Thread: Oneironaught's Woodcarvings.

Hey Gh. Good job in getting the first place ribbon.

Your pieces are so complex that I sometimes feel overwhelmed when I think of what you had to do to get it that way.

Um, I'm not really sure I have an idea for the end of that one piece. The rest looks great.

I would love to attempt something like that. I would... if you lived next door and could help me each step along the way.

Originally Posted by Twoshadows

Your pieces are so complex that I sometimes feel overwhelmed when I think of what you had to do to get it that way.

You know, it's easy to think that when you look at the big picture. But it's really nothing more than a bunch of really simple steps.

Um, I'm not really sure I have an idea for the end of that one piece. The rest looks great.

Gee, you're no help

I would love to attempt something like that. I would... if you lived next door and could help me each step along the way.

What's stopping you? You've done a few cool pieces already so it's obvious you've got what it takes. It's probably more about motivation than anything. I know that's always my greatest hurdle.

If we knew each other in real life I'd certainly be more than pleased to help you out in person. But then again, I do "know" you and I'm certainly more than willing to help any way I can. And that goes for every member here. Just let me know and keep watching. I'll update this topic as I get more things done. Plus, I've got some more photos of a few other things I've carved that I've yet to post.

In all honesty, TS, I have a feeling that you and I are the only members who will be doing any carving any time soon. I would LOVE to proven wrong though. But as long as people take any kind of interest I'll continue to show it off to others. Who knows, maybe we can spark an interest in some one else to pick up a knife and create something they can be proud of for years to come. Remember, it doesn't have to be a fantastic piece to be proud of it. Lord knows most of mine aren't highly refined at all. They are just unique and I made them with my own two hands. That's all that matters.

A lot of people love to look at stuff like this but it seems the only people who actually do any carving are "old" men/people. That, and the fact that you are a cute female, is what so intrigued me when I found out about your carvings. Then when I saw what you've made I was impressed. That doesn't happen often.

Hell, when I reach the age that most carvers first begin carving, I will have already had at least 30-40 years experience!

Well, I'm off to figure out how to finish this piece up. See you soon.

I decided to make a pair of side by side rings to finish off the piece. They are both done but I don't have a current picture yet. Here's a glimpse of how it came along.



At this moment though, the entire piece is done being carved and I'm working on sanding it smooth. The final step will be many coats of clear spray lacquer. I'll show it and the steps I performed to make the two rings when I'm done sanding and coating.

Until then, here's a few new pictures to fill the void.

Some random chess pieces I was making years ago (pine, mahogany, bass wood):



Skull, balls and cages and a ring (yellow pine):



These next two are in ear wood. They were - at one time - part of the same piece but I dropped it one day, turned around to see where it fell and... crunch. I stepped on the middle section and broke it to splinters.





Note that this type of ball in a cage in a cage is not done the same way as the one I shared with Twoshadows. The technique is completely different even though the end result might be similar.

EDIT

And some basic chain

Thats awesome

Originally Posted by TalkingHead

Thats awesome

No, you're awesome. And thank you

Alright, the piece is completed and clear-coated with over a dozen coats of spray lacquer. The color is now darker (due to the clear coat) and boy is it glossy. I used nearly a full can of spray.

This was one of the rare times that I bothered to sand a piece. It took hours but it was worth it. I usually use only a knife to finish the shaping process. The wood being so soft didn't look very good "smoothed out" with only a knife because of grain tearing issues.

I'll get pictures soon. 'Till then, here's a piece I started today. There will be a ring around the guy's neck then probably a chain link or two followed by who knows what.

I'm using a piece of aromatic cedar that's cut so that it's approximately half red and half white, diagonally from corner to corner. I did another piece from this same stock of wood once but it was carved for some one else. It also began as a head followed by a ring and it looked so cool when finished and clear-coated. I've been dying to make one for myself for years now. Now I am.



Here's its current state:



As you see, I still have serious problems with eyes but I can do a little to make them look somewhat better. I love how the mouth is looking though. Check it out:



It's going to look really sharp when it's finished and lacquered. I love the two toned wood. I notice, however, that I screwed up and removed too much wood to make ears now

I can finally wrap this one up. Here's the completion. The first picture shows the side by side rings at the end. Today I added about another 6 heavy coats of lacquer to finish off the can.

The second picture is the final shot of that thing you'll have to endure. I kind of wish I'd made that big ball at the end of the plunger into a round cage with a ball inside of it. Too late now.





The cedar guy has his necklace now and I've started on some chain links. Actually, one and a half links.





If anyone is tired of seeing these steps just say so and I'll go back to only posting finished pieces and spare you the details. It doesn't matter to me. I'll be taking pictures of the major steps either way as part of a project me and my Dad are working on.

Here's a pair of sliding rings I whittled out about a few weeks ago. It's made of 5/8 inch aromatic cedar ripped from a mini palate. I spray lacquered it with about 12-15 coats.

Alright, I lied. Here's another picture of that last piece I was showing you guys. But this is only to give you a better perspective of the relative sizes. There's a huge difference in scale.

This next thing is also from a piece of that cedar. It begins with a nose and mouth on a stick with devil horns. Below that is a pair of links from corner to corner and a spiral. I've extended the spiral down farther than what is pictured here but have not gone on to the next segment, whatever it may end up being.

Well.. are you?

Here's the main knife I've been using lately.

Here's the start of a joint project I'll be doing with a fellow dreamer. So far I've only got some chain links started. It's a piece of 15/16 inch butternut, a nice wood to work with. It's kind of medium hardness and density.

My Dad and I cut up some bass wood yesterday. So I'll be making a few pieces in some chunky 1 1/4" stock. There's a lot of nail holes to work around though so we'll see what happens there.

Holy crap, those are awesome!
I wish i could do something like this, i had a strange wooden keyring show up in a dream lately that id love to be able to make.. it looked to be some kind of chinese dragon like creature without wings. The creatures legs were positioned in such a way that it looked like it was spinning/twisting in the air....

Anyways Im seriously in awe..

RooJ

Thank you for the nice comments. That dream dragon keyring sound pretty cool.

Wow! Oneironaught, your work is amazing. You have a very nice talent. Thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by Switch

Wow! Oneironaught, your work is amazing. You have a very nice talent. Thanks for sharing.

Why, thank you

I got a little more done on that last cedar piece.

And I've started yet another basic ball in a cage. This one is a piece of that basswood I squared off last weekend. It's in 1 3/16 inch square stock. From the very top to the bottom edge of the cage opening is 1 1/2 inches long.

As you can tell, I love using wood that has a color change. Color variations in basswood are usually greenish (like poplar) but, this piece was near the bark so the coloring is reddish-brown, similar to cedar.

Basswood is an ideal carving material. The grain and hardness are just right. I rarely use it though because it's too white for my taste. It generally has no character, not even at the annual rings.

Most woodcarvers that do use basswood use it for items they intend to paint (fish, birds and other figure carving) or stain (such as relief and chip carving) - not so much because of its color but, because of its consistent grain and the ease of working with it.

But since I only clear coat my pieces, I don't like the color of most basswood. It's just too bland and boring. However, I like to mix it up so, here we go: a bland white piece... with a little color :green:

The smaller piece I'm holding is the cedar one I'm working on. The black dots you see along the uncut section are nail holes. This wood was once a shipping palate so I have to work around the flaws the best I can. Who knows what the finished product will look like. That's what keeps it fun and exciting for me, despite doing many of the same elements over and over. Each piece is still unique.

So now I've got 4 pieces started. One day I'll get them all wrapped up.

Cool! My piece made it into Chip Chats magazine (the magazine published by America's National Wood Carvers Association).

This one:

But go figure, our club's incompetent PR staff once again got me and my Dad confused. So in Chip Chats, my carving is listed as being done by my Dad. But, Dad's blue ribbon winner from this year's show made it too. His is listed as being done by me

I give up... A finally got them to correct it on our website. But Chip Chats is a hard copy magazine sent out all over the country. It's a little too late to edit that now. But then again, it took the club almost 15 frickin' years to get my mailing address correct. And I've used the same P.O. Box since 1991.

I guess I'll cut them some slack (as usual). After all, most of them are in their 50's, 60's and 70's. I'm the only 'young' fart (35 next month) in the local woodcarving scene. That's part of why I started this thread. I'd love to see more young people get interested and involved in carving, especially the style I do; it's a dying art. 'Tis a shame.

awesome!!!!