More carving related clothing
The wearers want to remain anonymous.
Zahir’s New T Shirt
Has Zahir set us a new trend? Can any other members come to meetings in appropriate clothing? Watch this space!
3D Printing by Barry Lord
On Thursday May 21st, our newest member Barry Lord gave us a demonstration of his 3D printing equipment.
Barry said that whereas carving is taking material away, 3D printing is adding material to create a finished object.
Printer
3D printing is the process of building physical 3 dimensional objects from a digital model. It works by depositing and fusing materials – typically heated plastics or resins layer by layer. It is widely used for rapid prototyping, customized parts and household items.
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The material, in his case, plastic, although corn starch and resins can be used, is held on a spool which lasts for approximately 18 hours and is forced through a nozzle as the machine’s print head moves forwards and backwards. The print head rises as more layers are produced. The temperature in the print head builds up to 220C as the material is extruded whilst the printer bed is heated to 60C. With clever software the printed item comes out articulated, so toys and other things needing moving parts can be made . Clay can also be used and comes out soft and can then be fired in the same way as normal pottery.
Barry said that the prices of these printers had dropped over the last few years as the technology became more advanced. An average price was between £150 and £300. The printers are very quiet and can be left chugging away all night if necessary.
It is necessary to have a computer to work with the printer and many programmes are free to use. Dimensions can be altered and colours changed to create many coloured objects. Three dimensioned objects like models have a mesh pattered interior which saves material and is also very strong. He showed us a model head based on a 2dimensional photograph of a friend. A specialised programme can imagine the contours of a head and build it on to the features in the photograph. This amazed his audience as the model looked exactly like a sculpture of his friend’s head.
Friend’s head
While Barry was giving his talk, he had set up the smaller printer to make a butterfly and after approximately an hour, a perfectly articulated yellow butterfly could be picked up and moved.
Printing the Yellow Butterfly
Articulated Yellow Butterfly
He said that this technology can be used for all sorts of purposes like dentistry, bone replacements, parts for cars and aircraft and jewellery and personal items. He had created an item that helped with using a shower which was something he had found really useful.
Everyone was really interested and asked many questions and Barry was thanked for showing us something that most of us had no experience.
Richard Colbran’s Carving
Richard brought 3 boxes of carvings – a selection that represented his range of work and his development over time. He, like all good magicians, had a glamorous assistant (Mick Illsley) to bring the rabbits (sorry carvings ) out of the box!! Richard gave us a brief life story. He took up woodwork to furnish their home when he married Pat. Many years later, on retirement, he took up carving and joined a class in Burnley as well as LCW to learn more of the craft. Recognising his need to improve his seeing and understanding of shape he also attended an animal drawing class”.
Carving is not just about controlling the tools and copying the work of others. There is need for curiosity to discover interesting subjects and ingenuity to work out how to carve them. There are NO carving rules, try anything and everything, and reject what does not work.
If you want to see all Richard’s work, go to Galleries ,and click on Members carvings, then choose Richard Colbran from the list
The carvings Richard showed follow.
THE HAND – Rhododendron.
The hand was a copy of his own hand – always useful to have a model close by. The original finish on the rhododendron wood was yellowish, giving it a dead appearance, but a surface treatment and refinish achieved a more lifelike shade
GREENMAN Lime
The Green Man carving is not a direct copy of a Somerset pew as he felt that the original had the grapes hanging upwards. The background was punched which was another learning curve. The carving had an integral border which made life difficult, so he now frames his 2D carvings with a separate frame, either mitred or edging that is just tacked on.
DANCER. Swamp Cypress Knee – American wood
Richard had been given the challenge of carving a dancer, and found inspiration in combining carving with the natural shape of the wood.
LITTLE OWL. Stained lime in oak frame,
Image based on wood-engraving by Charles Tunnicliffe. The ferns were a problem due to short grain.
GREEK STALLION Lime on slate base
Although Richard had lots of photos of horses, he was still unsure of how to carve it. He stood for a long time watching horses until he had learned the shape. His drawing teacher suggested that he drew his dog every morning to improve his seeing
TWO FOXES Mahogany,
When carving two animals it is difficult to get the balance right. Richard experimented with stains and paint.
THE FIRST LOOTENANT! Stained lime
Originally called Privy Councillor Design taken from an ice carving
GREENMAN Oak
You need sharper tools for oak but it is a much prettier wood
Three Hares by Richard Colbran, stained oak
THREE HARES – ANOTHER ANCIENT RELIGIOUS ICON – Stained oak
THe hares share an ear. All carved from one piece of oak.
DOLPHINS Mahogany, on a background of Ash
Richard was aiming for an impression of movement.
BEWARE THE BLACK BEARS
Originally called The Mad Whittler because that is the title of the chain saw carver who executed the work
THE RED DEER OF LOCHNAGAR – Parana pine 26 cm high
The Red Deer of Lochnagar
Richard had found making mitred frames too much trouble and just attached the wood to the sides. This type of frame avoids the need for mitre joints but still requires careful work for a neat appearance.
CHARIOTEER – lime, 32 cm wide
Charioteer
This shallow engraving needs good top lighting to produce the shadows.
FLYING CROW – Stained Lime 20cm square
Flying Crow
The ends of the wings were laminated on the back with oak for support
HUMPBACK WHALE – Lime on Mahogany 28 cm high
The whale was carved separately, then mounted on the backboard.
Tony Griffiths Carvings
Tony Griffith brought in a selection of his carvings including an almost life size self portrait.
After a career in teaching , Tony earned his living as a model maker for such high profile museums as Eureka (Halifax) and Jorvik (York ). He was the craftsman working with an artist who produced the drawings and designs. When the financial world crashed in 2008, they had enough work to keep them going till 2015. Then he had to decide on his future, chose retirement, and started carving.
He is a self taught carver and started with scratch carvings based on of 2D Viking images.
Carved on logs intended for the fire.
He went on to more traditional carving and included some beaten copper for the helmet.
Wiglaf of Mercia
When he progressed to 3D carvings he found it much more difficult than 2D. His model making experience suggested subjects that tell a story from history or fantasy.
The “Hunting a Baslish” is in Lime and Mahogany. The hood was made in two pieces so that the lime head could be fitted in. The arms were carved separately.
Hunting a Baslish
With “Men in Trenchcoats” Tony wanted to have a light through the sculpture to give it an eerie effect
Men in Trenchcoats
The self portrait is carved from oak floorboards laminated to create the required shoulder width. The detail put into the finishing is amazing, reproducing the pattern of the shirts material.
Shirt pattern on self portrait
Guide to Carving Escaping Sardines by Mick Illsley
CARVING ESCAPING FISH – A STEP BY STEP GUIDE
The whole concept for the escaping fish was –
What would it be like if you were live fish?
Trapped in a tin can
How would you feel if someone opened the lid???
“WHOOOOOPPPPEEE !!! I’m outa here”, and the rest is up to you.
The full carving can be broken down into five simple stages;
1 carving the fish,
2 the tin can,
3 the lid of the can,
4 the key, and
5 connecting all the parts to form the finished product.
All dimensions are in inches with millimeter conversions in brackets.
STAGE ONE – CARVING THE FISH
Using pieces of offcut timber, all of the same species, ¾ “ (18mm) thick approx. 9” (225mm) long by 3” (75mm) wide, sketch on a typical fish shape, either an actual fish, or, an abstract,or any representation you wish for a fish.
TIP Drawing a centre line thro’ the fish will make it easier to balance and shape the fish.
TIP. By introducing curves to the centre lines it will make the finished product more alive than straight, rigid lines.
Cut out blocks of fish
TIP. Do not cut individual fish shapes at this stage. Try and keep at least two fish in a line as this will be easier to grip when shaping individual fish.
Continue to refine the fish shapes using a coping saw to remove as much waste as possible.
Turn the fish shapes through 90 degrees (so that you are looking down on them) and continue to shape them from above using a sharp knife. The knife does not have to be special – Stanley type or any sharp craft knife will do.
Shaping and separating the fish with coping saw and knife
TIP For safety keep all of you behind the sharp blade including the hand that is holding the wood.
TIP Again, by introducing a curve, as you look down, will create more movement in the finished article.
TIP Try and keep your guidelines in place as you continue.
Start to carve the curves into the fish’s body, and try not to remove the dorsal fin on the fish’s back.
TIP The dorsal fin and tail area needs to be as thin as you can make it without breaking it off.
Once most of the curves are in place it is time to separate the fish into individual pieces. Using the centre lines as guides, continue carving the curves to the top and bottom of the fish. When you are happy with the carved shapes you have the option of sanding them down to form a sleek fish like shine or retaining the chip carved finish. It’s up to you..
STAGE TWO – CARVING THE TIN CAN,
You will require a piece of timber 5/8” to 1”, (18 – 25mm) thick, minimum 21/2” (60mm) wide by approx. 6” (150mm) long overall. (This piece of timber forms both the can and the lid). The can needs to be around 4” (100mm) long, leaving 2”(50mm) for the lid to be used later. I find the can to be the trickiest part of the project but if you follow the next steps it may become easier.
Saw off the 2” (50mm) offcut but DO NOT throw it away as it will be used for the can lid.
Draw out the can shape onto your piece of wood. I have found it best to use an actual sardine can as a template.
Don’t forget to include the step arrangement at one end on the inside of can. This is required to support the can lid which we will get to later
Mark out the centre points of the corner holes roughly 1/4” (5mm) from the inner corners of the can and at one end two further holes to the inside of the step. The outer holes B need to be only about. 1/4” (5 mm) deep (to form the step to support for the lid). The inner holes A will need to be about ½” (10 – 12 mm ) deep.I use a 10 mm diameter drill bit for the corner holes. Carefully drill out the six corner holes.
TIP To obtain the correct depth of hole, measure up the drill bit and wrap a strip of tape around bit at the required length. When the tape hits the wood being drilled you have reached the required depth.
With a chisel tap down to make stop cuts (shown in red). These and the corner holes will assist you removing any waste wood from the inside of the can and they will help reduce enthusiastic follow throughs taking out parts of the walls of the can. Remove the waste wood with a gouge or a V tool. As you get deeper into the removal of the waste wood, you need to redo the stop cuts. Try to maintain a reasonable thickness to the can wall, say 1/4” (5mm) as this may be thinned down later. Remember it is impossible to put wood back when you have removed too much.
TIP. Always cut out waste by following the grain of the wood. Cutting with the grain will be easier and smoother and your tool will slide easily through. Cutting against the grain will be harder and your chisel will dig into the wood, be a little more bouncy and leave a rougher cut. Sometimes it will be impossible to cut along the grain. In this case try cutting across the grain which will give you a better cut than against the grain.
TIP. Do not try to take out large lumps of wood whilst removing waste. Small is beautiful and it will save time and effort eventually.
When you have removed the bulk of the the interior wood, pare down inner sides of the can to about 1/8 in thick using a gouge first and then a chisel to smooth the sides.
Using a chisel, cut off the square outside corners down to the outside shape of the tin. Keep the cuts vertical, a pencil line as C in picture above helps to keep the cuts on line
I find it really helpful if you draw the required curve to the top and underside of the can and carve from both sides (top and bottom) to achieve a consistent curve. XXXXX
STAGE THREE CARVING THE CAN LID
Using the 2” (50mm) offcut from the end of the can body, draw a “L” shape with a thick foot which includes a ½” (10mm) diameter circle ( to form the key hole) and ¼” (5mm) thick wall around it. Ensure the grain of timber runs along the longer leg of the L shape, otherwise if it runs across the thickened foot, it will have a tendency to split.
Cut out the waste wood to form the L shape. Drill out the ½” (10mm) hole.
TIP You will find life easier if you drill from both sides as the hole does not necessarily have to meet in the middle.
Trim off the outer waste around the hole to now form a P shape
.FITTING THE LID TO THE CAN
The can will need to be finished, ie the walls formed as thin as possible, and as smooth as possible. Once you have achieved this and you are happy with the finished result it will be possible to finish off the lid. I use a piece of tracing paper held tightly over the stepped end of the can and use a brass rubbing technique to obtain the shape of the inside face of the can to ensure a very tight fit of lid to can.
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Transfer the brass rubbing shape onto the leg of the P shaped lid.
TIP Ensure the orientation of the brass rubbing and can lid are the right way round, ie, the lid fits exactly into the can body and is not fitted upside down!!! It may be necessary to trim the thickness of the lid to fit onto the shelf that was created when you made the can body. In particular the outside face of the lid needs to fit slightly below the top of the can rim, as an original sardine can does.
STAGE FOUR CARVING THE KEY
Cut a 2” (50mm) long by 3/4” (20mm) wide strip approx. ¼” (5mm) thick, from a piece of straight, tight grained wood eg. Oak. The timber grain must run along the length of the key. Draw on the key shape and cut out the centre waste from the handle end of the key using a small gouge.Form a centre prong from the handle end to form the shaft of the key and trim off the side waste. Carefully round off all the sharp edges to the key using a sharp knife and sand down until you are happy with the finish.
STAGE FIVE ASSEMBLY
You should now have all the pieces to hand ready fit the final assembly. Consider is what finish do you want on the fish, a polished, sanded, natural, timber finish, exposed chip carved finish, stained, painted, varnished, waxed, the list is endless but whatever you choose, remember there is no right or wrong. Its whatever you want. Before you start to glue, you need to consider the shape you would like for the finished sculpture, ie, a long line of fish fixed end to end, a fan shaped spread, a random burst, the choice is yours but consider the balance. It is very easy to fit piece upon piece and find the end result is unbalanced and falls over (as I did on my first attempt). Just try and consider the end result.
Starting the fish from the can needs thought. I use a damaged fish shape, cut off across the body to form a half fish and glue and screw it to the can. The other fish are just glued together.
TIP. Do not forget to countersink the screws to the underside of the can or the finished result will not stand level.
Connecting the fish together may be daunting as gluing the convex shape of the fish bodies to its adjacent partner leads to a very poor joint. I trim one fish to form a concave surface where it meets the next fish and glue that to the convex surface of its mate which gives a greater surface area for the glue to work. Also, if possible, I fit a short dowel into both fish where they meet which helps to stop them from sliding apart as the glue takes.
TIP. A dowel can be made from any handy bits, a cocktail stick, a match, bit of wire, etc.
And remember this; Speed is irrelevant, take your time and enjoy the process, just do your best and ENJOY.
You can see more of Mick’s work, including some spectacular sardine sculptures by going to Members carvings and clicking on Mick
Human Figure Carving by John Adamson
John took us through his history of figure carving.
The voyage of discovery started in early 1970s when in answer to the perpetual question of carvers “What should he do next”, his wife said “Me and the dog – a dachshund”. On a casual glance the figure looks ok, but John had problems fitting in the dog because the arms were too short. He worked out the first of his Rules of Thumb – Elbows tuck into the waist and Arms are long enough for you to scratch your bum
Ann & Nicki
in Mahogany
9 inch high
The next carving started from the same question – “What should he do next”. He sought the answer by tidying the garage and using the first interesting bit of wood. This was a willow log with one end solid on the outside and rotten to the centre. The figures are not realistic but suggestive of people round a bonfire. This was the first carving design inspired by the shape of the wood – a theme that has proved productive.
Firelight in Willow
7 inch high
The design of the Jumble Sale was controlled by the cracks in the oak log which defined where the figures could be. Logically a figure is better between the cracks, rather than have a crack running through the figure. Not all spacing worked out!! Some cracks were too close and a figure had to be turned side on. Some cracks were too wide apart and more than one figure was needed. Some cracks needed an extra wide figure and John had to work out where to add the fat to make the figure fit. Later on John realised that the figures were all wrong as he had not realised that differences in people’s height are the product of the length of the leg, and that most actual bodies bum to shoulder are very similar. Some more Rules of thumb – A hand will cover the face and Feet are as long as the head
Jumble Sale in Oak
10 inch high
Jumble Sale Base
9 in wide
The Waiting carving was made from a half round log of willow that had been cut from the top of the pollarding of the tree, and the individual branches (Outlined in pen) were identifiable being partly surrounded by bark. This allowed John to find a route in to the block. Learning from the Jumble sale, John wanted to get away from the parallel surfaces of the block. Taking inspiration from flower arranging books, he cut the edge off one side only.
Waiting in Willow
17 inch high
Base of Waiting with branches circled
9 in wide
Taking the idea of using the shape of the wood to inspire the carving an extra step, John’s next carving was made from the roots of a hawthorn tree. The figures he found reminded John of a BBC schools program where children were asked “To find a space and Imagine you are a ?”, in this case a tree. John was hopeless at this exercise but there were girls who went to ballet classes who did it wonderfully. There is amazing strength in the roots, and arms can be formed in ways that straight grained wood would not allow.
Imagine you are a tree
Hawthorn root
11 inch high
The final work was his current carving, based on the shape of a yew log that split into two branches. After 50 years of carving human figures, John is still learning. All his previous figes had arms below shoulder height. The current figures have their arms high in the air, and there are some movements of the bones and muscles of the shoulder that John is struggling to understand.
Housewife and Builder Dancing in Yew 15 inch high
Housewife and Builder Dancing in Yew 15 inch high
If you want to see more of John’s amazing work, look on his web site
Stone carving by Bob Burton
Bob brought in a comprehensive array of stone carving tools and explained the ways different tools were used on various stones and for different purposes
Some stones such as marble are hard and need sturdier tools. Sandstone (Red or Yellow), Limestone, and Slate are softer and may be shaped with a rasp and carving tools. Alabaster and Soapstone is soft enough to be carved with a penknife.
Added: Members had a go at carving some letters
Mick Illsley having a go
Jill Smith having a go.
Alex Smith having a go
Martin Haigh having a go
Netsuke by Nick Pantelides
Netsuke, pronounced netskey, is part of a simple device for carrying things when the Japanese male costume had no pockets – the costume was popular from 1600s to 1900s.
The netsuke may have started out as a simple object, but has become highly worked, and a prized wonderful small sculpture in a variety of materials – boxwood, bone, stone, ivory. The good older ones are signed and highest price was set in 2023 at £860,000. There are cheaper ones, but these may be plastic, with perhaps some ivory dust in the mix, or mass produced by laser carving.
As the carvings are so small, the work is traditionally carried out with small chisels, jewellers type saw with fine teeth, and the action is more scraping than cutting. The work is finished with pumice or wet and dry paper.
. Suitable materials are , boxwood, holly, cherry, apple, ivory, amber, whale tooth, soap stone, antlers, cow bone, walrus tooth, buffalo horn, bog oak, old billiard balls, and taqua nut.
Nick has developed work station that can be clamped on to a table top for this sort of work
I can even be used standing up. Obviously with such small work, any sort of vice would be impractical
Power Tool Demonstration
Wood carving with Chainsaws and other Power Tools.
Talk and Demo by John Adamson and John Vaiders
Report byJill Smith 22nd June 2023.
John Adamson and John Vaiders gave us an insight into the joys and dangers of using power tools fuelled by battery, electric or petrol. (Sadly, none of these are allowed in the club because of insurance, pollution, noise and dust.)
John Adamson spoke of the health and safety aspects of using these machines and the protective gear he wore when using his chainsaw. He told us of the dangers of working with yew and other toxic woods, especially not to breathe in the dust.
John A. explained how the various tools could be used to carve a yew log. Briefly, the chainsaw could cut the outside shape with straight lines and some of the inside. If the wood was not yew and the dust cancerous. he would use an angle grinder with an abrasive wheel to do further shaping the inside. He thought an Arbortech wheel which fits on an angle grinder was too vicious and hard to control.
Power tools save a lot of chiselling but sometimes he felt it was good to slow down and use chisels because power tools could work too fast and not give time to develop the artistic side of the carving.
For more detailed power tool work he used a flexible drive shaft attached to his battery power drill. It looked like a larger version of a Dremel with bigger attachments..
For drilling holes or spaces in his carving he liked to use larger spade drill bits which have a straight bottom with a spike in the middle. The spike keeps the machine from ‘wandering’ into softer wood whilst making the hole. Drilling a hole first makes it easier to hollow wood out, as it gives the waste wood somewhere to go.
After lunch we moved outside for a demo by both speakers.
John Vaiders showed us his safety gear and a battery operated chainsaw he bought in Lidl for £100. He demonstrated his grinder and the many various attachments he had for it. We were very impressed how the planing disc quickly smoothed the side of a log.
The photo at the head of this article shows John Vaiders with our member Keith Salad checking how smooth the surface was. The grinder machine also had a “chain saw disc attachment” but John V hadn’t used it because he had seen bad press reports saying people had lost fingers, etc whilst using it. It was a later version of the Arbortech tool that JohnA did not like.
Nick Pantelides showed John Vaiders how to form the shape of a large hedgehog using one of JohnV’s finer cutting discs.
John Adamson then showed us the first cuts he was making into a yew log to help start Kim Winter off on her carving of an owl. They had studied the log and decided on how the carving would be developed. They had photos of owls to help them with the design.
John A. first showed the easier downward cut using the chainsaw, when the weight of the machine helps with the cutting, The second cut was more difficult – an upward cut and that requires the carver to lift the machine against gravity and also push it into the log. Very hard work!
Here is a photo of John Adamson doing the harder upward cut on the yew log wearing his full safety gear – steel toe cap shoes;.chainsaw carver’s trousers which had 25 layers of nylon to stop any cuts; a high neck jumper to stop bits going down the neck; helmet with ear defenders and glasses or visor. On a colder day he would wear a woodturner’s jacket, with no dangly pieces and a high neck fastening. Sadly, after a jam packed day, the demo had to stop because we had run out of time for today.
I was very impressed with the speed all these tools could remove wood, but was very aware of how fit and alert the user must be and constantly thinking of the dangers in using them.
Report by Gillian Smith