www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

Hello there, it's quite a while since I have posted here.
Anyway, last year I cut down one fruit tree in the garden and this year another two met the same fate.

Rather than dispose of them I stacked the trunks up to dry out "in case they might come in handy" (my stock excuse for not throwing stuff away).

A few weeks ago I decided to have a go at wood carving for the first time, so went onto the internet for a few ideas.

My first attempt was this Easter Island statue. (three views of the same object) Do the statues have eyes? They don't appear to on the photos I have seen.

Unfortunately I didn't' think to take any stage photos. I used a chain saw for most of the work, finishing off with hand and powered chisels and sanders.

...........................................................

I thought that I would then have a go at making a chain as the last one I made out of a salt block many years ago.
This time I determined to take some stage photos.


I cheated a bit with this photo as I forgot to get the camera out it time so did a reassembly. Looks like I ignored my pencil lines.

I thought that the letters were a bit flimsy so decided to have another go.

I used a chainsaw to rough out the block from the trunk. I then used hand and powered saws, chisels, sanders and also various files to complete the chain whilst dodging around an awkward knot.

I have my thinking cap on at the moment deciding on a mount to hang the chain from, probably using more of the trunk. Although, as the leftover bits have radial cracks so might have to use something else.

Then two more trunks to carve.

The Easter Island head is the mutts, looks brill. I wouldn't have the patience to do the wood chain though, how long did that take?

Grockle wrote:
My first attempt was this Easter Island statue. (three views of the same object) Do the statues have eyes? They don't appear to on the photos I have seen.

It's generally believed nowadays that eyes made from coral were added to the carvings, the actual pupil of the eye would have been made from Obsidian or a volcanic rock called Scoria - this has been deduced from fragments found below the statues.

I made a ceramic version, with eyes, (pottery being a hobby of mine).
I like your carvings, a better attachment to the wall would be by the use of keyhole plates - they can be completely concealed behind the object.

Chop wrote:how long did that take?

After cutting the trunk then working out what I wanted to do, I started the job about the 18th Oct 2014. I worked on the project in short bursts learning as I went along. I found it very fiddly especially separating the links.

ayjay wrote:

Grockle wrote:
My first attempt was this Easter Island statue. (three views of the same object) Do the statues have eyes? They don't appear to on the photos I have seen.

It's generally believed nowadays that eyes made from coral were added to the carvings, the actual pupil of the eye would have been made from Obsidian or a volcanic rock called Scoria - this has been deduced from fragments found below the statues.

I made a ceramic version, with eyes, (pottery being a hobby of mine).

Moai.jpg

I like your carvings, a better attachment to the wall would be by the use of keyhole plates - they can be completely concealed behind the object.

Thanks for keyhole plate suggestion.
Your information about the eyes is interesting. Strangely, I had thought of using red LEDs for the eyes but decided to keep it primitive. Might have a rethink.
Your ceramic version is great, I notice that you also added the ears. My trunk wasn't big enough to accommodate them, I did think of gluing some on but decided against it.





Speaking of LEDs., here is Yorick, found on Exmoor I fitted him out with LEDs for Halloween. The local youngsters thought it was great lit up above the drivers seat in my VW.

Very good.

I was watching some utube vids a few weeks ago on making a wooden chain from MDF using a router and a jig - would you believe one of them involved making 'U' shapes then gluing them back together.......

but a ball within a ball within a ball carved from ivory by some primitive with too much time on his hands takes the biscuit!

Nice work, not usually my type of thing, but the heads look great!

Fruit trees.... I acquired two 4' long sections of a substantial apple tree trunk this week. I plan to cut it into rough planks for cutting turning blanks once it has dried a little.

To hang the chain on a wall, I needed to make a bracket. I looked at a leftover piece of the trunk and thought that I could see a hand inside. So I trimmed the wood then drew a few guide lines and started cutting.



I am fairly well satisfied, I'll post more images when I find the time to finish the job.

Since my last post, I have finishes shaping and sanding the hand and chain. I then wax polished them using clear Briwax, a mixture of Beeswax and Carnuaba wax.



Here is a group of photographs taken from various angles.
I will post more pictures when it is wall mounted.

A small project, but rather time consuming.

Brilliant work

Everything you have made above looks superb, I'd be very happy creating any of them!

Now that I have finished repairing and refurbishing a friends wooden plaque with an eagle on it, I decided to carve out another eagle on an old bit of slate by the back door.

I didn't design the image but copied an exiting one.

If you squint, you might see a previous image behind the new one.