Protest & Protect. Locked Up Carbon.

[Hardenfast]

Quite fascinating Cliff.

I have just started having a little dabble with power carving myself, but so far find myself completely without any intuative feeling for what I'm doing. Maybe it's just lack of confidence. Maybe I'm just not any good at it.

In any case your piece is starting to show some real promise, particularly given the raw material you selected to start with. Talk about giving yourself a hard row to hoe. Still, I guess that was a major part of the theme, wasn't it?

My FIL is a traditional wood carver and mastered his craft using an array of hand chisels. In later years he took up power carving with enthusiasm and now "roughs out" many of his pieces with various power carving discs on 4" and 2" grinders.

He started with the arbortech wheels that you are using, but I discovered the Saburr Tooth range of carving discs and now he won't use anything else. They come in 3 different cutting grades and are superbly balanced, all tungsten in a flat disc or rounded profile. They also make a 50mm disc for using on the Arbortec mini-grinder, or on the Proxxon long neck grinder which is a much superior setup.

If you can get hold of one of the Saburr Tooth wheels they are really worth the cost. CWS sell them in Melbourne, but I'm not sure where else you can get them. I brought back a box full of various discs with me last time I went to the USA (they're made in Canada).

I'll watch your progress here with great interest.

Wayne

[artme]

I posted some complimentary thoughts on this work before but they must have disolved in the GREAT MELTDOWN.

I like it Cliff. Rustic and weatheresit is. I think al the holes are just another feature that add to its intrigue.

[Cliff Rogers]

Thanks all.

Besides the Chain Saw, Arbotech Industrial, Arbotech Mini, & wire brushes on a 100mm angle grinder, I have also used a Dremel & a couple of those course synthetic brushes on a power drill.

I should dig out the packet & get the name & take a pic of them.
They are as good as sandpaper for cleaning up cut marks.

I have looked at a Foredom & the Proxxon & would like to try both of them.

I have ordered some of the small sanding disks to go on the Arbotech Mini but I really need something like the Dremel for the detail around the mouth & eyes.

[Honorary Bloke]

Cliff,

I must say I'm impressed with this work. Even the audience that does not understand the underlying theme can sense the pathos. A nice piece of what we would call folk art is developing here. Keep it going.

[NCArcher]

A man of many talents Mr Rogers.

[Cliff Rogers]

You should see my Pizzas & Focaccia.

[Christos]

So far I am finding this very interesting.

[TTIT]

You should see my Pizzas & Focaccia.

Mmmm - not bad, even when he forgets the cheese

[Cliff Rogers]

At least one of them had cheese on it.

[Frank&Earnest]

You should see my Pizzas & Focaccia.

Not only, you can even spell focaccia correctly, which is more than can be said for 99% of the population...

There is a wide disparity between the photos of the last batch, I like the first three much more than the last two, for example. Keep them coming!

[Billy]

looks excellent, i saw a carving once on a hollow log and the eyeballs had simply been drilled right through to the hollow, gave amazing depth to the look of the face,quite eerie,
keep it up
cheers, billy

[Cliff Rogers]

...a couple of those course synthetic brushes on a power drill.

I should dig out the packet & get the name & take a pic of them.
They are as good as sandpaper for cleaning up cut marks......

Some photos of the brushes.

[Cliff Rogers]

I finished the face & gave it a coat of oil.

[Cliff Rogers]

Yesterday I started sanding the trunk but I found that while the 120grit disk angle grinder was quick work, it tended to leave burn marks & stuff out of the wood (resin?) was clogging the grit.
I changed to a round flap wheel in the electric drill & while it was slower, it didn't burn.

[Cliff Rogers]

Sanding finished on the trunk & another coat of oil on the face & a light brush coat to the shoulders of the figure.

The timber changes colour after it is exposed to air so I will leave the trunk a couple of days before I oil it & hopefully, it will turn out a bit lighter than the figure.

Today I'll work on the 'plinth' & a way of securing the log to it.