Thread: Custom Carved Doors

Beautiful Jack, I like the composition a lot. How heavy are they? Those are big bits of basswood.

Sebastiaan, I never weighed the doors, but a guess would be 180 lbs each. Spring loaded hinges were required to hang the doors by the craftsmen who where constructing the home.

The swans and fish motif reflected the indigenous wild life of the lake where the home is situated.

Elegant simplicty Jack... fantastic. A few questions if I could.

The doors appear to be bare wood in the photo. Is this the final finish or was something else put on them?

Do you have any photos of the process and/or the doors in situ?

I noticed that you chose not to bring the salmon carvings all the way to the outside edge of the panels at the bottom but not the top. Was there a reason for this and in hindsight do you like the 'part fish' that end so abruptly at the edge?

Whittling, you are right on with your observation. The doors were a project I did before I bought my first digital camera. So no, unfortunately I don't have a record of the process, though I have a few images from film print. I'll see if I can locate those.

I did want a record of the work though, I loaded the doors into my van and took them to a professional photographer. Not in any way was this easy to do as I had to construct bracing in the photographers studio to lean the doors against, load and unload, remove the bracing afterward and load and unload again. It was costly and difficult to shoot such a large piece without distortion. I left the wood completely unfinished as any finish would reflect the lighting making the photo-shoot even more difficult to light effectively.

The commissioned doors had to be transported to Washington, which is about a 17 hour drive one way from where I live. After I knew we had the photo shot, I blanket wrapped the doors and drove them to Washington, on site and unfinished. I conferred with the builder and the decision was made to have the doors hung and fit, hardware bored and installed before the doors would be finished on site. It was a gamble as there is much more humidity near the ocean than here in the arid mountains of Idaho.

I did not stay to see them hung as it would have been several days. So I don't have any pictures of them in situ unfortunately.

Regarding the fish layout at the edge. I debated that very question and decided to carve the full arch of fish, I figured if I didn't like the outcome, I could carve it away. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't. At the time I decided to go with it. In hindsight, I think I would have carried the lower band of fish out to the edge also. I know some would prefer not to take a design off the edge using the stile and rail as frame. It's pretty much in the eye of the beholder. It's an interesting question though.

I don't know what the owner and builder decided as to the finish either. I have been surprised in the past when a commissioned work of an architectural nature is finished in a manner I never anticipated. I enjoy your comments Whittling.

Great doors!
I was hoping for a few detail shots, but guess that's out of the question.

Do you carve these upright or flat on a bench. If the latter, how do you deal with the size? I imagine you'd be leaning on the work?

WoW!! That is beautiful.

Good. I like the contrast between the symmetry of the birds and the asymmetry of the fish which frame the concept. Not too much in between the ocean and the sky.
What's the approximate depth of relief?
I have a friend who does carved doors. I'm always surprised by the outright weight of those things.

Great composition JWB ..you have a good eye..
I like the stylised "art deco" birds
would love to see your approach to deco style salmon

raav, robson, underfoot,

I appreciate everyone's comments. Undie, while I was designing the wings and templates for the stylized swans I never noticed the 'art deco' quality. I certainly see it now that you mention it.

The depth of relief is at most 7/16 of an inch.

A few detail photos show the swallow gouge relief in the field. I constructed a sturdy carving table 42" H. with wheels enabling movement of the table in my studio which is somewhat cramped for space.

The door while laying horizontal on the table was propped up with blocks underneath one edge canting the door to give me better access to carve in the field. It's not the best situation ergonomically so I would take a break every few hours.

The wing treatment is better illustrated up close. Almost shimmers.

For some reason, relief holds more fear for me than 'in the round'. I think it's because the point at which you can't go beyond seems much slighter in relief.

Maybe?

thanks raav, carving in "relief" is different from carving in the round. Determining the viewpoint, high-points and shadows is an important element within the design. This bas-relief isn't that complicated from that standpoint. Simplicity can become an attribute, whereas high-relief figurative sculpture can present some interesting challenges when considering a layout or pose just as foreshortening does when drawing figures in 2d.

it gives a moment of peace when i look at the doors, i like them .
Supose that i wanted to make a door that has a carving, that comes out for about 20 cm, does the door has to be completly that thickness or do i just attach a piece of wood and then start carving?
grt andy

[QUOTE...
Supose that i wanted to make a door that has a carving, that comes out for about 20 cm, does the door has to be completly that thickness or do i just attach a piece of wood and then start carving?
grt andy[/QUOTE]

Without knowing more about the design and method of carving, it is a little difficult to answer your question. Most likely, the carving would be done separately and attached to the door. Or a plank style door might have some planks milled with different dimensions of thickness with the stock around the intended carving area removed before assembling the other planks together to form a slab, thereby leaving the area "proud" which is to be carved.

Or when milling the timbers, splice the members so the same grain can be matched to the twin half of the other timber. Depending on the design, the 20 cm. high-relief carving piece could be re-attached to its former self and it would appear to be carved from one solid piece. I hope this brief explanation is understandable. If I am not making myself clear, I apologize.

thank you very much Jack for the info, i understand what you mean, i have not yet decided what carving it 's gonna be, i'm just playing with the idea. i would only use chisels for the doorcarving
thanks andy