Al Clark, the Woodcarver's Den

[mdallensr]

I used to sign and date mine with my wood-burner, but now use an electric branding iron my wife had made for me....

[mdallensr]

I'm convinced there is only one fruitcake ever made. It's handed off to some pour, unsuspecting soul who saves it for next year and gives it to some other pour, unsuspecting soul. No one ever eats it. Some may add a little rum or brandy. My friends wife ended up with the one-and-only fruitcake,...

[mdallensr]

Al Clark died Sunday, September 3, 2017. Al and Juanita Clark sponsored and produced the Bellevue Woodcarver's Show for over 20 years, sold woodcarving supplies, and taught lessons in their shop. Al and Juanita worked tirelessly to promote woodcarving, not just locally but throughout Ohio and our...

[mdallensr]

If you follow some of the pros, you'll see them set-in by outlining with a V-tool (for the vertical half of the stop cut), then completing the stop cut with a deep gouge run horizontally to the V-cut....

[mdallensr]

Wood carving is a way to express ourselves in a tangible way. I don't "see" anything in wood; I use wood to create a carving. I come up with an idea, often inspired by other carvers or library searches, and then create a design. I formalize the design with scale drawings, including orthogonal...

[mdallensr]

Bill Janney teaches gun stock carving. I sat through a brief seminar with him and was amazed at how easy he made it look. He has self-adhesive patterns that you apply and carve through. His work is almost all power carving with very high-speed burrs. If I wanted to get serious about gun stock carving,...

[mdallensr]

I wood burn my bear's fur....

[mdallensr]

Most of my full size tools are Pfeil, and they're nearly always ready to carve, but I have several other brands that weren't ready to carve, some not even close. I had to regrind the bevel on some Henry Taylor tools that were sharp and had good shape, but were just to blunt (more than 25 degrees)....

[mdallensr]

I took a two-week course from Chris Pye up in Maine, and his advice was to use the largest gouge or chisel that worked. Why make 2 or 3 cuts when you can get it done with one? And you do have better control of a large tool that a smaller one. I'm going to chance offending a few carvers, but if you...

[mdallensr]

Dave, I'd use shellac for the sealer, rather than any water-based product. Mike

[mdallensr]

Michelle, if you're going to use mallet tools, the rule of thumb for standing work is to have the work bench at the same height as your elbow, or just a little below. Lower than that and you'll bend more at the waist, and that's not good for your back. If you're going to sit and carve at that bench,...

[mdallensr]

If you want to put wax on an unfinished carving, try heating it with a blow dryer or heat gun after applying a liberal amount. It will liquefy the wax and let it soak in to the wood. Buff when dry. Mike

[mdallensr]

I put a wax finish on most of my carvings, but I apply a tung oil finish first. The wax takes the shine off of the oil finish and leaves the luster you're looking for....

[mdallensr]

More likely having them done in S. E. Asia....

[mdallensr]

I wonder if they're CNC carving those patterns?...