Rainy Day Keeping Busy

[shopteacher]

First try at uploading pictures to the forum. About a year ago I started doing some wood carving and these a re a couple I did on rainy days and at lunch.  Thought you guys might need something to keep you busy during the rainy season. Good thing is it doesn't require much timber. Hope this is successful. Any other carvers out there?

[Tom]

Just a whittler. Nothing like I see in you're pictures. Those are good.

I whittle toothpicks and make little flat-sided stuff with round backs and worryin' sticks.   I start with a piece of wood off of the sawmill that is usually about 1/2" thick and 6" wide and 6" to a foot long and by the time dinner is over I'll have a toothpick or sometimes a spoon.

[shopteacher]

Well Tom, that way your prepared for dinner and after.  mian thing about whittling is just the pure joy of doing it. Sort of like sawing, just like doing it and seeing what turns up.

[CHARLIE]

I carved a spoon once so I could eat a can of peas. But that was out of necessity and that is another story....huh Tom?

I took a couple of carving classes to see if I'd enjoy carving. I have about 4 incomplete carvings. I found that I enjoyed it but don't have the patience it takes. Not yet anyway. I have a mediocre set of carving knives and plenty of basswood, so maybe someday I'll give it a try again.

Those are some really nice carvings you have. I enjoy caricatures. They have so much expression.  

[sawyerkirk]

I make smoking pipes, I hate ta say I carve them, as most of my work is done on the lathe and disk sander. I have made them out of maple,gum,persimmon,cherry,erc. I get my blanks off my dunnage pile, I've been known to cut up a a whole 4x4x8' just looking for one 4" long piece!! If it dosen't stop raining, I may have to take up pipe making for a living. Even if I didn't make any money at it, it would be more than I'm making with all this rain, I have been out of logs for 3 weeks, and orders are backing up something fierce!!

[shopteacher]

A lot of folks tell me they don't have the patience to carve, but my philosophy is this; how much patience do you have, 5 min. 10 min, then carve for 5 or 10 minutes. Do it as a stress relief not as a stress inducer. When your happy and satisified with the results that's all that's important.  Remember " Carvers never make mistakes only adjustments".
     As for this rain I figure it's going to save me a lot of money this year, as I won't have to go to the ocean, it's coming to me.
     Have a great day all here at Baldwin High School it's our last school day. 8) 8) ;D :D ;) : :P 8) ;D ;D :D ;) You can see how happy my student are. Now that I figured out how to put pictures on here your probably going to have to put up with a lot more of them.

[Tom]

We like pictures