Looking for ideas!

[BeckyN]

I am planning on carving out a eagle feather, a few testers, first, not full size yet. I would like a torched finish, but not sure how to achieve it without a charcoal feather.
Any suggestions? I don't want to burn it with my woodburner, I am wanting a more darker all-over look.
I have tried danish oil, it comes out dull and the ebony stain I have is way too black for a proper eagle feather.
what do you guys think? If you can decipher my blabbering

[Glenn Jennings]

Hi Becky
A lot of it will depend on what wood you intend using and how that wood reacts to different proccesses. If it is basswood Then perhaps try :

Watercolour paint diluted to a high colour wash and accent it with a dark brown or thin black watercolour then oil over the lot to fix the colour .

Set your pyrography unit fairly hot to get a good medium to dark burn ans accent it with dilute ebony stain. I would almost dry brush it on just to give the hint of darker colour. Then oil it. I think this would be a long lasting durable finish. Using the pyrography unit (or soldering iron with a very fine tip if you don't have a pyro unit.) will also give you quite a bit of control over thedepth of colour you get.

Would do a couple of test pieces on scrap first just to see how it goes.

Hope this helps.

[BeckyN]

It would have to be willow, as te poplar is way too green to work with.
I think the biggest problem is it's all green wood. It costs way to much to ship basswood way up here.
I want a nice natural look, while still keeping the grooves, without it being dull, or plastic looking.
this is the grooved look I am leaning towards.
For some reason I can't delete the swan pic, so ignore that. The black feathers are the torched ones, I didn't like the result .

[joepaulbutler]

What about a small propane torch, it would be easy to control

[Nebraska]

If you decide to torch I would suggest butane 2400* over propane 3600*. I think the lower temperature would give more control also butane torches are readily available in smaller sizes. This is just an opinion I have no experience in using my carvings in a controlled burn. :-)

[Randy]

Hi Becky, I am not sure how it would work on the wood you have but wet painting is a way of painting I learned from Lynn Doughty. Rather than trying to explain it this is a you tube that you can see how. test it on some of the willow. Hope it is helpful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fh-lXNFw38

[DiLeon]

I think perhaps what your looking for is a stain in a lighter color stain?. But I do not know what your end results look like as there are thousands of choices. Go on your search engine and put in wood carved feathers stain and then go to images on the search engine. Look at all the photos find one you sort of like, if you do not know how to make yours look like it, I can help. Another search would be wood carved feathers...what you are looking for is something you sort of like so you can move in that direction. When you get a photo you can say I like this but want it lighter or darker, or I want to make the groves in the feather look deeper or I want something like this only more creative. This helps you move forward to what you want.


So if you want this kind of look of these real eagle feathers. I would use black acrylic and white acrylic paints to stain the wood. I would use thin layers of paint in order to stain. Paint the whole thing white let dry and dry brush the top surfaces with black. If that does not work then try to reverse it by painting all black let dry ... the white using super thin down the paint with water and flood the groves in the areas. I wanted to see white in the groves...you must have to wipe rags or paper towels to fast wipe-off surfaces and then dry brush the surface with the white in areas that you want. As far of too dull...I would spray finish to your choice of shine. This method needs experiments and trying different things until you get the hang of it. Another method is to take the black feather that is burnt and try this out by putting a very thin out white into the groves and top areas letting it dry You want too light vs too dark in grooves, as I can always add more by doing it again. If you get white in an area you do not want them dry brush it black. What you are doing is two methods dry brush and stain. If you do not understand what I am talking about I will post videos if I can find them. I am a big fan of staining groves and dry brushing color on top... in my work using natural wood colors.

[DiLeon]

I taught ceramic painting classes when I was fresh out of high school. This is how I learn dry brushing which means adding color to the surfaces and not groves of your work. The technique is actually the same for wood carvings. She used a soft fuzzy brush, I use a stiff brush that has more control of the area I want the color she is working with black and white acrylics. I think everyone should learn to dry brush and also learn how to stain or antique your work. It really makes your painting pop when doing wood carving paintings.

.

[Claude]

Thanks, Di! Very clear explanation!

[DiLeon]

These videos are for ceramic but the method is the same for wood how to paint, how to stain only special areas. I do not always spray or finish before adding a stain color but it makes sure the color does not stain the color you painted on and you can wipe it clean. I think using a variety of techniques on a painted wood carving adds extra if you are sanding your carvings. Something to ponder for now or the future in ideas.

[BeckyN]

If you decide to torch I would suggest butane 2400* over propane 3600*. I think the lower temperature would give more control also butane torches are readily available in smaller sizes. This is just an opinion I have no experience in using my carvings in a controlled burn. :-)

Luckily he has an adjustable one, I will try it! Thanks!

[BeckyN]

Okay, I split enough wood to try everyone's ideas! Thank you! Will post results! Hoping the artists lofts acrylic paint I have is suitable!

[BeckyN]

Okay, painting is literally not my thing
Makes for good kindling tho!
I tried everyone, unfortunately I wasn't born with paint patience. I did invent new swear words tho!
I grabbed the adjustable torch, and pissed off, I oiled another test feather and went out in -42 and torched it wet. It actually didn't turn out too bad. The gouging wasn't wide enough and the flane was too big. The houges were too light aldo. So the last pic is my second to last feather, and it is freezing overnight, and I will oil and torch it tmrw in -50c
might need a better oil to torch, as the linseed oil seems to not torch in the grooves. But the last pic I made them wider. First pics are the test torches and depth tests. I only kept them for comparison. After, they will be humanly euthanized

[joepaulbutler]

Becky, do you have access to any power carving? If so I might suggest the "knife-edge" burr, you could add a little more to the feathers vanes. I don't how well it would burn, maybe too much????????
Tools-And-Equipment/ Burs-And-Drills/ Burs/ Tungsten-Vanadium/ Knife-Edge

IN STOCKBusch® Tungsten Vanadium Knife-Edge Cutter Bur, 6mm

[BeckyN]

I can't do power with the arthritis pain unfortunately. And I really prefer being a hand carver.
On a side note, after sending off the gnome mushroom bunch, I got zero from the recipient. I was gifting it, but thought at least an I received it msg would have been nice?
I am really cutting back on my gifted work.
I would love to frick around with the dremel, but will wait until my hands cooperate

[BeckyN]

Becky, do you have access to any power carving? If so I might suggest the "knife-edge" burr, you could add a little more to the feathers vanes. I don't how well it would burn, maybe too much????????
Tools-And-Equipment/ Burs-And-Drills/ Burs/ Tungsten-Vanadium/ Knife-Edge

IN STOCKBusch® Tungsten Vanadium Knife-Edge Cutter Bur, 6mm

Is that referring to the feathering?
I am purposely not putting tons of details in. but should there be more to make it better?
thank you!