"Chez Moose" step by step.....Finished

[joe cieslowski]

I just haven't had the time to complete this SxS but here is a couple of shots of it finished....





This property marker is for a local customer who also has a home in Jackson Hole WY.

It's white pine, 2" thick and 26" wide and 30" tall. Here is the pattern.....



The panel is first cut out with a sabre saw and the edges are sanded. The shape of the boarder is an ogee style molding. The first step is to cut a 1/2" cove using a router. The overall width of the molding is 1 1/2". After the cove is cut, the remaining 1 inch is divided into 4 equal parts. I first define the inside boarder with a V parting tool tilted toward the outside edge and carve about 1/4" deep and meet the inside 1/4" mark.



Then, using a shallow gouge, at aprox. a 45 degree angle I carve the outside quarter.



Then each resulting corners are removed. This completes the roughout. It's then sanded with first 80 grit, then 120 grit sand paper.

here it is finished...



Here's a slide show showing the steps (with more pics). If you put your brouser in the bottom right corner of your screen, controls will apear to control the showing.

http://w178.photobucket.com/pbwidget.sw ... c0e2c8.pbw



This going to be two sided so I only have about 3/4" of depth for this rather large image. I'll post more images as I proceed.

Of course, I'll try to answer any questions.

Joe

[joe cieslowski]

The first step in relief carving is to remove the bulk of waste. This is done by first outlining the main elements of the design with a stop cut. This can be done many differt ways with different hand tools or a router. This router has a 1/8th inch, upcut bit 1/2" long. Because I like the background to taper down from the frame, I start with the base of the router tilted on it's edge so that the bit just touches the material. As I move from the boarder, I gradually lower the base until it reaches the full half inch. This happens on the piece, after about 3".



Ive replaced the opaque base of this router with plexi so that I'm able to see the pattern I'm following. This shows the setup.



Here are all the cuts.......all are 1/2" deep.



Now I use an 18mm #7 gouge to "waste the ground".



This image also shows my basic work setup. The bench height is at elbow level so I don't have to lean over the work.......it saves my back!!!! To prevent the work from moving, I have a non-skid rug mat under the piece with a 25lb bag of birdshot on top. Clamps could be used but a lot of time would be wasted everytime I wanted to reposition the work......this way, I just lift the bag, move the piece and replace the bag.....done! There are two lights, a 4' floresent overhead and a 100 wat work light mounted to the right about 10" above the bench. This light casts the shadows I need so that I can see the work.

Here, half the ground has been wasted.



Here, the ground is complete............



You will notice that most of the cuts are made across the grain. Wood splits easily with cross grain cuts so when I cut this way, a lot of the wood will break out ahead of the cut....meaning I don't have to work too hard to remove a lot of material. I believe this can be seen in the 4th photo posted above (note the big chips in the bottom right corner).

Today, I hope to complete the moose and start detailing the background.

Joe

[brian oliver]

Thanks for posting this, Joe. I love to see a craftsman going through the "process".
One question: why didn't you hog out the background with a router then come back with a chisel
to achieve the texture? It seems to me this would have saved some time.

[joe cieslowski]

Brian,

Most of the ground tapers up towards the frame.......left and right. Not too many spots that are truly flat. Also, when I set the ground by hand, I pick up a lot of info about each piece of wood.....grain direction, texture etc. Sorta like getting to know the unique properties of each laminate.

Joe

[Aaron Taylor]

Going to be a great looking sign Joe! Is Pine a difficult wood to hand carve? I know its less dense then other woods.

[Catharine C. Kennedy]

I REALLY appreciate your step-by-step shots and the effort this sharing entails! Many thanks!
Cat :D

[Mark Fair]

Thanks Joe.
I really enjoyed your step by step.
You do some beautiful work.

[Doug Bernhardt]

Joe Chisels....you are having too much fun. Always enjoy the photos as well.

[James Kelly]

Great step-by-step Joe, thanks.

[joe cieslowski]

Thanks everyone!

Aaron, carving in pine is like carving in most woods. The basic techniques are the same. Each species have their own little differences. Aside from the color, (I need a white colored wood to use my staining techniques) pine, because it is relitivley soft, can be carved quickly. Most knock it because it isn't very forgiving.....it will split easily if you have dull tools or don't have good control of them. Sharp tools and practiced techniques elininates those problems.

Moving on................

The first thing I did was to give a little shape to the head and shoulder and I defined the relationship between the 2 antlers.



I felt that the trickiest part of this design was getting the antlers right. I first established the bottom curvature of the front antler....



I then shaped the tips which curve in the opposite direction



With this antler finished, I undercut it with a knife and shape the rear antler with a fishtail gouge...

Next the profile of the back antler is drawn, stop cut, and the groiund is set with my "little pickers"...





Antlers completed..



and a slide show with more pics and the basic sequence.

http://w178.photobucket.com/pbwidget.sw ... b2a718.pbw

Now it's back to work...

Joe

[joe cieslowski]

Working on the head now.

First I get the rough form and sketch in the nostrils and eye..............



Next shot shows the detailing of the beard....the gouge is moving in the same direction as the hairs....essentially 90 degrees opposite of the "normal" direction that a gouge would be used....look careful and you can see the chip being made.



somewhat finished beard........



here the head is pretty much complete.



Here is my refrence photo for the head.



and a current overall shot of the work;



The body is next.

Joe

[Duncan Wilkie]

Joe, you make the process look so logical and straight forward. The true sign of an artisan with years of experience. Thanks for the great photo documentary.

[joe cieslowski]

Bump