# Time for a self challenge - new carving



## CroppyBoy1798 (13 Oct 2010)

Time to dive in at the deep end me thinks and have a go at a very detailed carving!! :shock: 

Been a while since I did a 'proper' old skool carving, in fact just looked it up today and it would appear its been over 6 years since I did the piece below (bloody hell, where did that time go!!!!!). At the time this was the most advanced bit of carving I'd ever undertaken and since that I havent done all that much.






Its a scaled down, loose representation of the centre panel of the clock from the forward grand staircase of Titanic and Olympic, 'Honour and Glory Crowning Time' and is carved, as the original, from red oak. The characters, by right, should have been more three dimensional, but I was working with 1" stock so I didnt have much to play with, as well as that I wasnt up to speed with proper sharpening techniques (in fact, I reckon my chisels were probably far from adequate when I doing this!) and the grain of the oak didnt really suit a small scale, highly detailed carving. The clock measures 2' x 1.5' at the widest.


So, looking through a book recently on Georgian design I spot this marble fire surround and on each side were classical figures but it was the one on the right that caught my eye and I thought 'WOW! I have to try and carve her!!!'






So, thats the challenge, I have the aquired skills I believe, the patience and a box of plasters  and figured it'd be a nice little project for the evenings for no other reason than to get back into carving again. I've just come a little short with regard to which wood to use. I was thinking walnut perhaps, I like working with that and find it shapes easy. I plan to make this piece big, ie a foot and a half long by maybe eight inches wide and carve from 2" stock (still have to scale it up etc). Would anyone else have any suggestion with regard a nice, easily obtainible hardwood, ie oak, ash, teak, mahogany etc?

Cheers!


----------



## Lons (13 Oct 2010)

Hi

I'm in the same boat: haven't carved anything for about 8 years and I've got a pile of timber and sharpened chisels waiting 'till I can find the time and inspiration  

looks an interesting project, love to see pics of wip.

My choice of timber in this order would be: Lime , Walnut, Oak witch will all take fine crisp detail cuts. Lime is first choice as it's bland and the grain won't obscure the figures' features. - rather like the original marble!

Mahogany and ash are too stringy to take very fine detail IMO and teak will really mess up your sharp chisels. (assuming you're using hand tools, not rotary burrs).
There are others such as basswood, tulipwood etc you could get in decent sizes.

Choice of wood is always very personal though so obviously my views are subjective and drawn from my experiences.

Pity you're over the water as I could have given you a lump of mahogany to try, as I aquired a quantity of largish offcuts some years ago from Riley the snooker table makers.

cheers

Bob


----------



## loz (13 Oct 2010)

Hey Croppy, 

Have you even given tutoring or thought about tutoring anyone in Carving ?

hint - Looking for somecarving guidance as a way to add embellishments to turned items. ( bowls platters etc ) 

ps - that clock is simply stunning


Regs

Loz


----------



## CroppyBoy1798 (13 Oct 2010)

I've no easy source of lime I'm afraid and its one wood that I keep meaning to pick up at some stage as I've heard excellent reports as to its carving ability, some liking it to a bar of soap!!

Think I'll go with walnut, have a root around the local timberyard and see if I can pick up a nice, non fussy grain, lenght.


loz, I'm self taught and never really thought about teaching to be honest, but then I dont think I'd be much good at teaching as I tend to have my own way of doing things which are probably non conventional, I'd have health and safety down on me in a flash!!! 


Actually while we're on the subject of Titanic (and woodwork, oddly enough ) have any of you been watching 'Titanic: The Mission' on Channel 4. A group of 4 engineers/designers take on tasks such as building a section of titanics hull, recreating one of the anchors, rebuilding an oven and simulating the electrical layout of the ship and, next Monday they are recreating part of the gents first class dining saloon, so, plenty of old skool woodworking will be on show, defo one to watch!


----------



## loz (13 Oct 2010)




----------



## eoinsgaff (13 Oct 2010)

I'm not sure if this is much help but I heard of a carver in Limerick getting blocks of Lime in Carlow somewhere. It may be the Lisnavagh timber project. http://www.irishwoods.com/index.htm

Eoin


----------



## xy mosian (13 Oct 2010)

Croppy I've done a little carving, but not tried relief yet. That clock is staggering, especially on 25mm stock. I have carved Lime and although not quite soap it is certainly very nice. There is no discernable difference between summer and winter growth, gouges just glide over the growth lines as if they were not there. 

Looking forward to seeing the figure. 

xy


----------



## Lons (13 Oct 2010)

CroppyBoy1798":28i5wzs8 said:


> some liking it to a bar of soap!!



:lol: :lol: :lol: Not quite a bar of soap Croppy (would be a bloody hard bar)  

Lime is beautiful stuff to carve though as it takes a really crisp finish and as long as your chisels are sharp and polished, the bevel will polish the cut as well.

I'd be surprised if there isn't a supplier in Ireland who could get decent kiln dried lime.

As an aside, I've always wanted to try my hand with other materials, especially soapstone and have been meaning for years to make a walking stick. I cut a couple of shafts a few years ago and have some ramshorn, buffalow and antler just waiting v- roll on retirement  

cheers

Bob


----------



## BMac (13 Oct 2010)

I'm in NI and ended up buying Lime from Scotland, Paul Conroy, Scottish Hardwoods. I've bought a couple of times and each was good stuff, dry and sound.

Brendan.


----------



## CroppyBoy1798 (14 Oct 2010)

Cheers for the help and info guys.

Eoin - I sent off an e-mail to the link provided, never been out with them and they're not 'that' far from me, must go have a look at these setup some day!

BMac - did you have to get the wood in person or did they ship to you?

Shall keep ye posted!


----------



## BMac (14 Oct 2010)

I got it shipped. I can't remember how much it was but, divided over many pieces carved it seemed reasonable. I think it cost about £70 for 30kg but I was able to specify sizes I wanted so that was useful as I don't have a bandsaw.

Here's an Ebay link to Paul Conroy. I just send him a message to see what he has. http://stores.ebay.co.uk/scottishhardwoods

Brendan.


----------



## CroppyBoy1798 (14 Oct 2010)

I sent him off an email Brendan, he was pretty quick to reply, but unfortunately he has 'nothing' in stock :?:


----------



## BMac (14 Oct 2010)

What size of a piece do you need? I'll see if I have a lump that might do the job.

Brendan.


----------



## CroppyBoy1798 (14 Oct 2010)

She's gonna be a biggy I reckon, approx 20"x8" and about 2.5" - 3" thick.


----------



## BMac (14 Oct 2010)

The biggest piece I have has, I estimate*, a usable area of 23 3/4" x 5 1/2" x 3 3/4". There is a bark inclusion on one side so, maybe you could get 6" on the other side instead of 5 1/2". If it's any use you can have it. 

Brendan.

* The piece is about 7" wide at one end going to about 6 1/2" at the other.


----------



## CroppyBoy1798 (16 Oct 2010)

Bmac that sounds ideal!!  When you say its tapering from 7 to 6.5 is it a straight taper, it doesnt take a dive in mid way to 5 or 5.5 no? Just scaled the pic up and it seems I'll need it to be 5 3/4 wide and 18 3/4" long.

I havent got any word back from a local timber supplier with regards to whether they stock lime or not, so, I'll probably take you up on that offer if you'd be willing to post? Anyway, sure drop me a pm and if its ok with you I'll get a few bob up to you etc!


----------



## BMac (16 Oct 2010)

Hi,

The piece tapers on one side but the bark inclusion is half way up. However, I measured to where I reckoned the wood was sound so the first dimensions would be your workable area. If we could see inside wood it would be useful but, alas, there's always the possibility of a surprise. Saying that, I think it is sound.

I was thinking that if you scaled the piece down you would still have a sizable project so, hopefully, this will do the job.

Send me your address please and I'll fire this off to you on Monday.

Just thinking, if you could PM me your email I'll take a few photos so that you know what you are getting.

Best Wishes,
Brendan.


----------



## CroppyBoy1798 (16 Oct 2010)

PM sent


----------



## CroppyBoy1798 (22 Oct 2010)

Ok, so, got this one started yesterday after recieving a hefty block of limewood thanks to the generousity of BMac, a gentleman!  

First time working with limewood, not as 'soft' as I thought but really nice to work once you have the ol' chissers honed well. Still very much in the 'roughing' out stage and getting to grips with the overall form, depths, etc as well as all the bloody folds and creases in the dress (and I have even started the wrinkles yet!!)

Here's how she was looked a little while back!


----------



## BMac (23 Oct 2010)

This is very interesting because it's amazing how you have worked around the blemishes. Very impressive.

Brendan.


----------



## stevebuk (23 Oct 2010)

please keep the photo's coming, waiting for the next session.. :lol:


----------



## Lons (25 Oct 2010)

Hi Croppy

That's really coming on well. I knew you'd like working with lime - it's lovely crisp wood to cut but as said the secret is very sharp tools. Keep a leather strop and some autosol or similar close at hand and just polish your edges constantly.

Try to get hold of some boxwood if you can. it'll be small sizes but fantastic material for miniature carvings. Quite hard but finishes beautifully.

Looking forward to more wip pics

Bob


----------



## CroppyBoy1798 (9 Nov 2010)

Oops, been a while, thanks guys for the additional comments.

I've got sidetracked this past while, only got back to the carving today, so passed another few hours. I focused more so on the material, ie the folds on her lower right side, the throw over her left shoulder and the wrinkles in the body of the dress. As you can see she's still very much in the roughing out stages, her arms, legs, head etc are in very rough form still but I'm pretty happy with how the fabric is going, its after adding a little bit of life to it and given me a boost!  













I'll tell ye, carving the human form aint no easy task, not a straight line to be hand and its gonna get very interesting when I start trying to get hands and feet looking correct.....


----------



## BMac (9 Nov 2010)

That's looking well. Be careful with thin edges running with the grain because I'm carving a bit of Lime at the minute and my Santa Claus is on his third nose but that could be more to do with my skill than inherent weakness in the wood.

Brendan.


----------



## CroppyBoy1798 (10 Nov 2010)

Cheers Brendan! :wink: 

Got her right arm pretty much sorted today (still have to do the hand, but I think I got a pretty good natural curve on it, I'm happy with it anyway). Working on her face/neck at the moment, had to chop away a fair bit again. Faces are bloody hard to get looking right!!

Your Santa is on his third nose? :lol: Are you sticking back on fresh blocks as you make the mistakes? Full Santa or just a bust?

Will post a pic later.


----------



## BMac (10 Nov 2010)

Just a bust. It's a practice piece to try to get proportions and relief right.

Brendan.


----------



## CroppyBoy1798 (10 Nov 2010)

The face of beauty.........  hey, its a work in progress, so what, she needs extensive work on one side of her face, a nose job, her lipped filled out a bit, after all that she might look somewhat decent! :lol:


----------



## xy mosian (11 Nov 2010)

From where I'm sitting that looks like very competant carving, beautiful. Great to see a carving work in progress. Keep it up. 

xy


----------



## CroppyBoy1798 (11 Nov 2010)

Cheers XY!  

She had a bit of beauty work carried out today and she's looking the better of it if I do say so!  







One thing I have learned about carving faces that its not so much about just carving 2 eyes, a nose and mouth, but to focus more on the sourrounding areas, muscle structure, cheek bones, chin etc and then everything starts falling into place gradually. I'm chuffed with how the face turned out, I was dreadingggggg doing it and at one stage thought I'd made a mess of it and had visions of doing a head transplant!!


----------



## Chems (12 Nov 2010)

VERY impressive!


----------



## xy mosian (12 Nov 2010)

Coming along very nicely.
Strange, what you were saying about your own perceptions of the head in progress. A lot of years ago I made a rocking horse. At one stage, as I was working, I felt as if I was carving a horses head, but as soon as anyone came into the garage it became a block of wood. Odd.
xy


----------



## Setch (12 Nov 2010)

Looking very good!

I'd narrow the temples a bit - they're pretty broad compared to the face, but this may be because they've not been worked yet. Good luck with the hands... :O


----------



## CroppyBoy1798 (13 Nov 2010)

Thanks Chems!  

XY, a rocking horse is something I've never done, but being a lover of all things traditional and simple (odd for a 26 year old!  ) its something I'd love to tackle someday, a nice heirloom.....gotta get me some kids first though! :wink: 

Setch, cheers for the comment. I see what you mean, I'll have a go at cutting in the temples tomorrow. By right her hair should drop down at a steeper angle, thus covering her ears, so, by right you should be able to see as least the hint of ears, but I made a boo boo. Cant wait for the hands....... :shock:


----------



## CroppyBoy1798 (16 Nov 2010)

Well, got one hand done today, ie her right hand, its roughed out still, but near to final, I'm pretty happy with it. Heres a few in a series of the carving up to the current state.


----------



## studders (16 Nov 2010)

Gobsmacked. In fact seldom has my gob been so smacked. Totally amazing.


----------



## goldeneyedmonkey (16 Nov 2010)

Awesome, well done mate. Keep up the good work, I really want to get into hand-carving @ some point, but need some more time on my hands.

How did you learn what you know? How long have you been doing it for?

Cheers_Dan.


----------



## cerdeira (16 Nov 2010)

Hi.

do you smooth/scrap/sand the surfaces (face, arm, etc)? they don't seem to be left straight out of the gouge.

I once carved a relief of a horse head (based on a chess piece) and found it extremely difficult to reproduce the wavy effect of the mane hair in a pleasant way. even more difficult than the face itself. in fact I never got it right the way i wanted.


----------



## CroppyBoy1798 (16 Nov 2010)

Cheers guys!

Happy to have gobsmacked you studders! :lol:, wait until you see the end product so, it'll be a knockout!  

Goldeneyedmonkey, I'm a self taught carver, havent really done that much to be honest, I'm sorta wondering why I havent been doing more of it now or at least honing up on the skill over the years. However, upon doing this little project and working with the lime has given me a couple of others ideas for projects involving carving.  

cerdeira, The only stage at which I'd have serious gouge marks would be in the initial roughing out, after that I'd try shape with smaller gouges, flat/skew chisels etc. But I do scrape and use sandpaper also when I'm getting near to/at a final stage.


----------



## xy mosian (16 Nov 2010)

Fantastic. Is it me, or the lighting or is she getting er ... more curvy?
Keep up the tremendous work.
xy


----------



## BMac (16 Nov 2010)

This is brilliant! I love to open this section of the forum and see a new message signal against this thread. I called my wife to see what you have done so far (she was in England for 3 weeks so missed the start) and she was very impressed indeed - and she's not easily impressed. I look forward to further updates but, already, I'm kinda dreading the end because I'm enjoying this so much.

Brendan.


----------



## CroppyBoy1798 (2 Jun 2011)

Wow, how long has it been?!!

I'd like to be able to say 'hey she's finished!!' and produce a array of images of a beautifully finished and mounted carving....

....but alas I'm far from that stage yet! She's literally been 'on the shelf' these past number of months, the project frozen like those cold December days! :| 

But, I pulled her down yesterday, give her a dusting, pulled out the ol' chisels and said 'gotta get this done, if only for the followers on UK Workshop!!!!!!!' (hammer) 

So here's how she appears tonight (not much a change really, just some facial work done and the creases in the fabric under her right hand). Bit of 'downlighting' to highlight the piece......dodgy pic I know. But I plan to get her done, and soon, so, encourage me!!!!!!! :lol:


----------



## studders (2 Jun 2011)

CroppyBoy1798":21zn1zjc said:


> ..... But I plan to get her done, and soon, so, encourage me!!!!!!! :lol:



Oi You....

As soon as the Rain comes back......

Get on with it Man.





Will that do? :lol:


----------



## CroppyBoy1798 (3 Jun 2011)

But but the weather is so nice out  

Oh ok.

(hammer)


----------



## studders (3 Jun 2011)

Yes, there is that. Fair enough, I have edited my message appropriately.


----------



## jackss565 (4 Jun 2011)

This is amazing, can't wait to see it finished


----------



## Jensmith (4 Jun 2011)

Wow! That is looking really good. Only just found your post and the progress from lump of wood to this is incredible.


----------



## CroppyBoy1798 (4 Jun 2011)

Your ammendment came too late Studders.....I spent the day sweating in the shop  but, on the upside I got some carving done! =D> 

Thanks jackass and Jen, will have some more pics up later I reckon, working on it at the mo' (well, not literally at the moment).


----------

