Fur or Not?

[jartzh]

Same piece of live oak I have been wrestling with for the big and little pelican. I missed the orientation of the grain so its "cross grained". I have 2 options. either sand it down smooth or cut fur into it. This wood eats sandpaper and then burns so sanding would take the same amount of time as firring. I dont want my otter to look like a wooly bear either. thoughts? its about 32" long. weighs a ton.

its one of those pieces that I dread. it looked better before I smoothed it and polyurathaned. so basicly I am just trying to salvage it.

[telecarver]

Re: Fur or Not?

An otter in that position would be wet so it's fur would be slicked down. Adding fur would have to be very subtle to look authentic. My vote would be to leave it smooth. If the wood is burning when sanded, the tool you are using must be traveling too fast. Slow the tool down until it doesn't burn. Also move the sander around so the wood can cool. Some airbrush staining to add selected shadows and a satin urethane finish would help.

[Brian T]

Re: Fur or Not?

I agree with telecarver. There's an anticipation that, being an otter, they are wet and slick/smooth. Their fur is so fine, you'd go nuts trying to avoid black-bear-fuzzy.

If your sanding medium is plugging up then friction goes up, heating goes up and things start to cook. I've just learned how valuable it is to clean abrasive media (sand papers and grinding stones) with a crepe rubber stick. Saves a lot of time and money.

[jartzh]

Re: Fur or Not?

My one thought is that I would spend a lot of time sanding out the scratches and burns and then end up with a hard looking figure. I want it to look soft so I thought of fur. I was thinking of how feathers soften up a decoy. But you are correct in that I dont want a woolly bear.
I will think about it this weekend and show you my final answer monday.(unless it ends up in the fireplace)


Thanks for the input.

[telecarver]

Re: Fur or Not?

The feathers on many decoys are done with a burning tool to get the minute lines. Because the lines are so small and the feathers are carved so shallowly, they appear soft. The burning leaves black marks so it works best on a painted carving.

[jartzh]

Re: Fur or Not?

Played with this thing for a while and then just went for it. Kind of like it. the furring did soften it up and hid the scratches. I even did a black paint "wash" to accent the fir. I scooped out the back so hopefully it wont crack too much- at least no giant cracks.I think its finished. Maybe I have a new style.

[Brian T]

Re: Fur or Not?

You've changed the fundamental agreement between my head and your carving. A positive gesture of realism is an improvement. Darker and a suggestion of fur. Mechanically, relieving the back is a very good idea, totem-pole style.
Just to be my usual [email protected], how might you fit a real abalone shell in the paws?

[Donsexton]

Re: Fur or Not?

I like it the way it is great job