"I
agree with Mike Tracy (III). You have to try as many airbrushes as you
can. This is often difficult if you don't have access to a club that has
a lot of different airbrush users. I haven't found many retail outlets
that will let me use their equipment but that may be a factor of small
town Ontario!
I too
have used the Paasche AB for about eight years and, IMHO, it is the best
detail airbrush on the market. It is also a little more expensive than
most of the others. A close second to the AB would be the Badger model
100SG.
The
advantage of both of these airbrushes is the way they hold paint. The AB
has a small, open reservoir on the side that holds a few drops of paint
(I put it in with a paintbrush). Cleaning is so easy, you can go from one
color to another in only a few seconds. The 100SG has an opening near the
'business end" of the brush that also accepts a drop or two of paint. It
too can be cleaned without taking the brush all apart. Most other airbrushes
have bottles or cups that attach to the brush and require much more maintenance
between colors.
There
are some excellent video tapes by a waterfowl carver named George Kruth
you should try and get a hold of. One entitled "The Art of Airbrushing
Wildfowl Carvings" is excellent and highlights the 100SG model. It has
a lot of great techniques for obtaining feather edging, highlights, etc.
It also drives home the point that the airbrush MUST be used in conjunction
with regular paint brushes to achieve the best results." from: Mike
Dunk
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WOOD
FINISHES
WOOD FINISHES: LINSEED
OIL BASED STAIN, OIL, AND WAX (Mike Wells)
"I
make my own stains using linseed oil as a base and artists oil colors to
get the right tint. I just mix up a variety of burnt umber, raw umber and
cadmium orange to get the tint that I want and then I scrape it off of
my one of a kind, top of the line, first rate genuine French artist's pallet,
(coffee can lid) and dump it in the linseed oil. Then shake the living
daylights out of the stuff and presto...instant homemade stain! Beware
though, linseed oil is some seriously flammable stuff!!! Air dry the rags
OUTSIDE!!! They will spontaneously combust very easily if you just toss
them in a heap to dry. I hang mine on a clothesline that I only use for
that purpose. When it's dry the stuff is stable. Anyway, that is the stain
that I use on butternut. I let that mess dry overnight and then shoot it
with three or four very light coats of Deft Satin clear coat. When that
dries (about thirty minutes) I rub it down with a crushed paper bag and
then slop down the hole thing with Minwax Antique Finish liquid wax, dark.
The Minwax is about the same as the Watco, but it requires a lot more elbow
grease to rub down. It does have a deeper, prettier finish to it than Watco
though.
I also
don't especially care for TUNG oil, and I carve almost exclusively with
butternut. Only time I use anything else is if I can't get butternut."
from:
Mike
Wells
"When
I get done carving, I scuff up the whole thing with a Scotch Brite pad
on the end of a Dremel tool (defizzing). Then I make my own stain from
artist's oil colors and linseed oil. I then flood the whole carving with
the stain. I usually mix burnt umber, raw umber, and osage orange until
I get the shade I want. There is no exact mixture, so when you make it
make a lot so that you don't have to keep experimenting trying to get it
right again and again. I make it a very light orange shade. Then I flood
the whole carving with it.
When
it dries I spray it down with about four coats of satin finish Deft clear
coat wood finish. When that dries I flood the whole thing down with Minwax
Antique finish (dark) liquid wax, in the red can. The Minwax is the hardest
part, because it really requires a lot of elbow grease. I normally try
to conserve elbow grease for fear or someday running out, but in this case
it is worth the extra work. I rub the Minwax with paper towels until they
come up clean. This part takes a while, but boy does it ever give a fine
finish!!! I make the stain really light because the Minwax is so dark,
and it winds up really accentuating the shadowed areas of the carving,
making it less dependent on proper lighting when you display it."
From:
Mike
Wells
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WOOD
FINISHES: BOILED LINSEED OIL (Robin Trudel)
"I
believe the combustible stuff is the stuff with the dryers, or petroleum
distillates.
Pure
TUNG oil is supposed to be non-toxic and smells like old potatoes. I carve
mostly pine and I don't like what TUNG oil does to pine.
I've
used it a bit and had better luck with boiled linseed, which is combustible,
is not non-toxic, and does not smell like old potatoes (grin)...I'm pretty
simple when it comes to finishes:
Step
1. Dunk carving into boiled linseed oil
Step
2. Let the carving air dry"
From:
Robin
Trudel
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WOOD
FINISHES: AVOIDING BLOTCHY FINISHES (Marcel Lamarche)
"The appearance
of 'blotches' may be avoided by sealing the wood prior to the application
of the finish... I use a MinWax sealer on basswood, including those pieces
on which I will be applying gesso as a paint base in order to avoid this
type of problem. (In fact, use the sealer on most pieces to try to ensure
a uniform finish. When it comes to species like basswood and tupelo, I
use it on all carvings... I love carving but hate the final sanding stages...
So the sealer is used, in part, to spare me from having to refinish a piece...)
I will occasionally use a Tru-Oil gunstock finish without a sealer on projects
other than gunstocks, but have never tried it on basswood...
Bear
in mind that I'm carving in the round most of the time... not in relief...
But I think the sealing of basswood would apply in either case...."
from:
Marcel
Lamarche
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WOOD
FINISHES: STINKY SITUATION - (Owliver)
"About
3 months ago I FINISHED a project. It was a chip carved tissue box cover
in basswood and I thought it to be really a nice job.
I gave
it to my other half and put a boutique box of tissues in it and gave it
a place of honor on the coffee table. A while later I was told the tissues
smelled. Indeed the whole box of tissues had assumed the odor (or is it
odor) of the finish.
I'll
know next time to use a different finish but in the mean while the box
still smells. Is there anything I can do besides wait?
The
finish was Minwax Wood Finish (natural) to seal the wood followed
with a couple of coats of Minwax Finishing Wax for Dark Wood. I
like the effect this finish gives but the residual odor in this case is
intolerable."
from:
John "owliver" White
WOOD
FINISHES: EXTERIOR FINISHES
Painted
figures (artist acrylics):
Coat
with several layers of acrylic wax ( you know, the clear liquid kind for
floors), then alternate carnuba wax with acrylic wax for several coats.
The carnuba acts as a filler that allows for a complete seal.
I did
a half life sized angel this way from a spruce pole. (I cast a concrete
bottom directly to the log, using lag screws and nails as anchors) I warned
the owner it would probably crack if left outside but he felt that would
add to its folk art type appeal. After two Nova Scotia winters it still
looks like it did when first finished. Given that it is a log rather than
laminated I think luck played a role in this one.
Driftwood,
natural finish:
"First
coat is carnuba wax and alternating coats of acrylic and carnuba form the
seal. I find this less successful since there are so many defects in the
driftwood, but the result is acceptable.
I have
deliberately avoided using fiberglass or epoxy and am curious if others
have used these."
from:
Clifton
Sears, Barrington, Nova Scotia, Canada
EXTERIOR
FINISH -- enhanced by the effects of weather
"Acrylic
is good although I tend to avoid using color on exterior carvings. I always
had a mind that the best woodcarver in the country today, yesterday, tomorrow
and forever is the weather. Sometimes (and, yes, I admit it's a crap shoot)
the weather can really enhance the carvings throughout the years--nothing
is permanent."
Julian
B. Donovan
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CARVING
TECHNIQUES: CARVING GREEN OR WET WOOD
"In
Germany most of the artisans carving figures or animals did so in
Spruce
wood that they kept wet. They even had cut out blanks immersed in water
inside a big plastic jug. They pull the blanks out of the jug and start
carving while the wood was soaking wet!! "- from: Bill Fifer
"I
took a seminar with Dave Sobol, a carver who uses only sopping wet wood,
mostly pine. We kept the carvings wet while working by periodic spraying
with water, and overnight by spraying and sealing them in plastic bags.
Keep it cool to avoid mold, but I was told that a mild bleach solution
takes care of that if it occurs." - from: Howard aka waldo
"Dry
holly
is rock hard but green holly cuts cleanly and easily. The problem comes
in drying it since holly will split really fast. It will break your heart
to see your carving slit up badly. So I still work holly dry, but it is
definitely worth experimenting with working green and coming up with a
reliable drying method" - from: Jean Lotz
"I
have heard that many old cajun decoy carvers prefer to carve tupelo
gum soaking wet. They also only use the very bottom "underwater" portion
of the tree" - from: Jean Lotz
"To
hold my work in progress and for the NUKE DRY IT technique, I like to get
a thick plastic bag, like a Sear's bag rather than a trash bag, because
it doesn't seem to get as hot and controls the moisture loss better. I
also keep my carvings covered with a bag whenever I'm not actually carving.
Even if I just come into the house to fix something to drink I cover it
back up. This also slows the rate of moisture loss and helps to control
checking. I know it sounds insignificant, but every little bit helps when
you are working with green butternut, and I'm sure it would with
other woods too" - from: Mike Wells.
CARVING
BUTTERNUT WET:
"Put
that power stuff away, sharpen up the gouges and try carving fresh cut,
wet butternut. The wetter the better. It's like carving an apple." Mike
Wells
"I
really like to use butternut for chip carving. I think it carves nicer
than basswood and the grain is really fantastic. I believe that the wetter
the better is true. When I chip carve I can really tell when it is too
dry because the cross-grain cuts really start to break up. If I put it
in a plastic bag with a wet sponge for awhile it really cuts nice. I'll
have to try soaking some in water and then try carving it!" - From: Jeff
Fleisher
"The
idea of putting dry butternut in a bag with wet sponges sounds like its
worth a try. I still have the other half of the piece I had a problem with,
so I'll try that. It would seem difficult to find the wood in that state
if you purchase it. Oh well, my short carving career has given me poison
ivy, poison oak, bloody digits (fingers, I never carve in my lap), sore
shoulders, tinnitus, slivers, a pissed off wife when I use her microwave
to evict any tenant living in the wood, so why not bags of wet butternut."
- from: Mike Sadkin - Liberator of WoodSpirits
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SHARPENING
TRADITIONAL CARVING TOOLS
"A
sharp knife cuts wood better, a dull knife cuts skin faster"!!!!!!
A dull
knife is dangerous because you loose control when it slides off a piece
of wood.
Jim
Swank advises beginning carvers to "aim for
clean carving. I hate
to pick up a piece with promise and find fuzz and miscuts showing in the
details."
TESTS
FOR SHARPNESS:
-
"A
thumbnail - hold your tool nearly vertical, and let the edge rest vertically
on the nail under it's own weight. If it shows no inclination to slide,
it's sharp enough to keep working with.
-
Test
blocks of wood - At my sharpening jig, I keep a couple scrap basswood
2x2 blocks. After sharpening, if I can shave a paper thin curl across the
end grain that will make a full circle without breaking, and the blade
leaves no tracks, it is sharp." Jim
SHARPENING
AND STROPPING OPTIONS:
There
is a lot of superstition around letting your edge tools get magnetized.
"I have heard from old timers that it is bad to let your tools get magnetized,
because it interferes in the sharpening process. You can get a de-magnetizer,
but maybe magnets should just be kept away from our traditional carving
tools. "Woodcraft uses this sort of magnetic tool rack to display their
carving tools, but the older salesmen will always get one out of the cabinet
for you." Larry Jaques
Sharpening
with Stones:
Everyone
develops his favorite sharpening methods and finds stones that he prefers
over others.
Power
Sharpening Station:
-
A home-made
outfit turning a set of Frizell's Razor-Sharp wheels (8") at about 550
rpm. One wheel has 220 grit on it, the other is plain slotted cardboard
which I charge with white rouge for honing. I also have a muslin buff wheel
at the one end.
-
I have
a sharpening machine that I bought from John Burke. (Ferd Nordrum makes
a similar one) It consists of a motor driven spindle with three wheels
mounted on it. On the first wheel is 80 grit sandpaper for rough grinding
and initial sharpening, on the second is 120 grit for finer sharpening
and on the third is a leather strop charged up with a polishing compound
for putting that final razor edge on it. Then on the outside is a big old
fat cotton buffing wheel for removing the burr. I can't begin to tell how
much that machine has changed my life! Now I can take a gouge that is about
as sharp as a butter knife and have it shaving hair in about a minute.
Best investment I have made in carving yet. Now I spend my time carving
instead of sharpening. Mike Wells
Stropping:
-
"I like
Ted Kona's powerstrop and his compound. It works well for me." Julian
B. Donovan
-
Can you
over-strop? No, but eventually stropping reaches a point of diminishing
returns and you need to go back to the stone. Once the bevel is established
by a grinding wheel or sharpening stone, a buffing wheel charged with jeweler's
rouge may be used to keep the edge surgically sharp.
"The
trick is to buff in the opposite direction of sharpening. If you do it
the wrong way, the tool will dig into the buffing wheel and be hurled at
you at an area 3 to 4" below your belly button (Yes guys, that was what
I meant)." Robin Trudel
| "Eventually
stropping reaches a point of diminishing returns and you need to go back
to the stone. To understand this you need to zoom in with your imagination
and look at the leather and the blade edge as they meet. The very edge
of your blade should have a "V" shaped chisel edge. When you strop, the
action does polish, but if you look very closely, you will see that there
is a pretty abrupt change of angle between the blade edge and the leather
as it passes. Think of it as the depression your foot makes in the carpet.
The result of this is that it slowly changes the angle of your chisel edge,
and makes it rounder right at the cutting edge. Take something thin and
flat and slowly run it over your palm. Look at how the skin curls up abruptly
as it comes out from under the object. The angle right at the edge is quite
steep, and the strop slowly translates that into your tool.
You
will see this while carving. A fresh sharpened edge might go for an hour
before back to the strop. But slowly that hour goes down to 30 minutes,
and less. The trade off is that you can push using the strop for a long
time, but then you pay for it in the resharpening since you have more steel
to take of to get back to the "V" chisel edge. Or you can go back to the
stone sooner but get an edge back with just a couple of licks on the stone.
All comes down to personal pref and I suppose the characteristics of your
tool and sharpening style and equipment." from:
Cris Nelson |
"More
on those micro tools. I have two of Dennis Moor's ceramic sharpening stones
and his chip carving knives to try out. I am very enthusiastic about these
stones for sharpening and honing my carving gouges. They do not need any
lubrication - a clean up after each session with a scotchbrite and some
kitchen cleansing creme works like magic to clean off the abraded metal.
These stones are great for those micro tools. You can see instantly where
the tool needs some extra attention. When sharpening gouges I use a figure
of eight action as I find I get a much smoother bevel this way. The arm
action becomes very rhythmical resulting in an even result. This also works
with the micro tools but only a slight wrist action is needed due to the
tiny (minute) size of the sweep of the gouges. You will find them ideal
for the miniature work and detail on small animal/figure carvings. By keeping
them honed well I actually prefer these for carving, even in very dense
timbers, to the action of Dremel burrs which can tear at the timber too
much...." from: Ainslie Pyne
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CHIP
CARVING TIPS
NICKS
ON THE SURFACE
If
you start seeing nicks on the surface of your chip carving, the problem
is you are digging your thumbnail into the wood on the surface while making
your knife cuts. Your nails do not have to be long to nick the wood. Try
wrapping your thumb on your knife hand with tape or use either a rubber
thumb or leather thumb guard on your thumb.
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TOOL
STORAGE IDEAS
-
Line
your work table top with non-skid rubber stuff: I place this on my
work bench and it saves a lot of problems due to the non slip properties.
I sit some of my relief panels straight onto it and the panel stays in
place as you carve without having to clamp it down. Nothing rolls off it
including tools.
-
Modify
an old brief case to hold carving tools : fit it with two wooden trays
with slots for individual tools (might want to make a few extras to sell
when you attend classes -- others will see them and prefer buying to making
their own).
"My
carving tools are in a brief case. I have placed thin plywood sheets that
fit into the briefcase about an inch away from the flat outside. On this
plywood I have glued, pop riveted simple elastic bands available from any
fabric store. This allows each tool I have to have its own place, I also
use the Velcro from the fabric store to secure each tool. I have changed
it so many times that it is a wonder that anything stays in place but it
is so tightly packed that nothing moves very much"....Robert Autison
FUNNY
NOTE: Try walking that case onto an airplane some time. It'll wake up the
security folks and make them feel wanted.
-
large
tackle box / tool box
-
Robin's
traveling tool boxes: "When I travel I leave the mallet tools at home.
I have my Harman mushroom style hand gouges in tackle boxes that measure
about 6x8 with two to a slot, spoon style. I can fit two of them in a Rubbermaid
toolbox under the tray. In the tray I keep my knives. I can usually squeak
in a small blank or too. I also have a wheeled thing from Rubbermaid that
I put my carvings in when I'm going to a fair/show." From: Robin Trudel
-
Modify
one of those rolling plastic set of drawers four shallow and two deep:
"I took a 2" wide piece of 1/4 maple, drilled 1 inch holes every 1/2 niche,
then split it and hot glued pieces into the drawer. My tools are all nice
and neat and since it is so handy I put the tools back into the open drawers
between cuts." From: Robin Trudel
-
Warehouse
rolling bin: "Picked up a large black plastic rectangular bucket which
I use for the Dremel gear. I found it at the Dremel agency. They use them
on trolleys when the fill back orders. Simply roll them around the aisles
taking products of shelves and tossing them into the bin as they fill each
customers order. Approx. half as big again as the type of plastic babies
baths you can buy. Ideal for using in the trunk (boot) of the car as you
can load it in easily and see instantly what is inside!" From: Ainslie
Pyne
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LOTZ DOLL PAGES | DOLL
MAKING PAGES
JEAN
LOTZ'S FINISHING TECHNIQUES (Lotz)
