Some carvings from June

Here are a few shots of some in-process birds I've got going.

First is a low-head mallard I'm carving out of a gorgeous piece of red cedar that Tom Newell gave me. I'll be sad when this is done becuase it's such a beautiful piece of wood to work on.

redCedarLowHead Mallard.JPG

Next is a pintail carved out of Oregon sugar pine with a basswood head. The tail is not carved in this picture yet, but I'll insert a flexible piece of plastic becuase this is designed as a gunning bird. This is the prototype from a new pattern I drew and I'm pretty happy with the results. This won't be the last I carve from this pattern.

sugarPinePintail.JPG

Finally, here is a pair of mallards, also from new patterns I developed recently. I'll be doing another (abbreviated) photo journal of another drake just like the one in the photo here. no really fancy carving on the back becuase they are going to someone who will hunt them hard. Just a little detail on the back to add some interest, and a small undercut on the edges of the primary feathers. 

sugarPineMallardPair.JPG

Red Cedar Bird

Here's a mallard I carved from old growth red cedar recently. I've always heard that you need to be extra careful carving red cedar. It seems that many people have a negative reaction to carving it due to the dust. I absolutly loved carving it myself. I made sure I wore my respirator when grinding it but it really carved very nice with both power and hand tools.

This was a piece of test wood for me. I only bought a little bit because I wasn't sure I would like it. Now that I know how it carves, I'm going to load up on it next opportunity I get. I bought from a friend I met in Washinton named Tom Kelly. He runs a lumber shop up in Burlington. The price was pretty amazing as well. I've added his information to the links section of my site if you are interested in getting some yourself.