# Off-Topic Discussion > Artists' Corner >  >  Oneironaught's Woodcarvings.

## Oneironaught

Alright, I&#39;ve been telling you guys about my woodcarvings and I promised to show some more. Here&#39;s a few photos from the woodcarving show a few months ago (it&#39;s the 19th or 20th show I&#39;ve participated in since 1992):

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<div align="center">*This one isn&#39;t wood. It&#39;s actually a deer antler.*</div>


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<div align="center">*This shows one of my pliers. It&#39;s a "pair of pliers". And, yes, they are working, moving pliers  Like all of my carvings, they were carved the way you see them. There&#39;s no carving separate pieces then gluing them together, NO, they&#39;re all done from a single piece of wood/material. The piece on the right has a ring in a three-sided cage, two half-links and a ball-in-a-cage.

And yes, every little segment is loose and free to move around.*</div>


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<div align="center">*Lousy photo but cool pieces (my flash batteries had died). A few of these ones are actually my Dad&#39;s work. Same goes for the following photo:*</div>


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<div align="center">*This hanging mass is actually a puzzle. It consists of 10 separate sticks, each about a foot long. They fit together by friction. So, while there&#39;s technically only 10 carvings there, there&#39;s actually 60 or more different "things", or "elements", carved in the various pieces. That&#39;s my Dad in the background. (Sorry, it&#39;s a bit out of focus.)*</div>


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<div align="center">*This is the reverse side of the piece. This is actually the first - but far from the last - carving that earned me a 1st place ribbon in judging.*</div>


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<div align="center">*I really like this new (I got the idea from a picture of some one else&#39;s work in a book I&#39;ve got) thing I did here. It&#39;s two smaller cages - each having two loose balls - in a larger cage. These two smaller cages share the main bars. I&#39;ll show another way to make ball-in-a-cage-in-a-cage - in which no bars are shared - when I take more photos. When you do them so that no bars are shared then you get a loose cage in the main cage. Of course, the balls in those cages are loose as well.

Partially off the right side of that photo is a 2-barred spiral that has a loose rod inside. That&#39;s also something new I did, my own idea.*</div>


When I get off of my lazy butt and take some more photos I&#39;ll post them. &#39;Till then, I hope you enjoy. 

There&#39;s also a few more *HERE*

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## Twoshadows

Those are so absolutely fantastic. 

I mean, I know what went into those. (Well, at least I sort of do.)

And the antler is so much harder to carve. I tried a few times (I have a picture somewhere).

There is so much detail on those chains, it just blows me away.

Amazing.....  ::shock::  


It does make me want to get out my carving tools and start again.

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## Oneironaught

> And the antler is so much harder to carve. I tried a few times (I have a picture somewhere).[/b]



Not really, it&#39;s power carved. I used a roto-tool with various carbide bits. You can&#39;t really cut that stuff with knives. The important thing to keep in mind is that you have to have very good ventilation (outside is best) and wear a mask because the dust from the bone is quite toxic so you definitely don&#39;t want to breathe it in. Not to mention that it stinks.

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## EddieSpaghetti

Awesome&#33; 

They look like major time consumers. How long do you spend on one of those?

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## SKA

Oh wooow that&#39;s absolutely amazing.
Did you actually Chain the links or carve them out of 1 piece of wood? I can&#39;t see how you&#39;d have chained them together otherwise.

You got some serious woodcarving skills. I&#39;ve been wanting to do some wood carving too. If I could be teatched by someone I&#39;d want to be teached by you. You&#39;re very skillfull  ::D: 
How much time does 1 of those chains actually take to carve? And what kind of wood did you use for it?

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## Oneironaught

Thanks for the love, everybody.





> Awesome&#33; 
> 
> They look like major time consumers. How long do you spend on one of those?[/b]



They are time-consuming and, honestly, I haven&#39;t spent much time doing it the past few years. Time per piece varies (of course) but I&#39;d estimate on the order of around 20-40 hours/linear foot for the 3/4 inch wood (depending on the type of wood and what I&#39;m doing). Though, I have pieces I&#39;ve started years ago and have yet to finish. Most of my work is in 3/4 inch stock but I&#39;ve done much larger and much smaller. I&#39;m currently - though not very actively - working on a chain starting from an 8 foot 6x6 inch piece of pressure-treated lumber.





> _Originally posted by SKA+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SKA)</div>
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 			
> 				Did you actually Chain the links or carve them out of 1 piece of wood? I can&#39;t see how you&#39;d have chained them together otherwise.[/b]
> 			
> 		
> ...



You&#39;d be surprised how easy it really is. Once you can visualize what you&#39;re doing, you can figure out the steps required to reach the end product. I&#39;ll also show you a demo piece I made for teaching the "ball-in-a-cage". I made it out of 6x6 pressure treated as well.

You see, there are a few basics to learn: ball-in-a-cage, rings and chain links. Once you understand how those basics work then you can modify those ideas into countless variations and combinations. For example, a ring in a cage or a ball in a cage in a cage. Also, simple modifications such as twisted cages and twisted links add a lot of character to a piece. Rings can be modified to make some really interesting segments too.





> _Originally posted by SKA_
> *And what kind of wood did you use for it?*



Most of the ones I&#39;ve shown so far are in pine. But I also use mahogany, basswood, "ear wood", butternut, cherry, cyprus, cedar and maple. Butternut, mahogany and basswood are some of the best for knife carving. I&#39;ve done pieces in pressure-treated pine but, PT lumber is FAR from ideal. In fact, it&#39;s very ill-suited for the task because it tends to split and chip far too easily so it requires techniques other than the standard "knife-in-hand" work. And chisel/gouge carving is even worse.

I&#39;ve even carved in billiard balls, dice and acrylic. Again, very tedious materials to work with. I&#39;ll point out some of the wood types I use in the future.

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## Oneironaut Zero

Daaaaamn. Those are dope, man.  ::goodjob:: 

I really like the deer antler chain. What a cool concept. And it amazes me that you can actually carve perfect chain-links out of one peice of material.

Great stuff.

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## Gwendolyn

You have some great stuff.

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## OpheliaBlue

SWEET dude

holy crap, wooden chainlinks&#33;

that&#39;s impressive  :smiley:

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## Oneironaught

> I really like the deer antler chain. What a cool concept.[/b]



In everything I do, I try to break from tradition. I&#39;ve always been that way. I like doing things no body&#39;s seen or done. I&#39;ve seen carved deer antler but never "trick-carved" antler. I thought the chain in antler would be awesome.

I&#39;ve always thought it&#39;d be funny to tranquilize and deer and make its antlers into chains then set &#39;em free. Sure, it&#39;s cruel but think of the hilarity that would ensue when a hunter spots that through his scope  ::bigteeth::  





> _Originally posted by Oneironaut_
> *And it amazes me that you can actually carve perfect chain-links out of one peice of material.*



Far from perfect but cool none-the-less. The best part about that kind of carving is that nothing has to be perfect. There&#39;s no right way. If you screw up then you just do it a little bit different and no one knows any better. Some of my "new" ideas are actually recoveries from mistakes and breakages. Another good thing is that if you break a section then you simply have two shorter pieces - no real harm.

I should note that *Twoshadows&#39;* cool ball-in-a-cage with the two openings on each side of the cage isn&#39;t as bad as she thinks. TS, all you need do is smooth out the cage walls and it&#39;ll look even better than it already does. Sure, your ball isn&#39;t so round (hey, I&#39;ve made pancake balls that fall right out of the cage before) but you also made a style of cage that is very hard to reach in to shape the ball. Normally, you&#39;ll want to get the ball as rounded as you can before the cut it loose but, in your case, that&#39;s a real challenge. Once it&#39;s loose, you&#39;re faced with the challenge of trying to hold it still while cutting on it. Did you use a knife or is yours done with a roto-tool? I&#39;ll guess roto-tool.

But, like I said, I love the way you made it. I&#39;m going to have to make one like that.

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## Oneironaught

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<div align="center">*This is a set of white pine game pieces for a fancy wooden Monopoly game I made about 5 years ago. It was a commissioned project for a decent fee. They average about an inch tall. The ring is loose and so is the ball. The beer mug is filled with clear epoxy dyed yellow with a drop of food coloring. The lettering on the rocket is burnt into the wood. They&#39;re clear-coated with spray lacquer.*</div>


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<div align="center">*Alright, this is an overview of the big chain I was talking about. It&#39;s being made from a 8 foot long 6x6 inch piece of pressure-treated building lumber. I&#39;m 5&#39;, 10" tall and can&#39;t quite reach the top.*</div>


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<div align="center">*Here you can see how the links are formed*</div>

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<div align="center">*Another view.*</div>


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<div align="center">*I use this 13 inch length of 6x6 PT lumber to demonstrate how the form the basic ball-in-a-cage (in this case, 2 balls). The left face shows the raw surface. With the right face, I&#39;ve scored around the cage borders and have started to remove wood from between the balls. "Remove the wood from between the balls?" That sounds really bad... and painful...

The next step is to start clearing out the corners, then the sides.*</div>


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<div align="center">*Here you can see how the balls start to take shape. The side on the right would be the next step in the process; the left side being a bit more fleshed out. The ball centers are marked for the purposes of illustration. The centers establish the diameter of the balls. As long as you don&#39;t cut away the marked centers (and providing you make the balls relatively round), the balls will remain plenty large and can&#39;t fall out. [EDIT]Now, you will have to cut the marked portions away in order to make the balls round but, I mean that you won&#39;t have to go very deep.[/edit]

The next step it to simply continue rounding out the balls until they are loose.*</div>


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<div align="center">*This reveals the first bit of wood removed in contrast to the side with the most amount of work done. It&#39;s getting dark and the flash is glaring off of the wood, making the detail hard to make out.

In practice, you want to try working all four sides fairly evenly. In a free-standing piece like this one, you may choose to open the top and bottom ends as well. that way you have a cage that&#39;s open on all 6 sides. With this being pressure-treated, however, that would be a mistake as it&#39;ll become very fragile at the end grain due to the ends being too thin.*</div>

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## asher

Man that is awesome&#33; I tried to carve a wooden spoon once. Didn&#39;t get very far.   :Oops:  

#asher

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## Oneironaught

> Man that is awesome&#33; I tried to carve a wooden spoon once. Didn&#39;t get very far.   
> 
> #asher[/b]



Thanks. You mean a "love spoon" (decorative wooden spoon-shaped object), as they&#39;re called? I&#39;ve never made one but I&#39;ve seen a bunch of pretty cool ones. I just never wanted to buy a spoon gouge. A good one is so darned expensive.

Oh, Asher, is there a image guideline that I need to be following? I looked around and couldn&#39;t find any rules regarding maximum number of images/post. I&#39;ll keep the size about the size of these ones.

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## Moonbeam

> I&#39;ve always thought it&#39;d be funny to tranquilize and deer and make its antlers into chains then set &#39;em free. Sure, it&#39;s cruel but think of the hilarity that would ensue when a hunter spots that through his scope [/b]



You _do_ have a sick, twisted mind&#33;

Those are really cool.  I love the "big chain".  

How do you make pliers that really work? I&#39;m having trouble picturing that.

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## Infraredkelp

WoW&#33; You carved a ball in cage from one block? Did you carve the ball seperated, then put it in the cage?

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## asher

> Thanks. You mean a "love spoon" (decorative wooden spoon-shaped object), as they&#39;re called? I&#39;ve never made one but I&#39;ve seen a bunch of pretty cool ones. I just never wanted to buy a spoon gouge. A good one is so darned expensive.
> 
> Oh, Asher, is there a image guideline that I need to be following? I looked around and couldn&#39;t find any rules regarding maximum number of images/post. I&#39;ll keep the size about the size of these ones.[/b]




I mean like one of these:



My wife actually managed to carve a pretty cool salad fork when we were living in the woods.

So far as images go AFAIK the more the better, so no limit from me.

#asher

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## Oneironaught

> WoW&#33; You carved a ball in cage from one block? Did you carve the ball seperated, then put it in the cage?[/b]



No, they&#39;re carved inside the cage; that&#39;s what makes them special. Not to be a [email protected] but, didn&#39;t you look at the pictures above where I show you the steps to making a ball in a cage?

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## Twoshadows

All your carvings are amazing. Each time I look at those pictures I see more details that I missed the time before. I would just love to hold them in my hand and really look at them closely.


And I can&#39;t believe that huge chain&#33; Wow....  I can see that will take a while to finish. I started a little chain, and I never even got to the point where the first two link become loose.

And it is interesting to see your ball in a cage in progress...and that is big too. I don&#39;t think I had a plan as I started mine, that&#39;s why it ended up looking the way it did. I just started digging into the wood trying to break a "ball" out from the inside while leaving bars to keep it in.





> I should note that Twoshadows&#39; cool ball-in-a-cage with the two openings on each side of the cage isn&#39;t as bad as she thinks. TS, all you need do is smooth out the cage walls and it&#39;ll look even better than it already does. Sure, your ball isn&#39;t so round (hey, I&#39;ve made pancake balls that fall right out of the cage before) but you also made a style of cage that is very hard to reach in to shape the ball. Normally, you&#39;ll want to get the ball as rounded as you can before the cut it loose but, in your case, that&#39;s a real challenge. Once it&#39;s loose, you&#39;re faced with the challenge of trying to hold it still while cutting on it. Did you use a knife or is yours done with a roto-tool? I&#39;ll guess roto-tool.
> 
> But, like I said, I love the way you made it. I&#39;m going to have to make one like that.[/b]



Thanks...and yeah...I used a roto tool. That&#39;s the way I was taught. I&#39;d like to get better using just a knife. I have always envied the people that can find a stick while camping, then while sitting around the campfire can whittle it into something amazing. At this point I still need electricity to do my best carvings.

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## Infraredkelp

> No, they&#39;re carved inside the cage; that&#39;s what makes them special. Not to be a [email protected] but, didn&#39;t you look at the pictures above where I show you the steps to making a ball in a cage?[/b]



Actually I didn&#39;t see those pics. I could only see a few of them.

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## Oneironaught

> ...and yeah...I used a roto tool.[/b]



If I may be so bold: The reason I guessed that is because when you carve that kind of stuff with a roto-tool, it&#39;ll tend to follow the grain too closely. The result is that&#39;s it&#39;s difficult to make straight lines. Now that it&#39;s done, if you wanted to smooth the bars of the cage, use a knife to finish it off. That&#39;ll clean up your lines and make a striking difference in appearance that you&#39;ll notice immediately.





> _Originally posted by Moonbeam_
> *How do you make pliers that really work? I&#39;m having trouble picturing that.*



It&#39;s a little difficult to explain without visuals. A plier joint is hexagonal in shape and consists of 12 cuts. I&#39;ll try to find a diagram that shows the procedure. What&#39;s most amazing is that - when done right there should be NO scrap wood: No chips, shavings, sandings, nothing&#33; I&#39;ve made very few that ever turned out perfect. I usually have a little waste wood. I&#39;ll take a picture of all the carved pliers I still have, from tiny to large. A side-by-side comparison will be cool for the sense of relative scale.

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## Twoshadows

> If I may be so bold: The reason I guessed that is because when you carve that kind of stuff with a roto-tool, it&#39;ll tend to follow the grain too closely. The result is that&#39;s it&#39;s difficult to make straight lines. Now that it&#39;s done, if you wanted to smooth the bars of the cage, use a knife to finish it off. That&#39;ll clean up your lines and make a striking difference in appearance that you&#39;ll notice immediately.[/b]



That&#39;s okay. I don&#39;t mind any suggestions. My ball in a cage was never finished--that&#39;s why it looks uneven. But you&#39;re right, I might not have gotten it as smooth or straight as I would have wanted. Maybe I&#39;ll try to use a knife.

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## Oneironaught

TS, don&#39;t let my statement mislead you. I doubt I&#39;ve ever made a single straight cut on any piece I&#39;ve ever done. But that&#39;s another beautiful thing about such carvings: nothing _has_ to be straight and tidy to look cool. It&#39;s just that a knife blade - at least for the final, finishing stage - gives the _impression_ of smooth, straight cuts. A little knife time spent on the rough-cut piece (any piece) makes a sudden, immediately recognizable difference. The mere fact the the object is loose yet unable to detach is enough to make the piece satisfying.

And I&#39;ve got pieces, too, that are rough and unfinished. Sometimes it&#39;s just not a piece that&#39;s motivated me to spend the extra time to "smooth out the knife marks", which leaves a blocky, rustic feel to the piece.

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## Lucidbulbs

Wow, you carved these? You have all the right to take pride in breaking tradition&#33; These are just amazing. I&#39;ve always admired those who take the time to make an intricate piece of work, and the way you make these carvings surely seem worth all the effort&#33; Wow, that&#39;s all I can really say. It&#39;s pretty cool.

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## Oneironaught

Let me clarify what I mean by "breaking tradition", just so I don&#39;t give any false impressions. Now, this style of carving has been around for a very long time. Chain links were a popular thing back in the "early days" of America (though certainly not limited to American culture), as were balls in cages. It&#39;s usually thought of as an "old people" style of carving these days. 

As time went by, the style has pretty much faded into obscurity. For example, of all the woodcarvers I&#39;ve met over the past 20 years, Twoshadows is probably only the 6th or so that&#39;s even attempted "trick carving", also traditionally referred to as "whittling". Besides my Dad and myself, no one else that&#39;s ever been in our club does trick carving (save for a total of maybe 5 pieces). They all carve figures "in the round", relief carvings, wood-burning, wood turning, chip carving and other styles that normally come to mind when some one hears the term "wood carving". In the past few years, my Dad and I have gotten the oldest of my two younger brothers into carving. He&#39;s made some pretty darned cool pieces too. I need to get on the ball - can&#39;t have him catching up to me (even though I&#39;ve gotten rid of more pieces than he&#39;s made in total. But still, he&#39;s done a few that I wish I&#39;d made. Kind of like the ball-in-a-cage of Twoshadows&#39; that we keep referring to. That thing&#39;s awesome and unique.)

My breaks from tradition - as far as my carving endeavours are concerned - are in that I&#39;ve used some unique materials and the fact that I&#39;ve created a few new elements that I&#39;ve never seen done or displayed in any carving books, shows, etc... I&#39;ve also come up with a number of unique variations on traditional themes and trick carving elements.

I mention all of this so that no one gets the impression that I claim to have pioneered the style. I&#39;ve only taken it in my own direction in hopes of reviving a lost art  :smiley: 

Having said all of that, I will have some more photos up as soon as I decide on the best route to host them in the future. I&#39;m torn between continuing to host through Photobucket and figuring out of the Dreamviews attachment system can be exploited for my purposes here. Either way, lots more to come soon.

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## Oneironaught

<div align="center"></div>
<div align="center">*I finally finished this piece (last night) but the photos of the finished stage are all blurry so I&#39;ll retake them later. But this gives you a look at the full thing. The section on the right is obviously still undone in this shot.*</div>


<div align="center">*I figured I&#39;d walk you through a piece as I work on it:*</div>
<div align="center"></div>
<div align="center">*I started this today. I&#39;m using a 16 1/2" long x 2" squared stock of "Ear wood". It&#39;s a soft, very easy-to-carve wood. This shows that I&#39;ve shaped a section then have started to transform it into a set of oddly-shaped cages. The marks you see are knife cuts. I always score the cage openings before I begin to cut away between the bars. Both cages taper. The top one is rounded and the lower one has a total of 10 facets.*</div>


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<div align="center">*At this stage, I&#39;ve begun to work on both cages and have one ball lose in the upper one.*</div>


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<div align="center">*Another view.*</div>


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<div align="center">*Now, the second ball is loose. The bottom ball is larger than the top ball because of the cage&#39;s taper.*</div>


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<div align="center">*Another view.*</div>


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<div align="center">*Since I&#39;ll almost certainly be asked (eventually) what type of knife I use, I use this type of blade for most of my work.*</div>

I&#39;m showing these steps so that if anyone who sees this decides to give it a try they&#39;ve got a pretty good idea of the way progress is achieved. If you folks get bored just let me know (or stop posting) and I&#39;ll quit showing the intermediate stages. Also, if anyone has any questions about how something is done just let me know.

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## Twoshadows

> Kind of like the ball-in-a-cage of Twoshadows&#39; that we keep referring to. That thing&#39;s awesome and unique.)[/b]



Haha...I never would have thought that funny little thing would have become so "famous".  ::D:  

Awesome carvings&#33;

And as long as I&#39;m around you will always have someone interested in your carvings --and I&#39;m sure there will be many others--because this stuff is really cool. Like you mentioned, this is not stuff you see everyday. You are the first person I know that has done things like this. I&#39;m really glad you&#39;re here, and I can see what you are doing and _how_ you are doing it. It is very inspiring.

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## Oneironaught

> _Originally posted by Twoshadows+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Twoshadows)</div>
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 			
> 				Awesome carvings&#33;[/b]
> 			
> 		
> ...



Well, truth be known, it is you who has inspired me to get back on the ball. I&#39;ve got so many hobbies and skills (that&#39;s right, I said it  :smiley:  ) that I tend to do things in cycles. Whenever I get inspiration, I get back into things. Hence: You -> This. What I need is some one who&#39;s interested on what I do and I&#39;m ready and excited about doing them. I need an audience - or student - to keep on task. I love to teach AND show-off my wares; it looks like I may have found both at DV. Me so happy...

I&#39;ve got to find more of that ear wood. It&#39;s so soft that I can really make some serious chips in a fairly short time span. The stage it&#39;s at in that last picture is about 6 hours into the project. Really light wood is actually a double-edged sword (as is everything in carving). It&#39;s easy to cut providing your blades are razor sharp (if not, you&#39;ll tear the grain.) and so you get a lot done for your time. However, it&#39;s so soft that you&#39;ve got to be extra cautious not to break it while working on it. There&#39;s also issues with splitting and grain following. Also, soft woods like this don&#39;t lend themselves well to detailed work. Large-sized trick carving - such as this piece - is OK but, the finished product will be difficult to give a smooth, clean look. Especially since I never sand my work, only knife finishing.

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## Lucidbulbs

Wow, Earwood, I&#39;ve never [though that&#39;s not all too amazing] seen someone work with it before, all I usually see are people carving hardwoods... Is it an atypical thing to do?

I&#39;ll never get tired of your work so there&#39;s no reason to stop posting. I love seeing people make things out of scratch, and at that, you use an uncommon method to do so [one that I personally adore]. So don&#39;t think that way &#39;bout your work.

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## Oneironaught

> Wow, Earwood, I&#39;ve never [though that&#39;s not all too amazing] seen someone work with it before, all I usually see are people carving hardwoods... Is it an atypical thing to do?[/b]



It&#39;s somewhat atypical. Most often, I&#39;d be using pine, mahogany, butternut, basswood and others in the medium hardness range. Personally, I rarely do anything in hardwoods. It&#39;s just too painful on the fingers and isn&#39;t worth all the extra time it takes to do a piece. Hardwoods aren&#39;t too well-suited for whittling. They are best for gouge, chisel, and power tool work.

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## Oneironaught

I got the ball in the lower cage loose today. It's still rather rough and needs to be shaped more smoothly and rounded. The way the cage is formed makes it very difficult to have rounded it out much more without it being loose but, now I can rotated it and work on all sides. The picture sucks but it gives good contrast so at least you can see the difference rather plainly. I'll probably round it off in the next day or two.

My next thing to think about is what the heck I'll do in the next section. People often seem to assume that I plan my pieces out from the beginning but that's far from the truth. I usually only think about one or two sections in advance. So, what to do next...


*This is angled so that you can see the two distinctly different types of sides I used. They seem to conflict but, the opposite sides match so it's actually quite symmetrical. The whole thing is starting to look kind of like the Eiffel Tower.*

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## WhiteUnit

Awsome, looks like you&#39;ve found your little art nitch. 

If your refine your skill in an art like this, and do something unforgettable with it, that&#39;s all its going to take to turn your art hobby into a career.  Not many people do art like this, which makes you stand out.

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## Oneironaught

> Awsome, looks like you&#39;ve found your little art nitch. 
> 
> If your refine your skill in an art like this, and do something unforgettable with it, that&#39;s all its going to take to turn your art hobby into a career.  Not many people do art like this, which makes you stand out.[/b]



I appreciate your confidence and kind words. However, I wouldn&#39;t want to do it for a living as I want to pick and choose what I keep and what I&#39;m willing to part with. Every time I do a commissioned piece it kills me to give it up after it&#39;s done; they&#39;re always some of my best stuff. Sure, I&#39;ve given away _many_ pieces as gifts and I&#39;ve sold a bunch but I&#39;d rather maintain my "amateur" status.

Though, truth be known, I did apply for a job at a local theme park (some years ago) for a woodcarver position. They wanted some one to do log carvings and large-scale decorative pieces. The only problem was that it was only a few days a week and I couldn&#39;t afford to give up my full-time job for a part-time, low-pay job. It would have been cool to have my works as part of Cyprus Gardens though. Plus, totem poles and the like are pretty easy carving styles that I&#39;d been plenty able to knock out. Anyway, the park has since changed hands and is now better than ever.

----------


## Twoshadows

That&#39;s looking really good. I love it&#33;

----------


## Oneironaught

> That's looking really good. I love it![/b]



Thanks, I'm trying to decide what to do next. Maybe I'll just keep doing different styles of balls in cages on this piece.  Perhaps a "ball in a cage in a cage" and some balls in a twisted cage. You'd think that balls in cages would get old but there's just so many variations possible that it's mind boggling. Yeah, I'll do those then either a plunger or a ring in a cage. There's an example of a ring in a cage in the second photo of my 10-piece puzzle. There's a plunger in there too (It's another type of cage trick but the plunger extends from one end of the cage). Oh, oh, I know: A ring on a plunger in a cage  ::bigteeth:: 

There's soooo many other things I could demonstrate for you guys but - in this scale - many things (such as simple chain links or even an un-caged ring) would probably look too plain.

Take a look at the earlier pictures I posted and see if there's anything in any of those that you'd like to see how to do. Though, as I keep saying, I will end up showing you guys a bunch more photos of other things I've done as well. If I can manage to keep motivated, I'll show you all kinds of cool "whimsies" to carve.

And by the way, things in cages don't always have to be balls. Animals in cages are cool to carve, too. But really, anything can be carved in a cage.

Alright, I'll throw you a bone. I need to take a better picture but, this skeleton guitarist I made is pretty darned cool, if I may say so myself. I've got to show you the back side too:


*These pictures just don't do the pieces justice. You can't tell from the angle but the guy's mouth is opened in a cool manner and he has a mohawk.*

----------


## Oneironaught

So, I try to edit my posts to get rid of the screwed up coding errors from the software change and can't because my "post has 8 images and you're limited to 4 images per post."

The same crap happens in my dream journal because I've got a post with over 10,000 characters and you're now limited to 10,000 characters per post.

Why the hell can't we just leave what works fine alone, dammit?

This is so frickin' annoying. Not even worth the effort anymore  :Mad: 





> So far as images go AFAIK the more the better, so no limit from me.



...until now, that is.

----------


## Oneironaught

I took a _bunch_ of pictures today and will take a bunch more tomorrow. That should give me plenty of fodder to fuel this thread for a while.


*This is where I'm at on the current piece.* 
As you can see, I've cleaned up that third ball and have begun to rough-out the next few sections. What I'm going to do next is thin out the shaft from the cages up top. That shaft will extend down through the cage you can see starting to take shape. The cage will be loose on the shaft. That's a variation of the "plunger". The plunger shaft will terminate into a ball in the cage.

There will also be a ring on that shaft (inside of the cage) as demonstrated in the following photo:


*This piece has both cages loose on the main shaft. The rings inside of the cages are also loose and free to move about.* 
...The cage will then take on a 1/4 twist and the lower portion will contain 2 balls in a cage inside of the main cage. Another variation of the ball-in-a-cage-in-a-cage. 


*Here's a new photo of the last piece I was showing you that wasn't quite done, except, now it's completed and clear-coated. This piece measures 26 inches long at its shortest and 32 inches long when fully extended.* 

*This picture is to give you some sense of scale with respect to the two pieces.* 
*Stay tuned: lots more to come.*

----------


## Twoshadows

I'm sure I'm starting to sound like a broken record with all my : "Awesome cravings!"  and "Oh, that's makes me really want to try it, too." But those are the first things that go through my mind when I see your things.

Did I thank you for sending the info on the knives? If not--thanks. I still haven't gotten anything, but I plan on it.

----------


## Oneironaught

This piece is made out of pine: 

*This is a piece I did many years ago. As you can see, the possibilities for the concept of things in cages can potentially go on forever. This won me a 1st or 2nd-place ribbon somewhere around 1992-94.* 

*When I do these types of things in cages (that is, things where I pretty much just keep the same shape as the cage itself, rather than rounding them out to be balls), I just refer to them as "slugs".* 
One of the themes I'm trying to get across is that sometimes all it takes to make a piece more interesting is to simply alter the shape of the wood you start with.

And, TS, you don't have to thank me. Trust me, your interest is thanks enough.

----------


## Twoshadows

Wow...I have never seen anything like that. I love it! It's so perfect.

No wonder it won....

 ::bowdown::

----------


## Oneironaught

> Wow...I have never seen anything like that. I love it! It's so perfect.
> 
> No wonder it won....



Well, thanks. I thought you'd like that one. Funny thing is, no matter how fancy it may look, it's really no more challenging then a simple ball-in-a-cage. Actually, on some levels, it was _less_ challenging because I settled on slugs rather than making balls.

With a piece like that, your main concern is the grain. Notice how large portions of the cages are against the grain. The cross-grain sections are much more delicate than cage bars that follow the grain.

And that piece is about 6 inches in diameter. I simply cut the ring-shaped "blank" out of a board, using a jigsaw. Someday I'll make more things like that but, of different shapes.

----------


## Oneironaught

I made this one out of butternut. Butternut is a great wood for this type of carving. It's not too hard or too soft and the grain is perfect, holding detail nicely. It's got more examples of ball in cage variations.  This was made somewhere around 6-8 years ago.


*The pointy end on the right side is the "top". The top has a dome-shaped 6-barred cage sporting a ball. Below that is a twisted cage, similar to what I'm doing in my current piece. This one has a 1/8 twist (the one I'm doing now will have a 1/4 twist). Below that, you see a junction of two interlocking 4-barred cages (That feels so cool in the hands. I wish I could let Twoshadows hold this one). That's a bit trickier to do than most of my other elements. Then, of course, there's some standard balls in cages. The piece is clear-coated with probably 10 coats of clear spray lacquer.*

----------


## Oneironaught

*This guy is done in maple:*


*As you can see, eyes are not my strong point. Part of the problem is that, in most of my carvings, I do everything with straight blades. The proper way to carve eyes - the way that looks right - is to use curved gouges. I guess I'm too stubborn to "cave in". So, as result, my eyes consistently look bad and overly stylized.* 

*The wood's grain actually dictated the position and shape of the chin. You can't really see it from either of those angles but, there's a knot there so I had to place the chin in that very spot. The knot is surrounded by curved grain so the chin simply follows the grain. It would have been nearly impossible to do otherwise.* 
It took me forever to figure out how to compose a single picture from multiple images but, I finally figured it out.


*This is my skeleton Guitarist. It's made of pine and this picture is pretty close to actual size. I wanted to make him have hooves but couldn't decide which type I wanted so I gave him two different types. His right foot is wearing a horse shoe. He's part of a 7-piece set I made. Oddly enough, the set won me a ribbon some years back (probably 2nd place but I don't remember). The set consists of 7 completely different types of characters, all tall and thin. They are in 3/4 inch stock and range from around 5 1/2 to about 6 inches tall (they're buried so I don't feel like digging them back out to measure right now).*

----------


## asher

> *This is my skeleton Guitarist.*



That is frickin' awesome!

#asher

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## Oneironaught

Oh, man. I just thought of something completely awesome. For those of you that understand how to view those Magic Eye-type 3-D pictures... This is going to be cool as hell... The next time I have a nice clear weekend day to take pictures, I'll take some at slightly different angles and paste them side by side so you can see some of these things in 3D.

If you don't understand or know about viewing 3D images - like those made famous by the Magic Eye trademark - then you may want to look it up and learn the "cross-eye method". I'll stick to that (as opposed to the "parallel method") so I can post a large one or two if you guys like what you see.

Oh yeah, you're in for a real treat  ::bigteeth::

----------


## Twoshadows

These are great! 

The detail is incredible on the skeleton guy. I like how you did his mouth.....and everything else.

But I also really like the style on the first face. I enjoy things that are carved into a piece of wood with some of the natural part of the wood left.






> I'll take some at slightly different angles and paste them side by side so you can see some of these things in 3D.



Wow, can you do that? That would be so cool.

----------


## Led

Wow man, those are incrdible. Sorry if this has been asked, but how long have you been doing this?

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## Oneironaught

> Wow man, those are incrdible. Sorry if this has been asked, but how long have you been doing this?



I did my first one in mid 1991 and sliced my palm wide open doing so. Actually, I made a wooden airplane when I was about 8 or 9 (1981 - 1982 or so). I still have that plane and it still amazes me how perfect the propeller turned out. I mean, the curvature and pitch is splendid. Come to think of it, I sliced a finger open making that thing, too  ::D:  

But I'd say I actually "became" a woodcarver in '91. For some reason, I always think I've been doing it for 20 years but it's more like 16 years.

----------


## Lucidbulbs

Wow, on your first time you hurt yourself and you weren't discouraged? That's real passion right there. If I were you on that first time, it probably would have taken me a lnog time to try to make another wood carving [I might not have even bothered to finish the first one!]. 

PS- I love your skeleton Guitarist! He's so cute and looks pretty spiffy.

----------


## Oneironaught

> Wow, on your first time you hurt yourself and you weren't discouraged?



Not only that but my palm was wide open and all I did was wash it, stuff it with a wad of toilet paper and wrap my hand closed with bandage tape. I changed the toilet paper every hour or two for about the first three days. After that, about three or four times a day. I probably should have gone and gotten stitches but, c'mon; I'm no wuss! Though it did make me rather queasy at first.





> PS- I love your skeleton Guitarist! He's so cute and looks pretty spiffy.



He's definitely my favorite out of the set. Here's a few more from the set:

*The Witch*

*I accidentally broke off the fingers of her right hand while working on The Witch.* 

*The Rabbit*

*A friend of mine had a novelty Easter pen bearing this rabbit. When I saw it, I loved the way the ears were done so I asked if I may borrow it and this is the result. It's not exactly like the pen I copied but it's very similar.* 
*The Wizard*

*Before I made the Skeleton Guitarist (the final piece in the set), this one was my favorite piece.* 

*Alright*, if you understand how the Magic Eye pictures work, this is the closest you'll get to actually seeing any of these in person. If you don't then, well, here's two slightly different views of the current progress on the piece I've been working on. The angles aren't perfect but you get the idea: 

*In glorious 3D!* 
 


*View this using the "cross-eye method" in which you focus on a point between you and the picture. The two images should double into 4 images. When they spread far enough, the two center ones will merge into one - giving you 3 images. Focus on the center of those three images and you'll have a 3 dimensional glimpse of the carving* 
What you see there is the forming of a combo element. It'll be a combination of a ball-in-a-cage, a plunger and a ring-in-a-cage. The shaft from the original set of cages up top is being tapered. That shaft is protruding into the cage below, through the ring in that cage and will terminate into a ball. The ring will be loose in the cage and the cage will be loose around the plunger shaft. In other words, you'll be able to rotate the two cages on top and the ball will rotate along with it. You can also see more clearly how the twist in the cage will take shape.

If you look closely, you'll notice a few dents on the cage bar nearest the camera. Those dents were in the wood before I began but they shouldn't affect the final product because I'll be rounding out the cage bars. I've also done some rounding off of the second cage at the top. The bars of the top cage (the one having two balls) are still squared but they, too, will be detailed before it's all said and done.



Who's your Daddy? That's right...  :Cool:

----------


## Oneironaut Zero

Man.......the skeleton guitarist........holy shit.  ::shock:: 
Outstanding. That would be impressive, in pencil, alone....but _carved into wood_? ...Damn.  ::bowdown::

----------


## Lucidbulbs

Oh wow! You're pretty tough, going through all that throbbing pain and yet still continuing on, and look at you today! It's certainly worth those sort of dilemmas if this is the result! 

That new carving of yours that you're working on looks amazing, I truly envy you. Just to own one of those beauties is enough to earn my envy [because, come on, the way you carve it and the end results are just to die for]. And you go beyond that, it's something you made with your bare hands, that is truly something to treasure and be proud of. 

I hope that, even if I never take a stab at sculpture, I'll one day get to see with my own eyes how someone starts off with a slab of wood, and ends up with _that_. It's just fascinates me.

[If there's one thing I can't help but be a serious critic on, it's art, so I can assure you, that's no buttery sweet talkin' :p , but seriously, you've got some mind blowing skills backed up by contest ribbons]

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## Oneironaught

Does any one have a clue how to view that 3D picture? If even one person does then I'm happy. If no one does then I'll just stick to regular pictures.





> Oh wow! You're pretty tough, going through all that throbbing pain and yet still continuing on, and look at you today! It's certainly worth those sort of dilemmas if this is the result!



I wish I were as tough as it seems but it didn't really hurt. I keep my knives so sharp that I can shave with them so a cut isn't very painful. Of course, the profuse bleeding is quite nerve-wrecking. I took a good ten days to two weeks off. When I got back on the project, I learned very quickly that great care must be taken to avoid injury.

When doing this kind of carving (probably more so than with "regular" carving techniques) you're forced to invent all sorts of odd grips and cutting angles to make it possible to hold the piece without breaking it. I've learned a very important rule: If you feel yourself applying too much pressure then you're doing it wrong. You must use the thumb of your "non-knife" hand as a fulcrum for the back of the blade. I also tend to use my "knife hand" thumb as a backstop for the blade edge when doing certain kinds of cuts, giving my thumb very shallow surface cuts on a regular basis (just not deep enough to bleed). I've learned to apply just the right amount of force and constantly re-evaluate my grip.

Wow, I just bored the hell out of you  ::tunes::

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## pj

I got it!  And it is very cool.  Thanks for taking the trouble.

You do some amazing work.

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## pj

By the way - if you old a stiff piece of paper at the dividing line and put your nose up to it, it might be easier to merge the image.

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## Twoshadows

Those other figures are also really good!

And yes, I got the 3D thing to work. It took a minute or more of trying. It's different on the computer screen than in the books. I had a harder time and geting it to stay 3D than I can with the books. But it was still really neat to see.

And by the way--it's looking fantastic.

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## Oneironaught

I'm glad some people get it. Once you find focus it should be fairly easy to maintain stability as long as you completely ignore the two outer images.





> By the way - if you old a stiff piece of paper at the dividing line and put your nose up to it, it might be easier to merge the image.



That works for the parallel method but I've got that set up for "cross viewing". That is, the image on the left side is for your right eye and visa-versa. Unless I'm misunderstanding what you're saying, the method you mentioned will yield you an image with a reversed Z-axis, so that near is far and far is near.

----------


## pj

> I'm glad some people get it. Once you find focus it should be fairly easy to maintain stability as long as you completely ignore the two outer images.
> 
> 
> That works for the parallel method but I've got that set up for "cross viewing". That is, the image on the left side is for your right eye and visa-versa. Unless I'm misunderstanding what you're saying, the method you mentioned will yield you an image with a reversed Z-axis, so that near is far and far is near.



Huh - I did it both ways, and it looked great.  The only difference with the card for me was that I only was looking at one image rather than two flat and one 3d view.

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## Lucidbulbs

Nah, you're not boring me, it's cool hearing how people make art and get it done. I can't wait to see your next picture on your carvings.

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## Folqueraine

::shock::  :bravo:  ::goodjob:: 
Can't find the words

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## Oneironaught

Ok, I now have the next section loose. The cage is loose on the shaft and the ring is loose inside of the cage on the shaft. 
Here's two more 3D pictures for you. I won't be doing them all that way but I figured a few more wouldn't hurt. 

*In 3D*
 


 

 

*This picture is to give an better view of the way I made the cage loose on the plunger shaft. You simply cut away around the shaft from both sides. Rings are done the exact same way.*
*The shaft is tapered so it's a bit looser when the plunger is all the way in. It's fully extended in this shot to give you a clearer view.* 
The "done" parts still aren't really done but they're getting there.

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## Twoshadows

I love it! 

The ring is really cool. And the plunger. 

I've got to try something like that someday.

It's looking fantastic.

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## Oneironaught

I'm testing the attachment feature so here's another guy from the set I've been showing you. This is "Beau Tye" (Yeah, dumb name. I just thought it up.):

----------


## Oneironaught

Here's my "progress" on the current piece. Due to another corner dent (which I thought wouldn't be a problem) I was forced to alter the way I'm doing the next section. I was going to do *2* balls in a cage in a cage but, now I'll have to settle for a shorter cage having only a single ball. I've already started shaping the outer cage so I'll have to think of a way to modify it that doesn't look too stupid. 

Just another day in the progress of a typical carving, constantly having to modify plans to suit the wood and carver-induced screw-ups  :smiley:  Damn, I just now thought of a way I could have compensated that would have been cool as hell. Oh well, too late now. No, wait, it's not too late actually. Cool:

 
*If* you liked my deer antler, you'll love my billiards cue ball. This piece was power carved and, boy, was it expensive. The ball was free but the bits were expensive and dulled and burnt up way too fast. The resin that billiards balls are cast from is hard as hell. The ball was _well_-used when I got it. You can see the little nicks all over the surface.

The different views are all of the same piece. The solid ball is included for reference.

*Cue ball (Yes, it's really a cue ball)*

*4 views with the cages aligned* 


*6 views with various alignments* 
Honestly, the carved cue ball isn't really done. If you look closely you'll notice that the inside cage and the ball are both quite rough and unfinished. I kind of got tired of throwing money at new bits but, some day I'll get off my lazy, cheap @ss and finish what I started. It's been in this state and has been displayed at our shows for at least 12 years now. The inner cage and the ball are both loose but, when it's "really" done, the ball will be smaller and you'll be able to see more air around it. But trust me, the ball is loose in there.

This is the kind of thing I mean when I say I like to break from tradition. I've _never_ seen _anyone_ carve a billiards ball at all. Take that, "master carvers" of the world.  ::takethatfoo:: 

*I've got something special for Twoshadows*. But, TS, I'll make you wait it out 'till next time  ::D:

----------


## Twoshadows

I can't believe that you carved that in to a billiard ball. Everything seems so tight in there. I can't see how you had room to carve in it.  SO ...Wow...! ::o:  

*




I've got something special for Twoshadows. But, TS, I'll make you wait it out 'till next time 



Oooooo.........

:p 


The more I see you make progress on that current piece the more I'm feeling like I need to be carving ...now.*

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## Oneironaught

> Everything seems so tight in there. I can't see how you had room to carve in it.



The cages and ball were separated with bits like in the first picture. The ones I bought were some special titanium ones. I should have sprung for the diamond bits but I don't know if they would have lasted much longer or not. The openings were cut primarily with one like the 5th from the left in the second picture.

----------


## Lucidbulbs

That cue ball is nice. I hope that whne you finish it [whenever that'll be] you'll show it off to us 'cause man it's sweet. And I've never seen someone carve a billards ball either!

----------


## Clairity

Just looked at your carvings.. you really do have an amazing gift! 

Wait.. you actually cut you palm wide open and all you did was wash it, stuff it with a "wad of toilet paper" and wrap your hand closed with bandage tape?!?  :Eek:  

Lord, I get a bad paper cut and need to lay down!

.

----------


## Oneironaught

Thanks for the nice comments.





> Wait.. you actually cut you palm wide open and all you did was wash it, stuff it with a "wad of toilet paper" and wrap your hand closed with bandage tape?!?



It was actually pretty stupid of me but, luckily, everything worked out alright. 

It did teach me a valuable lesson though. That lesson is that you'd better respect your knife if you're going to be a carver. One advantage that power carving has over my preferred style is that power carving is much safer. Knife carving like I do is a dangerous task that must be done very carefully. A minor cut every now and then is to be expected but, one poor decision can be quite nasty.

----------


## Lucidbulbs

Oneironaught, have you ever had a cut as bad as that first one?

----------


## Oneironaught

> Oneironaught, have you ever had a cut as bad as that first one?



No, not even close.

----------


## Goldney

Wow. The 3d pictures are amazing! Seriously I love those magic eye things and I'm astonished that you can make them yourself. I have to say they work really, really well.

----------


## Mes Tarrant

WOW.  ::shock::   ::banana::  

I must say, the chess pieces and skeleton guitarist are my favorite. Oooooh love it!!!

----------


## Oneironaught

> WOW.   
> 
> I must say, the chess pieces and skeleton guitarist are my favorite. Oooooh love it!!!



That guitarist gets a lot of lip service. I need to make more things like it. That piece is like most I've done - I had no idea what it would become when I first started. My first intentions were to make a head with a Mohawk. It just evolved from there. I wish I could pass it around for you people to hold. It's cooler in real life than in the photo.


It's a little tough to see exactly how cool these next two things in are photos but use your imagination:

*Ball-in-a-cage-in-a-cage-in-a-cage (3 cages)* 

*This is a ball inside of three nested cages. It's made of mahogany. I've actually made quite a few of these but I've given most of them away as gifts over the years.* 
*Ball-in-a-cage-in-a-cage-in-a-cage-in-a-cage (4 cages)* 
 
*And this one is in cherry. For some reason, I was too lazy to round off the corners of the outer cage. When I finally do get around to it it'll look much nicer.* 

These are the things that I said I'd post for *Twoshadows*. They are special not because they are cool but because I want to show her how they are made. Yes, they are carved inside of each other - just the way you see them - but the method used is quite interesting.  
*TS*, if you are interested, I'll PM you a picture of how the "blank" is prepared and, if you desire, I will gladly send you a few blanks I've already made up so you can make your own. This is one thing that seems very complicated but the method is pure genius (no, I didn't think it up myself. I wish I had though) and takes far less work than you'd think. And, you can carve it out with a knife OR your power carving equipment. Very easy yet, it impresses the hell out of every one who sees it. _Definitely_ worth your giving it a try. Let me know if you're interested.

----------


## Lucidbulbs

Wow, these are so cool! Why just send it to TS when you can post it on here? I'm sure everyone's curious as to how it's done [I know I wouln't mind]

----------


## Oneironaught

> Wow, these are so cool!



Why thank you  :smiley:  





> Why just send it to TS when you can post it on here? I'm sure everyone's curious as to how it's done [I know I wouln't mind]



Honestly? Because I wanted to give her something that she can make and show that everyone won't know how it's done. I've already spoiled the standard ball in a cage trick and some others. It's not that I mind at all but, I figured she might want something special. That's all. If she is not interested then I'll show everyone but, if she tells me she wants to make one then I'm sharing it with her only. Then she can show hers too and we'll be cool and take over the world - one ball-in-a-cage-in-a-cage-in-a-cage at a time  :Cool:  

We'll have to wait and see. It's all up to Twoshadows now :p

----------


## Lucidbulbs

That sounds fair ^^ always nice to impress people with things they don't know the secret to.

----------


## Twoshadows

> These are the things that I said I'd post for *Twoshadows*. They are special not because they are cool but because I want to show her how they are made. Yes, they are carved inside of each other - just the way you see them - but the method used is quite interesting.  
> 
> *TS*, if you are interested, I'll PM you a picture of how the "blank" is prepared and, if you desire, I will gladly send you a few blanks I've already made up so you can make your own. This is one thing that seems very complicated but the method is pure genius (no, I didn't think it up myself. I wish I had though) and takes far less work than you'd think. And, you can carve it out with a knife OR your power carving equipment. Very easy yet, it impresses the hell out of every one who sees it. _Definitely_ worth your giving it a try. Let me know if you're interested.



Awesome! 

Maybe this is just what I need to really get going again. That is really an incredible looking piece. I'm not sure mine would end up looking anything remotely like yours. But I should give it a try.  ::D:

----------


## Oneironaught

> Awesome! 
> 
> Maybe this is just what I need to really get going again. That is really an incredible looking piece. I'm not sure mine would end up looking anything remotely like yours. But I should give it a try.



You'd be surprised. I bet yours will look just as good. I'll send you a picture and explanation as soon as I get a chance. Then we can take over the world. I call shotgun!

*EDIT:* Sorry, folks. The boss has spoken. We're gonna have to keep this one under wraps. I like to boggle your mind anyway  :tongue2:

----------


## Dagget

Thought of doing a guitar?

I bet you could do wonderful things with a block of alder like that.

----------


## Oneironaught

> Thought of doing a guitar?
> 
> I bet you could do wonderful things with a block of alder like that.



No, but it would be pretty easy to do, unless you mean an actual playable guitar. Though, I did make a "Bantardrum" (I made the name up). I melded a guitar neck with a wooden snare drum body and banjo bridge and tailpiece to form an instrument that plays like a guitar but sounds like a baritone banjo. When I dig it back out I'll post a picture of it (since the subject came up). It wasn't until 8-10 years later that I saw actual "guitar banjos" for sale by various instrument manufacturers.

I do _repair_ guitars on a relatively regular basis, though. Mostly the electronics. I've some one else to do the body work and set up.

----------


## Oneironaught

Here's a few close-up shots of the joint on one of my pairs of pliers. This piece measures 2 inches square and is 2 feet long.

 
 
 
You can still see some of the lines I drew to lay it all out. This is not a perfect pliers joint, mind you. It works perfectly, yes but, it's a little bit sloppy when closed. When done properly, there should be no wood removed. I had to remove some wood to make it operate correctly because I failed to lay out the angles perfectly. 
The joints is performed by making 12 cuts at the proper angles. The two halves have never been apart. The way you see it is the way is was carved.

----------


## Adam

YOU GOT SOME MAD SKILLS!!!!

How did you make the 3d picture? Can this principal be applied to any picture?

----------


## Oneironaught

> YOU GOT SOME MAD SKILLS!!!!



Thank you, Sir.





> How did you make the 3d picture? Can this principal be applied to any picture?



That can be done with any picture. They used to (and still may) sell cameras that had two lens - side by side - that allowed you to take 3D photos. All I do is take two separate shots with a standard digital camera but, move the camera about 2 1/2 - 3 inches (around 60 - 70 millimeters) to the side. That way, I get two photos having viewpoints spaced about the distance of the Human eyes.

I've actually drawn pictures in GIMP like that, too. I may post a few some day.

----------


## Oneironaught

I've shown pictures of this 10-piece puzzle hanging on its display frame but, here's a few close-ups with it laying down on the table. This baby won me a nice first-place ribbon and lots of adoration:

 
 
 

*I took the bottom section apart so you can see that it really does come apart.* 



*The goofy faces on one side.*
I've taken a bunch more of the piece if you care to see any more views. If there's any segments you want a better view of just let me know. I even took a bunch of 3D shots of the puzzle. They look sweet!

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## Mes Tarrant

Woooooow. That's just incredible!!! How long did it take you? (I have a feeling that's been asked before, heh!)

----------


## Oneironaught

I did it over an 8 month span. But I made the last 6 or 8 pieces in the final two weeks before the show in '93-ish. I got finished clear-coating the stand literally hours before I had to have it at the show.

----------


## Lucidbulbs

Wow, well, all tht time you spent on it really shows! And it won you a ribbon ^^ is that time span you spent on that piece considered long to you compared to all the other times you've carved [curiosity killed the cat]?

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## Oneironaught

> Wow, well, all tht time you spent on it really shows! And it won you a ribbon ^^ is that time span you spent on that piece considered long to you compared to all the other times you've carved [curiosity killed the cat]?



Good question. Well, the overall actual working time - not time that it sat there staring at me because I was too lazy to work on it - was longer, yes.

However, seeing as how it is actually 10 separate pieces that fit together, no, I actually did it in less time than usual. Especially when I crammed all that work into the final two weeks. I was pumping out links and crap in record speed (for me). But, then again, I was carving day and night, during work and after work. 

I was the boss/owner in those days so I could do whatever I wanted during work  ::D:

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## Oneironaught

Here's some shots of another "pair" of working pliers I did a long time ago. One of these days I'll take a picture with the two you've seen now and some others I've done so you can get a sense of scale.



*This is made in a piece of 1/2 inch square stock. It's somewhere around 6 inches long.* 

I wish I could think of an easy way to explain how these are made. But, I assure you that they are done entirely with a knife and they were made just the way you see them. They have never been separated.

----------


## The Cusp

Very nice work.  I was wondering if I could get your professional opinion on a potential wood working project.

I have a large selection of freakishly unique boards from years of installing hardwood floors that I've been meaning to do something with. 

So I was considering trying to make a puzzle box like the one  from the hellraiser movies, or even on a larger scale, some sort of chest.  If you had any insight that might help I'd appreciate it.  The box on a small scale would be delicate work with the moving parts.  Something larger might be easier, but would require a lot more detail work.

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## Oneironaught

*This is made of Oak. It's not of the deepest relief and the right eye is hard to see in these but, oh well. I used this for a few months as a chisel mallet while working on a larger carving project. The back side - the side you can't see - has a good-sized flat section. Now it's just for show.* 
 
*Two closer views.* 

*I had a hard time getting a good shot without the glare.* 





> Very nice work. I was wondering if I could get your professional opinion on a potential wood working project.
> 
> I have a large selection of freakishly unique boards from years of installing hardwood floors that I've been meaning to do something with. 
> 
> So I was considering trying to make a puzzle box like the one from the hellraiser movies, or even on a larger scale, some sort of chest. If you had any insight that might help I'd appreciate it. The box on a small scale would be delicate work with the moving parts. Something larger might be easier, but would require a lot more detail work.



I'm not sure what to tell you other than there are books out there all about making puzzle boxes. I'd check one of them out. They don't generally have much moving parts other than that they fit together in a manner so that they much be disassembled with a certain sequence of steps.

But, yeah, there are some pretty cool patterns out there. Most of the standard puzzle boxes are made by band saw, scroll saw and glue work.

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## Goldney

I love those 3d pictures. They work so well. Keep 'em coming.

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## Oneironaught

I got the ball loose in the next section. Well, it's not quite a ball; more like a UCO: unidentified carved object. I also broke the tip of my knife off while doing that yesterday eve. Oh, well. It's not the first knife I've broken - it won't be the last.

 
*And, as per goldney's request:*

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## Goldney

Oh wow!!! Thanks! They really add another dimension to the pictures (no pun intended). You really are a talented carver.

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## Tomdub

WOW ur amazing. I especially like the balls inside the carvings. that looks really hard

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## Lucidbulbs

That UCO of yours is snazzy looking, I can't wait to see that one finished, I don't know but I just love the way you decorate the cages for the balls and how it all comes together  ::bowdown::

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## SKA

Hey Oneironaught, all I can say is that your work is absolutely amazing and very skillfully done. So refined. What tools and what type of wood do you use to get these fine shapes?

Also may I suggest an idea about a 'functional', household woodcutting?
Could you make a rather large wooden cut out mask? Tribal-ish and perhaps 20 cm high and a width of about 10 - 15cm. You could make a mask that size with about 10 rings equally devided atop of his head between his right temple and left temple. Then onto these rings you could hook chains of rings to make it look like locks of devided hair. You could also cut out the eyes and mouth of the mask.

If you constructed a lamp mon your wall you could place the mask in front of the lamp, leaving some 2 cm of space between the back of the mask and the wall, to make a very amospheric, shamanic/tribal type of lamp. How about that? It's merely a suggestion.

----------


## Oneironaught

As usual, thanks for the comments, everybody.

Alright, I'll admit it: I've been lazy lately. So here's a few pictures to maybe get me going again.


*You've seen these two pieces before. The chain is endless and that's the way it was carved. There never was an end, only a continuous loop. The link in the lower center is a "corner". I purposely left that there to demonstrate how the piece was created, having both with-grain and cross-grain sections.* 



*To illustrate that I've been lazy for years, I've included this photo of a low-relief that I started probably 10 or more years ago. You see how far it's gotten.*

----------


## gregash

I was stumbling around and came upon this site and I thought of this thread.   Enjoy!

http://www.pantherhouse.com/newshelt...oy-in-my-life/

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## Oneironaught

> I was stumbling around and came upon this site and I thought of this thread. Enjoy!
> 
> http://www.pantherhouse.com/newshelt...oy-in-my-life/



Those are really cool, thank you.

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## meggyfayephotography

you should carve a picture of me  :wink2:

----------


## Oneironaught

> you should carve a picture of me



Dream on :p

That building I started is the only picture I've ever tried to carve and you see where that's at, what, 10 years later?

----------


## Twoshadows

I haven't commented yet on the last few things you've posted.

That endless chain is really cool. I'm tying to think of how the easiest way is to do that. I started a regular chain once and it was challenging enough for me then.

I think I commented on that circular boll ana box thingie (not sure what you called it) But I think that oneis really awesome. Maybe one day I'll try something that cool looking.

And the relief looks good. Did you not finish it because it is just not as satisfying as the completely 3D ones? I think I feel that way. Nothin like holding something in your hand that you carved yourself and being able to turning it in all directions and look at it and feel it. Carving is the most satisfying type of artwork I've ever attempted.


And that 10 piece puzzle just blows me away. I can't imagine how long it would take me to do one like that... ::shock:: . It's _so_ impressive.

----------


## Jeff777

Those are pretty good!

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## Oneironaught

Yes, I've been a lasy-ass lately, with respect to carving at least. I haven't done any since I broke the tip of my favorite knife off. Hopefully the thread bump and a few more pictures will get me off my butt:

*This is my very first piece ever:*
 
*Another of my earlier, less-refined pieces:*
 
*Some basic chain:*
 
*Even the failures can be kind of cool:*
 
*7 Chain links in pressure-treated 4x4 inch lumber:*
 




> Those are pretty good!



Thank you.

----------


## Sleep Surfer

These are awesome!  I would love to have the kind of patience required to do this.  :smiley: 

(I hadn't ever seen carvings of chain before)   ::D:

----------


## Lucidbulbs

Wow, I haven't checked this out in a while, nice work! It's still as mesmerizing and cool as ever  :smiley:

----------


## skuruza

wow so how did u learn?

----------


## Oneironaught

> wow so how did u learn?



Well, many years ago, my Grandfather (Dad's Dad) whittled a few basic ball-in-a-cages and some chain links. Then my Dad decided to try. After awhile, my two brothers asked for Dad to make them each a back scratcher (because Dad had made himself several). Well, they each ended up with a back scratcher. So I asked for one and... well, my Dad bought me a knife, sharpening stone and some homing oil and told me to make my own.

That was around 1990. In '91, I made my first whittling and the rest is history. My knowledge of how to make the basics (basic chain, rings, balls in cages) came from seeing how my Dad laid them out. He got his first ideas from a book called "Whittling and Woodcarving" by: EJ Tangerman.

Since then, we've each made many different variations on the basic principals. And we've also created our own unique "elements" over the years.

Alright, I keep calling this one my first piece:



That IS my first whittled "trick carving" but it's not actually my first carving. That honor goes to an airplane I carved for a Cub Scout Whittling project when I was about 7 years old (somewhere around 1980). I still have that plane. Though for some dumb-ass reason I threw the base away some years ago. I've been kicking myself ever since. It still amazes me how perfect the propeller turned out for being so young when I did it. Heck, I'd have a hard time making it so perfect again, even today.

I'll post a picture of my _real_ first carving the next time I take pictures.

P.S. The irony of it all is that I STILL have never made a back scratcher.

P.S.S. The worst part is that I'm still being lazy and not working on the piece I've been demonstrating to you guys. I promise I will get back to it. Hopefully someday soon.

----------


## ouija

Those are amazing! I love the chain links. I saw a Makonde wood carving on TV (I think it was some Rolf Harris program) and there were 3 or 4 large links all interlocked. Must take some skill to craft that.

Oh... how many fingers do you have left?  :tongue2:

----------


## Oneironaught

> Oh... how many fingers do you have left?



I have 10 fingers. It's a good thing I started with 12  :tongue2:  And thanks for the kind words.

I swear I'll get back to it someday. I really need to finish up that one piece I've started (well, that and a bunch of others).

----------


## Arch0n

Wow you have an amazing talent. :Eek: 
it's almost scary

----------


## Altasi

Whoa, thats alot of talent right there.

Congrats on such fantastic work!  ::D:

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## bro

Indeed..you really to have a knck forthis stuff...keep it up, they really are quite good..I admire people who are able to create such works of art from hard work and raw materials.

----------


## Bearsy

I call this a bump for great justice!

----------


## Oneironaught

> I call this a bump for great justice!



Why thank you! Actually, your timing is impeccable. Our annual show is the 8th of next month. I'll post a few pictures from this year's show when it's done. Regretfully, I have done no carving since the piece I was showing from start to... Yeah, it's still in the same state as the last picture of it. At least I'll have time to work on it for a few hours at the show at the show. I'll be sure to show you guys the progress I make on it. I might even put this link back in my sig after the show.

I don't even have anything new to put in for judging this year and I have enough first place ribbons now to be judged in the "professional" category  :Sad:

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## gregash

I'm glad this got bumped.

Coincidently, I found this site and thought of this thread immediately.

http://completeall.com/index.php/Art...nd-Timber.html

Not exactly the same style as yours, but still.

The tank  :Eek: , mecha, and uber-machine gun are my favorites.

----------


## Oneironaught

The show was Saturday and no one broke or stole any of my - or my Dad's - stuff this year! Yay, there's hope for mankind after all. Actually, it went really well. I'll post some pictures when I get a chance to re-size them. I also got a little farther on that piece I've been demonstrating step by step in this thread. So I'll get an updated shot of it as well.

Hey, does anyone know what the picture limit is on a Photobucket account? Or is there one? I've got a bunch of pictures on mine and I have no idea how close I am to reaching my limit - if there even is one.





> I don't even have anything new to put in for judging this year and I have enough first place ribbons now to be judged in the "professional" category



Actually, I did enter something this year. And I misspoke; I meant to say that I could move to the "intermediate" category. For some reason I thought I'd been in the intermediate already. What confused me is that I could have entered intermediate as of about 6 or 7 years ago and didn't realise it. 

You only need 3 first place ribbons to move up from amateur and I got my 4th around 6 years ago with an awesome Monopoly set I made. And yes, it was awesome. I don't usually brag about how cool my things are. Nor do I like the game Monopoly. But, yeah.

Hey, I did that Monopoly project as a commissioned job so I have sold at least one item I made  ::D:  But that still doesn't qualify me as a pro. "Professional" is only for people who carve for a living, or at least sell their carvings on a regular basis. I've given pieces away but I don't do it for money (normally) so... I'm not a pro. *[EDIT]: Oh, and I sold about a dozen simple balls in cages and some chain links a long time ago, at our first two shows.*

Anyway, I got a first place ribbon on the piece I did enter for judging. The rule is that it has to be something you've made within the past two years and it can't have been entered for judging at our show at any time in the past and can't have won a ribbon at any other show.





> I'm glad this got bumped.
> 
> Coincidently, I found this site and thought of this thread immediately.
> 
> http://completeall.com/index.php/Art...nd-Timber.html
> 
> Not exactly the same style as yours, but still.
> 
> The tank , mecha, and uber-machine gun are my favorites.



I tried to look at the stuff and only got to see the first 6 or so pictures because the stupid site keeps jumping to something else automatically. What I saw was pretty cool though.

----------


## Adam

> I'm glad this got bumped.
> 
> Coincidently, I found this site and thought of this thread immediately.
> 
> http://completeall.com/index.php/Art...nd-Timber.html
> 
> Not exactly the same style as yours, but still.
> 
> The tank , mecha, and uber-machine gun are my favorites.



Is your name Greg Ash? Or just gregash? lol

----------


## Amethyst Star

I don't think there's a limit on how many pictures you can upload in Photobucket.  Heaven knows how many pictures I have in mine!  There's size limits to the files, though, and not all formats are compatible, but that's usually not a problem unless you have some crazy [email protected] file or something.

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## Oneironaught

This is a video take by my Dad at Saturday's show. The table on the right is mine and the one on the left is his. I'm the guy in the green shirt taking a snapshot of my Dad taking the video. He didn't stay still long enough to see anything too well but, I can't do anything about that now.

You can see my current project in there too (34-36 second mark).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra2dyvbhNu8

And I took this one of him working on his current carving.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEV5Evmf6ls

----------


## PeteB

Just had a quick look through all you're carvings, and i've got to say, very impressed with them!

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## Oneironaught

Thanks, guys (and Gal).

So, here's where I left you guys hanging:



I got the next segment done. I couldn't decide which pictures to use so here's a bunch of views of the current state. Hopefully this will get me to finish the piece up soon so I can move on and start something else, something even cooler.

















As you can see, the cage that I had made inside of the larger cage is now at the top of a shaft that runs through a loose ring. The ring has a two tabs to give it a little character. I don't want every ring to be a simple, even round ring. So varying the shape is often a welcome change.

You'll notice that I also removed the wood inside where the main cage makes its 1/4 turn twist. I had deliberately left that wood there until now for support. That way I could handle the piece more easily while working on the ring and shaft without it being so fragile. You need to be able to grip firmly enough to work so it helps to leave strategically located support wood at times until certain parts are done. Especially when you have long cross-grain sections, like that cage twist.

Also note the two anomalies in the lower cage bars. Two opposite bars have an open loop. They are there, if you remember, because the wood had two dents on the corners. So I needed to alter the regular cage bars to accommodate the damaged corners. As is the nature of carving, you don't need to start with a perfect piece of wood.

Sometimes it's surprisingly pleasant to have to work around flaws like that. It gives way to new twists and ideas. In fact, the entire design of the last segment was largely dictated by the fact that I made a mistake on the previous segment.

That's my favorite part of this style of carving. There's very few ways to actually mess up. You only "change your design".

Now, none of what you see in the current piece is completely done. I'll still go back and do a little more detailing and rounding out of the square edges.

And here's the one I won the first place ribbon on this year. You've seen it before but here's it dressed in blue at the winners' table:



And I see mine and my Dad's winning pieces are on the club's site now. Check out the bottom of this page (it's a slow loading page):

http://ridgewoodcarversclub.org/2008_carving_show.htm

----------


## Oneironaught

*At the show* 


In one of those videos I linked to you can see me taking a photo. Here is that photo:



That's my Dad. The table is my stuff. I don't really like the round tables we had this year. We weren't even able to fit all of our stuff on them.

----------


## Moonbeam

I like that big chain on the right, that's cool.

----------


## Oneironaught

> I like that big chain on the right, that's cool.



It's 7 links in a piece of pressure-treated 4x4 (that's inches for our overseas friends).

*Moving right along* 
 
In the above picture, I've decided to add another ring onto the shaft. You can see how I began to rough out for a warped ring. Again, the lines you see are knife cuts. 

And here's two views of the loose warped ring. 
 
 
There's about 1-3/4 inches of solid block left on the end and I have no idea what I'll do there. There's always the temptation to just saw it off and call the piece done but, I'll think of something. But what? 
I could always make it so that the shaft with those two rings extends out from the bottom of the main cage and becomes another plunger. That way each end of the piece will terminate with a plunger bearing rings. My only concern is that that may allow the rounded cage to bind between the two "tumors" in the main cage bars. And that could conceivably lead to breakage, especially if some one handles it with less than kid gloves.  
The main cage bars are fragile enough so that may be a bad idea. 
This piece is actually a perfect example of many issues that I come across while carving. First of all you can see now that I really don't preplanned entire pieces in most cases. Secondly, you see how quickly and easily current segment plans change as result of materials flaws and blemishes, as well as to compensate for screw-ups and spur of the moment idea flashes. 
You can also get a better sense of why it's often desirable to wait to decided what to do next. I like to study the next blank section with respect to what's already carved (or roughed) out. That helps develop a better flow for the piece. If I had to judge, I'd say that the tapered cages at the top don't really fit the blocky cage feel of the rest of the piece. That's not really a problem, per se, but it would be more aesthetically pleasing done another way. Then again, everything can always be done better in retrospect. It's all about learning and coming up with new idea for the next project. 
And the final lesson is that I can get lazy. If you remember, I actually started this piece almost a year ago. Then it sat forever after I broke the knife I was using. Of course, I've still got my trusty knife that I've used since 1991. But it's only a good general purpose blade for what I do. Sometimes smaller and curved blades are more suited for a given cut. With the knives I bought at the show, I'm back in the game so hopefully I'll stay motivated long enough to both finish this one soon and work through something else soon. It's a matter of juggling priorities. 
*And* since I'm nearing the end of this one, if anyone has any requests of something they'd like to see done step by step let me know. I'll choose the idea that most interests me (if anyone does has anything they'd like to see) and show you how to go about carving it for yourself. The only thing I won't explain to you is the piece that I shared with Twoshadows. 
I'm also open to new ideas and new variations and combinations of things you've already seen. *TS*, got any ideas for me to finish up the current piece or anything else?

----------


## Twoshadows

Hey Gh. Good job in getting the first place ribbon.  :smiley: 

Your pieces are so complex that I sometimes feel overwhelmed when I think of what you had to do to get it that way.

Um, I'm not really sure I have an idea for the end of that one piece. The rest looks great. 

I would love to attempt something like that. I would... if you lived next door and could help me each step along the way. ::D:

----------


## Oneironaught

> Your pieces are so complex that I sometimes feel overwhelmed when I think of what you had to do to get it that way.



You know, it's easy to think that when you look at the big picture. But it's really nothing more than a bunch of really simple steps.





> Um, I'm not really sure I have an idea for the end of that one piece. The rest looks great.



Gee, you're no help  :wink2: 





> I would love to attempt something like that. I would... if you lived next door and could help me each step along the way.



What's stopping you? You've done a few cool pieces already so it's obvious you've got what it takes. It's probably more about motivation than anything. I know that's always my greatest hurdle.

If we knew each other in real life I'd certainly be more than pleased to help you out in person. But then again, I do "know" you and I'm certainly more than willing to help any way I can. And that goes for every member here. Just let me know and keep watching. I'll update this topic as I get more things done. Plus, I've got some more photos of a few other things I've carved that I've yet to post.

In all honesty, TS, I have a feeling that you and I are the only members who will be doing any carving any time soon. I would LOVE to proven wrong though. But as long as people take any kind of interest I'll continue to show it off to others. Who knows, maybe we can spark an interest in some one else to pick up a knife and create something they can be proud of for years to come. Remember, it doesn't have to be a fantastic piece to be proud of it. Lord knows most of mine aren't highly refined at all. They are just unique and I made them with my own two hands. That's all that matters.

A lot of people love to look at stuff like this but it seems the only people who actually do any carving are "old" men/people. That, and the fact that you are a cute female, is what so intrigued me when I found out about your carvings. Then when I saw what you've made I was impressed. That doesn't happen often.

Hell, when I reach the age that most carvers first _begin_ carving, I will have already had at least 30-40 years experience!

Well, I'm off to figure out how to finish this piece up. See you soon.

----------


## Oneironaught

I decided to make a pair of side by side rings to finish off the piece. They are both done but I don't have a current picture yet. Here's a glimpse of how it came along.



At this moment though, the entire piece is done being carved and I'm working on sanding it smooth. The final step will be many coats of clear spray lacquer. I'll show it and the steps I performed to make the two rings when I'm done sanding and coating.

Until then, here's a few new pictures to fill the void.

Some random chess pieces I was making years ago (pine, mahogany, bass wood):



Skull, balls and cages and a ring (yellow pine):



These next two are in ear wood. They were - at one time - part of the same piece but I dropped it one day, turned around to see where it fell and... crunch. I stepped on the middle section and broke it to splinters.





Note that this type of ball in a cage in a cage is not done the same way as the one I shared with Twoshadows. The technique is completely different even though the end result might be similar.

*EDIT*

And some basic chain

----------


## TalkingHead

Thats awesome

----------


## Oneironaught

> Thats awesome



No, you're awesome. And thank you  ::D: 

Alright, the piece is completed and clear-coated with over a dozen coats of spray lacquer. The color is now darker (due to the clear coat) and boy is it glossy. I used nearly a full can of spray.

This was one of the rare times that I bothered to sand a piece. It took hours but it was worth it. I usually use only a knife to finish the shaping process. The wood being so soft didn't look very good "smoothed out" with only a knife because of grain tearing issues.

I'll get pictures soon. 'Till then, here's a piece I started today. There will be a ring around the guy's neck then probably a chain link or two followed by who knows what. 

I'm using a piece of aromatic cedar that's cut so that it's approximately half red and half white, diagonally from corner to corner. I did another piece from this same stock of wood once but it was carved for some one else. It also began as a head followed by a ring and it looked so cool when finished and clear-coated. I've been dying to make one for myself for years now. Now I am.



Here's its current state:



As you see, I still have serious problems with eyes but I can do a little to make them look somewhat better. I love how the mouth is looking though. Check it out:



It's going to look really sharp when it's finished and lacquered. I love the two toned wood. I notice, however, that I screwed up and removed too much wood to make ears now  ::roll::

----------


## Oneironaught

I can finally wrap this one up. Here's the completion. The first picture shows the side by side rings at the end. Today I added about another 6 heavy coats of lacquer to finish off the can. 

The second picture is the final shot of that thing you'll have to endure. I kind of wish I'd made that big ball at the end of the plunger into a round cage with a ball inside of it. Too late now.





The cedar guy has his necklace now and I've started on some chain links. Actually, one and a half links.





If anyone is tired of seeing these steps just say so and I'll go back to only posting finished pieces and spare you the details. It doesn't matter to me. I'll be taking pictures of the major steps either way as part of a project me and my Dad are working on.

----------


## Oneironaught

Here's a pair of sliding rings I whittled out about a few weeks ago. It's made of 5/8 inch aromatic cedar ripped from a mini palate. I spray lacquered it with about 12-15 coats.

 
 
 
Alright, I lied. Here's another picture of that last piece I was showing you guys. But this is only to give you a better perspective of the relative sizes. There's a huge difference in scale.

 
This next thing is also from a piece of that cedar. It begins with a nose and mouth on a stick with devil horns. Below that is a pair of links from corner to corner and a spiral. I've extended the spiral down farther than what is pictured here but have not gone on to the next segment, whatever it may end up being.

----------


## Oneironaught

*Well.. are you?*

Here's the main knife I've been using lately.




Here's the start of a joint project I'll be doing with a fellow dreamer. So far I've only got some chain links started. It's a piece of 15/16 inch butternut, a nice wood to work with. It's kind of medium hardness and density. 






My Dad and I cut up some bass wood yesterday. So I'll be making a few pieces in some chunky 1 1/4" stock. There's a lot of nail holes to work around though so we'll see what happens there.

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## RooJ

Holy crap, those are awesome!
I wish i could do something like this, i had a strange wooden keyring show up in a dream lately that id love to be able to make.. it looked to be some kind of chinese dragon like creature without wings. The creatures legs were positioned in such a way that it looked like it was spinning/twisting in the air....

Anyways Im seriously in awe..  ::thumbup:: 

RooJ

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## Oneironaught

Thank you for the nice comments. That dream dragon keyring sound pretty cool.

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## Emi Chan

Wow!  ::shock::  Oneironaught, your work is amazing. You have a very nice talent. Thanks for sharing.  :smiley:

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## Oneironaught

> Wow!  Oneironaught, your work is amazing. You have a very nice talent. Thanks for sharing.



Why, thank you  :smiley: 

I got a little more done on that last cedar piece.

 
 
And I've started yet another basic ball in a cage. This one is a piece of that basswood I squared off last weekend. It's in 1 3/16 inch square stock. From the very top to the bottom edge of the cage opening is 1 1/2 inches long.

As you can tell, I love using wood that has a color change. Color variations in basswood are usually greenish (like poplar) but, this piece was near the bark so the coloring is reddish-brown, similar to cedar.

Basswood is an ideal carving material. The grain and hardness are just right. I rarely use it though because it's too white for my taste. It generally has no character, not even at the annual rings.

Most woodcarvers that do use basswood use it for items they intend to paint (fish, birds and other figure carving) or stain (such as relief and chip carving) - not so much because of its color but, because of its consistent grain and the ease of working with it.

But since I only clear coat my pieces, I don't like the color of most basswood. It's just too bland and boring. However, I like to mix it up so, here we go: a bland white piece... with a little color :green:

 
The smaller piece I'm holding is the cedar one I'm working on. The black dots you see along the uncut section are nail holes. This wood was once a shipping palate so I have to work around the flaws the best I can. Who knows what the finished product will look like. That's what keeps it fun and exciting for me, despite doing many of the same elements over and over. Each piece is still unique.

So now I've got 4 pieces started. One day I'll get them all wrapped up.

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## Oneironaught

Cool! My piece made it into Chip Chats magazine (the magazine published by America's National Wood Carvers Association).

This one:

 
But go figure, our club's incompetent PR staff once again got me and my Dad confused. So in Chip Chats, my carving is listed as being done by my Dad. But, Dad's blue ribbon winner from this year's show made it too. His is listed as being done by me  ::roll:: 

I give up... A finally got them to correct it on our website. But Chip Chats is a hard copy magazine sent out all over the country. It's a little too late to edit that now. But then again, it took the club almost 15 frickin' years to get my mailing address correct. And I've used the same P.O. Box since 1991.

I guess I'll cut them some slack (as usual). After all, most of them are in their 50's, 60's and 70's. I'm the only 'young' fart (35 next month) in the local woodcarving scene. That's part of why I started this thread. I'd love to see more young people get interested and involved in carving, especially the style I do; it's a dying art. 'Tis a shame.

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## fannyaliff101

*awesome!!!!*

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