It's all appreciated. If I get to work on it this weekend, I'll put up some pics.

 

[MartinH]

Okay, here's my attempt. I was constrained by the overall small dimensions of the wood, and the fact that I suck. LOL!

I could not figure out a way to make a large mouth and still keep the face proportional, and the beard looking decent. Before I finished this, I carved this face three times. Of course, the biggest issue was that I didn't use saw to chop away the initial wood. No, instead I did it all with a carving knife!!!!! Martin ----> Idiot!

LOL!

At any rate, here it is, but I don't think it really works.

Comment appreciated.

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[Kyle Weiss]

I think this is totally salvageable. While the "holder" in front would need to be more "cradle-shaped" to hold a pipe properly, supporting both the heel and the shank (kind of like a checkmark-shape...)...

...I think you accidentally found a great way to provide proper stability from the design I originally suggested: having the pipe come out of the guy's mouth! Now that this "foot" is in place in front of the guy's face, it won't fall forward with a pipe wedged in. An oval hole ever-so slightly wider and taller than whatever pipe's stem/bit you choose, about 3/4 - 1 inch deep would do the trick. You might have to use a drill carefully to do it, which I hope isn't against any "I did it ONLY with hand tools!" ethics...but you could probably do it by hand.

As for the foot with the bottom carved out? What a great place to put a lighter, tamper, tool, or other small pipe accessory.

You obviously are a lot like me, you liked this idea and couldn't stand by and wait--had to get something done right away! :lol: Good work!!!

8)

 

[Cuervo25_1]

I think your doing a nice job on your carvings. I have ADHD which makes me know what you are going through as well ,I have so many things I want to do but little time to do it, kinda makes me sad.

Spud, isn't hanging a pipe from the stem like that bad? I thought it could break being that it sits like that longer without support than it does hanging from your mouth. Then again I even hold my pipes while smoking them so they are still supported.

 

[SPUD 15]

I think your doing a nice job on your carvings. I have ADHD which makes me know what you are going through as well ,I have so many things I want to do but little time to do it, kinda makes me sad.

Spud, isn't hanging a pipe from the stem like that bad? I thought it could break being that it sits like that longer without support than it does hanging from your mouth. Then again I even hold my pipes while smoking them so they are still supported.

It's a thought Cuervo but I've had Petes. Larsons,and Kaywoodies hanging from there stems for the last 20 years without any problems. I have also made some custom MULTIPLE pipe racks the same way without any complaints.

Martin it seems as though you are concerned with the scale of the holder to the pipe dont be I think it will look just fine. If you ever run into the situation where you cannot have a foot in front of you holder you can bore out the bottom and weight it down with lead works great. MIKE

I wish I could draw as I would love to try to make a holder similar to yours. MIKE

 

[MartinH]

Hey Brothers,

I am not sure what will do with this carving now that I have gone this far. I'll probably round out the front some more and make it a simply pipe rest.

As for the comment about drawing ability, I can't draw worth a darn. Instead, I used the tricks in this video..

Spirit Face Tutorial

...to teach myself some basic tricks. It's very straight forward when you watch this video made by this master carver.

A few weeks ago, I started all of this, with a very, VERY basic wood spirit. I just Googled for videos and You Tube.

Once I get some more time to work on this, I'll post more pics. Of course, most carvers, once their done with the carving, will sand the thing a bit and then spray some gloss on it. The semi-gloss actually really brings the carving out.

But then again, I may paint the thing. I'll see how it goes.

I hope everyone's had a nice weekend.

 

[SPUD 15]

Martin thanks for the link to the video, i'll have to try it as yours came out really good looking. Do not even think about painting your carving unless that is what you really want to do. You might want to try just using a different stain for the beard, hair, and mustach. for the face leave it natural. eyes black and finish the entire carving with any kind of oil rub. linseed, tung. etc, use 0000 steel wool after the first application of oil and you will like the results. MIKE

 

[MartinH]

Martin thanks for the link to the video, i'll have to try it as yours came out really good looking. Do not even think about painting your carving unless that is what you really want to do. You might want to try just using a different stain for the beard, hair, and mustach. for the face leave it natural. eyes black and finish the entire carving with any kind of oil rub. linseed, tung. etc, use 0000 steel wool after the first application of oil and you will like the results. MIKE

Thanks Mike,

I painted a "totem pole" of wind spirits and it turned out okay, but I think I'll leave this as is. I will, however, put some semi-gloss on it, just to give it a little shine and protection. And thanks for the compliment!

Oh, do you have carving tools? The guys at Woodcraft recommended FlexCut
http://flexcut.com/

..and I have to say they were right. It cost about $100 for everything, including the sharpening strop, but it's been well worth it. The tools resharpen great and have a razor's edge to them. Also, get the safety glove. I had a few slips the other night with the v-tool and if I hadn't been wearing the glove, I'd a probably needed stitches.

Happy carving!

 

[SPUD 15]

Thanks for the info Martin MIKE