Nice job L.J. Where's the saw pic and how long did it take you (actual cut time)? I would imagine there would be a lot of study time aside from cutting to keep proportions right.
Here's the saw , picked it up on ebay for uner 150.00 with another parts saw(runs also), hard case, regular 3/8 16" bar, 3 extra 3/8 chains, 2 new filters, and 1 extra starter. I guess I was at the right place at the right time.
Actual cut time was 45 minutes. Then I spent another 30 minutes detailing it with my rotary tool. I tried to carve out some eyes but this thing was alittle small for that, so I drilled some holes and epoxied in some black marbles for the eyes. I first took the torch to it, but I had put too many Detail marks in it. The burning made them stand out from the light/dark contrast. So I then painted it with some black spray paint and sealed it with 3 coats of spar urethane.
I hurt my back last week and was down for a few days so I got out some modeling clay and made a flattened tool from some florist wire, similar to the blade of my chainsaw. I then practiced some of the subractive carving that is required in a non forgiving substance like the wood. It certainly helped , but the ears on my first bear still turned out a little out of proportion.
Theres definately a learning curve and I can imagine that the type of wood you are using plays a huge role in the ease and/or difficulty of your finished project. I carved three other heads in two other types of green wood with less than promising results. I simply dont have access to any cured wood at this time.
1) Siberian Elm- frayed out very badly (even with a fresh edge on chain)
2) Pecan- seemed to work a little better but tears or splinters easily. Almost immediatlely started checking out. Within a few hours ther were alredy 1/8" splits in the head.
3) Walnut- Seemed to be like cutting in butter compared to the other two. Nice smooth cutting an minimal tearing or frays. Even after setting for several hours no signs of checking. I sealed everything but the bottom of the sculpture and stil no signs of any checking anywhere.
I just finished detailing number two and will try to finish him up today.
It is definately a very fun and rewarding pastime/hobby and I love the fact that I get to add to my collection of saws. Hopefully the extra cash that I can produce will afford me a new Redmax carver, we'll see!
