carving

[paddles]

I was thinking of carving my broomstick (don't ask, you don't want to know) but was thinking I'd like to mark out some of the areas that I'm thinking of carving first. what would be the best way of doing this? thick black texta? pencil? does anybody else mark it out first?

ANY carving advice would be appreciated.

[kvan64]

You could use anything that can leave marks on the bark. Unless you have a very steady hand, it's hard to strictly stick to the mark anyway

Edit: I used a whiteboard marker for big stumps and just a blue biro pen for smaller specimens.

[Jamie]

chalk mate

not sure why you would carve a broom stick but if it floats ya boat go for it

[paddles]

someone, who shall remain nameless, pointed out that I had polished up the top of my deodora very nicely, just like a broomstick

so I have decided to name that tree, "broomstick" in rememberance of my first carving attempt (eventually it won't resemble a polished broomstick, hopefully)

I was looking at a potensia, and reading a Kimura book, and thinking about having a go....

[Jamie]

good stuff pads

just remember to take it slo and step back and look at the tree every now and then to see how it is going

look forward to seeing how you go, take pics when ya done


jamie

[paddles]

When carving green wood, how the heck do you stop the bits on the dremel getting clogged?????

[Jamie]

i just stop the tool every now and again and clean it out. otherwise wait for the deadwood to dry out some

[IS2SXC]

remember to not go dremel mad like me hahhahahha i dremelled all through the night

its hard to stop

remember to leave a way for water to run down so u dont have pools and cause rotting

some nice curves to make depth and shadows

[MelaQuin]

There is a product you can buy if you are keen on carving. It is a liquid called 'Blade Saver' and costs about $32 for the bottle. That's why I say you have to be keen. Put some in a small container, drop your bits in and the packed wood starts floating away and then use a wire brush to remove the rest. I dip and brush, dip and brush until the bit is clean. Much easier than simply brushing and if you do a lot of carving the Blade Saver is worth the cost. If you do just a little carving... well... brush, brush, brush. A cooking skewer is also good to pick out the bits. Some woods aren't a problem but any wood with oil in it... like olive.. is a bitch for clogging.