Woodcarving alongside scrollsawing???

[OCtoolguy]

Originally I got hooked on woodcarving and only bought a scroll saw in order to cut out roughouts for carving. Then, the sky fell and I got so hooked on scrolling that I put aside my carving hobby. Now, I have reconnected with carving and so I was wondering if we have any scrollers here on The Village who have managed to combine the two artforms. If so, I'd love to hear and see all of what you have managed to come up with. I've been watching all the Lynn Doughty videos on caricature carving and am anxious to start something but not sure what yet. I did try a basic search here using "woodcarving" as the search word but didn't find anything so I hope this will get some interest. 

[Dan]

Ray, where's the pics? LOL

I've done some carving but just to learn a bit about how much I'm not an artist. I plan to get into carving when I retire (I thought I was but guess it wasn't in the plans). @DickMira does some great work but I think he uses a power carver or rotary tool to add more dimension to his projects. I'd love to see what others contribute here.

[OCtoolguy]

1 hour ago, Dan said:

Ray, where's the pics? LOL

I've done some carving but just to learn a bit about how much I'm not an artist. I plan to get into carving when I retire (I thought I was but guess it wasn't in the plans). @DickMira does some great work but I think he uses a power carver or rotary tool to add more dimension to his projects. I'd love to see what others contribute here.

Dan, we went out on the road full-time RVing in 08. We sold everything we owned except what we could carry with us. I got looking for a hobby that wouldn't add any weight to our rig. We stumbled into Ladybird Johnson Municipal Park in Fredricksburg, Tx. and the Texas Woodcarver's Guild was having their semi-annual outing. One of them took me under his wing and exposed me to the world of carving. I bought a knife, a book and couple of pieces of basswood. Then another member gave me a cowboy boot and a piece of wood and told me to carve a boot like the one he gave me. I still have that boot. And the one I carved. I've done a couple of things but nothing to brag about but I want to get better. I won't abandon my scrolling though. The two are going to have to mesh together somehow. The neat thing about carving is I have everything I need in a small Kobalt 3 drawer tool box in my office. No sawdust to worry about. Just chips. I wear an apron that has a large open pocket in the front of it and that catches almost all my carving chips. I bought it at the Carolina Visitor's Center on the Blueridge Parkway. There are some fantastic artist represented there. 

[DickMira]

Thank you Dan for commenting on my work which contains mostly scrollwork with subsequent carving, called "Carved Fretwork".  Some examples can be seen in the User Gallery of this Forum, on page 1, scroll down to Dick Mira.  My new Avatar, a tiger, was just carved from a thick block of Hard Rock Maple, 9" x 7" X 3", that was given to me by a friend.  This was very dense wood to carve and certainly not recommended.  Most of my projects consist of wildlife subjects that are scrolled, carved, and stained with oils. Regards, Dick Mira

Edited December 31, 2022 by DickMira

[OCtoolguy]

7 minutes ago, DickMira said:

Thank you Dan for commenting on my work which contains mostly scrollwork with subsequent carving, called "Carved Fretwork".  Some examples can be seen in the User Gallery of this Forum, on page 1, scroll down to Dick Mira.  My new Avatar, a tiger, was just carved from a thick block of Hard Rock Maple, 9" x 7" X 3", that was given to me by a friend.  This was very dense wood to carve and certainly not recommended.  Most of my projects consist of wildlife subjects that are scrolled, carved, and stained with oils. Regards, Dick Mira

Very nice work. This exactly why I started this topic. I hope more carvers show themselves.

 

[Sycamore67]

I like scrolling Intarsia and carving the pieces.  Also like some carving with puzzles like I posted recently.

[OCtoolguy]

1 hour ago, Sycamore67 said:

I like scrolling Intarsia and carving the pieces.  Also like some carving with puzzles like I posted recently.

I enjoyed seeing your work. Please post more of it.

[DRugerH]

I don't much like wood carving, but it is sometimes necessary.  I am currently working on a fishing game for my toddler nephew.  It will consist of 6 fish with metal studs in the mouth.  The fishing pole will have a rare earth magnet on the "hook" (blood wood part you see) to catch the fish.  I am using just some pine and will have it finished by his 3rd birthday in December of 2023, but this is my start.  The fish that I have carved are rough, but they will get a thorough sanding and finishing. 

Dan

[rjweb]

Dick,  those are beautiful, the cub with the mouse, I don’t see where the scroll saw could be used, can you explain, you really have a talent for carving, RJ 

[OCtoolguy]

4 hours ago, DRugerH said:

I don't much like wood carving, but it is sometimes necessary.  I am currently working on a fishing game for my toddler nephew.  It will consist of 6 fish with metal studs in the mouth.  The fishing pole will have a rare earth magnet on the "hook" (blood wood part you see) to catch the fish.  I am using just some pine and will have it finished by his 3rd birthday in December of 2023, but this is my start.  The fish that I have carved are rough, but they will get a thorough sanding and finishing. 

Dan

Great idea and a good start on carving. Get one good carving knife and a leather strop. Keep it sharp. And get a glove to protect your hand. Safety first.

[DickMira]

8 hours ago, rjweb said:

Dick,  those are beautiful, the cub with the mouse, I don’t see where the scroll saw could be used, can you explain, you really have a talent for carving, RJ 

Thanks RJ for the nice comments.  The cub and the mouse were cut first on a 3/4 " panel of wood in the standard scroll saw manner using a pattern that I had drawn, drilling pilot holes, and cutting the frets all out with the scroll saw.  After that was completed, I carved over the entire scrollsawn piece to enhance the appearance of the animals.

Edited January 1, 2023 by DickMira
Clarification of the process

[OCtoolguy]

2 hours ago, DickMira said:

Thanks RJ for the nice comments.  The cub and the mouse were cut first on a 3/4 " panel of wood in the standard scroll saw manner using a pattern that I had drawn.  After that was completed, I carved over the entire scrollsawn piece.

That's sorta what I have in mind. Cut out a wall hanger or plaque and the take the knife to it to shape all the edges and give it more of a 3-D effect. I'm thinking about 3-D cutting chess pieces and then refining them with a knife. There are many things if you let your mind wander out of the box.

[DickMira]

5 hours ago, OCtoolguy said:

That's sorta what I have in mind. Cut out a wall hanger or plaque and the take the knife to it to shape all the edges and give it more of a 3-D effect. I'm thinking about 3-D cutting chess pieces and then refining them with a knife. There are many things if you let your mind wander out of the box.

Ray, this is a excellent way to get started.  Because of the initial hesitancy to try carving scrolled work, I have suggested to students to start with an old scrolled project that is 1/2" to 3/4" thick and NOT one of your "favorite" works and try carving that.  You are half way there!!!!   When you see how this improves the overall affect, you will be pleased.  To demonstrate this, I will post a simple project (a kitten) and a complicated project (an owl) to examine and see how it brings the animal to life!.

 

Edited January 1, 2023 by DickMira

[meflick]

I too was going to suggest Dick as one who does significant carving to scrolled pieces. Glad to see he has already replied several times.

I have been learning to carve the past couple months some. I have shared some of those carved pieces on here earlier. I have been carving some Christmas ornaments the past month. Haven’t shared those yet I don’t think, I still need to paint some of them so was waiting until I had them completed.

I want to learn carving in the round but haven’t gotten there yet. I did some relief carving to start, and then have been doing the smaller ornaments.  I have been enjoying learning to carve and I asked for and received a Foredom to try power carving. I enjoy learning and trying new things.  I also learned some basics of turning that I want to do some more learning and doing with. I think carving can enhance so many different types of work. I hope to use it with my Intarsia work (that I also need to get back to  ).  So, I’m always open to talking about carving with my scrolling.

Edited to add: I had also asked for and received some of Pfeil’s palm size carving tools for Christmas. Most of what I had previously purchased were some of the larger Pfeil gouges and vtools for relief carving. While I was making them work with the smaller ornaments I was carving, I felt palm size tools would be more efficient for that type of work. I have done a little work with them since Christmas and they are a good size for small work.

Edited January 1, 2023 by meflick