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  1. #1
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    Default Golf Ball carving WIP

    A while back Schaf asked me for a WIP on carving golf balls. Sorry its taken so long. I've got a Craft Fair on this weekend and as it happens things were a little slow so I took the opportunity to get this done.

    The first shot shows the golf ball with half the cover removed (I use a dremil for this), and a 9mm hole drilled to accomodate a rough carved stick handle. I always use the handle cause it helps me keep my fingers away from the business end of the knife.

    Second and third shots show the ball with a center line and first areas to be removed

    Fourth and fifth shot show first steps completed

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  3. #2
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    Sixth shot shows refinement of mouth, nose and eye areas drawn but not yet carved

    Seventh shot shows these areas roughed out

    Eighth shot shows eyes complete except for iris and mouth drawn

    Ninth shot shows eyes, mouth and nose complete

    Tenth shot shows brows and hair line done as well as facial lines added.

    This is as far as I got, thinking I was finished. When I got home and downloaded the photos I realised that I'd forgotten to put in the eyebrows.

    Never mind... I think you get the idea.

    I call these guys Golf Ball Trolls and they are my practice ground for human expression. You can get an amazing range of expressions just by tweeking the facial features a bit. You guys probably already know this but it came as a bit of a revelation to me when I tried it and I've had a lot of fun ever since leaning how to produce predictable expressions by the deliberate manipulation of facial features.

    Now I've got a suggestion for all of you who might like to try something new. How about carving a golf ball and sending in the result on this thread. No need to WIP unless you want to but I thought it might be interesting to see how different artists treat this medium and what kind of results we'll get.

    So the challenge is out there... who's game?

  4. #3
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    Thumbs up

    Loves it Whittling!!

    Did the Golf mind have one less?

  5. #4
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    Great WIP Whittling, thanks. And yes , I will post a photo when I get one finished.
    I opened up a golf ball when I was a kid and it looked like a million rubber bands inside.Looks like things have changed.
    Terry

  6. #5
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    Yeah mate, mostly they have, but there are still some 'wound' balls around. I usually drill the hole first thing using a drill press and a 9mm twist drill. You find out straight away what's in the ball before going to the trouble (considerable) of removing half the cover.

  7. #6
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    Default

    That's incredible work. Well beyond my capabilities. Great to see. thanks for sharing.
    Reality is no background music.
    Cheers John

  8. #7
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    That's amazing

    It also goes to show how long it's been since I pulled a golf ball apart (as a kid). I remember a sack of gue covered by heaps of rubber string
    Neil
    ____________________________________________
    Every day presents an opportunity to learn something new

  9. #8
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    Apr 2009
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    G'day Whittling

    Very nifty.

    I saw an article in an old wood carving magazine where old golf woods were used to make ducks. The shafts were removed and a whittled ducks head attached. They were quite novel, but your carved golf balls are even better in my opinion.

    Thanks for sharing the idea. I have plenty of old golf balls around so I am going to have to have a go.

    Did you only use a knife, or gouges as well?

    Cheers

    Grant

  10. #9
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    Thanks Grant,

    I saw that article too. I've attached a photo of my efforts with the 'Wooducks'.

    The balls were an idea of a friend of mine in Canada, who uses them to make novel bottle stoppers. I mount them on harwood bases with funny sayings to match their various expressions.

    I've found carving them to be fantastic training in creating predictable human expression. I carve quite a few commission walking sticks with characterisations of real people and what I've learned from carving golf balls has been very helpful in this.

    I'm kinda excited about seeing what other artists bring to this particular project. Don't forget to post yours when you're done!

    I mostly use a 3-bladed pocket knife. I also use a 11/10 gouge to create the hollows into which I carve the eyes with a knife, and a 12/6 V tool to put in hair and facial creases etc. It can all be done with the knife alone, but the chisels speed up the process a little.

  11. #10
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    OK Whittling, I am ready to post a photo of my first golf ball.
    But the photo comes out as a round white blob, the white material of the golf ball reflects to much light. Is there a secret to taking photos of this stuff.
    I did clean it up with some Ajax and toothbrush so maybe it is to clean.

    Terry

  12. #11
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    The problem is too much light off your subject. Try turning off the flash on your camera and take the photo in natural light. Make sure your light source is coming from behind you and not behind the ball and keep the ball out of your shadow. You have to hold the ball pretty still. If it come out blurry, try putting the ball down on something solid and try it that way. If all else fails, use a camera tripod as well.

    Or another thought... take the photo from further away so the flash is not so intense and then crop the photo in close before resizing it.

  13. #12
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    Default golf ball

    Hi Whittling, here is my effort. Sorry about the quality of photo but I had the devil of time trying to catch the detail. In the end I rubbed some shavings and dust on it to dull down the brightness.

    Regards
    Terry

  14. #13
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    I like it! I find it amazing that every one who tries this brings something different to the finished result. Try a few more. You're likely to strike other colours other than white. Its unfortunate, even unusal that you got white first time. The darker colour will make it easier to photograph too.

    You'll get more 'life' in the face when you cut in the irises. To avoid him looking a bit like a 'stunned mullet' have him looking one direction or another when you do.

    I hope somebody else trys this out.

  15. #14
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    Default Another golfball effort

    G'day Whittling and all

    I liked your golfball Schaf.

    I was stunned how easy the golfball centre is to carve after struggling with our yard hard wood that I have been playing with. I actually used my knife to do some of the work for a change. If nothing else, I will carve golfballs with it. Sorry to rave. I have attached my very first effort at carving a golfball face. It worried me a bit when I saw my photos. I did not realise how many stray cuts and dags were on it. I definitely need to get some glasses. Anyhow, don't laugh too hard, I hope to get better with practice and of course new glasses one day.

    I am with you Whittling, and hope others have a go too, it is good fun.

    Cheers

    Grant

  16. #15
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    Whittling,

    one thing I noted with the effort of Schaf and myself was that we tried to make a face which was too small to allow carving irises in the eyes. I had another look at your instructions and noted that you basically carve the face area, not anything extra. The eye area you drew was much greater than I put on my golfball. I tried to fit in ears which in hind-sight (still no good until I get glasses) were too much for what we are trying to achieve.

    Will have another attempt with bigger eyes.

    Cheers

    grant

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