dlcarver's Blog at LumberJocks.com http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog Sat, 17 May 2008 16:02:59 GMT WEDDING CROSS OR CANA CROSS http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog/4681 I have been carving Wedding Crosses, or Marriage Crosses for probably about 35 years now. Of course they must be custom made, and I need about 2 weeks to do one. They are usually made from white pine wood, and are 15” long x 10” across x 3/4” thick stock. It is self explanitory actually with the interlocking rings of marriage and the man’s first name on the left cross bar, and the girl’s first name on the right cross bar. Then under the rings down the vertical cross beam goes the month, the day of the month, and the year of marriage. These are also used for Anniversaries. I have also made them for special ocassions with out the interlocked rings with other printing marking the ocassion. I have also painted the lettering and rings Gold before, marking Golden Anniversaries.

I urge everyone to respect my right of design…. I have never seen another design like this with the names and dates. Thank You! ......... If you wish to order one please contact me… with shipping I would like to have 3 weeks notice.

Here is the layout in pencil

Here I have the top routed about 1/8” deep with a 1/4” bit. I usually start from the outside edges and route towards the center of the cross.

After routing pine the project has the fuzzies all over where routed. My next step is to remove these furry edges so the router can cut the proper depth with the 1/8” bit.
The next 2 photos show the fuzzies.


This picture shows the 1/4” to 1/8” adapter I made to hold my 1/8” bit in my 1/4” router chuck. I use to do this part with a Dremel tool routing attachment, but I couldn’t keep one from blowing up … I use to keep 3 of them on hand, just for that purpose. I used a piece of thick wall brass tubing that just fit both the router and the bit. Then cut a slot the length of the brass tubing…. the tightening of the router locking nut puts pressure enough on the brass tube to hold the bit firm. The next picture just shows the assembly mounted in the router.


This next step with photo #7 shows me stop cutting the rings, then rounding the rings with the same gouge tool(I use 2 or 3 different size gouges), but leaving the tool marks which show the hand work being done. Each corner within the rings are more deeply relieved to show more seperation from each other. They must look like they overlap each other.

Step 8 and 9 shows me doing the background of the lettering with a small round grinder in my flexible shaft Foredom. The round bit keeps the gouge handcarved look. As I get older and weaker, I must devise easier ways of doing some things. I also need to make a profit…. but I still do some larger (and smaller) projects entirely by hand. That’s the real fun part!


Step 10 I am tracing around all of the lines of the rings with a small V tool ( which does exactly as it indicates). It gives the lines a nice crisp look. ( This is a real trick, to carve with one hand and take a picture with the other). Something I have never done before.

This pic simply shows the type of bits used for this operation. I go over the whole background area removing the marks made by the router bit…. (giving the cross more of a handcarved effect, which it really is)

The next step I mark the center of the back by extending the cross sections all the way through, then tracing diagonal lines through the square and I have the exact center for a keyhole for hanging…. (so it will not hang whap-sided).

Here, I show the next part I will be routing, and the depth….from the back side… (the dark penciled in area), I leave about 1/8th inch for the rings to stay attached to the cross beams.

This pic shows my unique 1/4” bit (the best you will ever encounter)

This one shows the depth of my first cut… about 3/8” deep. .....I do this operation in 2 cuts to get to the rings.

Here, I use a 1/2” V tool to clear the corners behind the rings on the back side.

The corners are clear

After the corners are cleared, it will leave a webbing in the corners of the rings… I hold the cross up to the light over head, and use my pen knife to remove the webbing, which will free the rings from their “locked in wood mode ”, and look free standing. Shown in this pic from the front side.

I am setting the depth of my keyhole bit for hanging….. leave about a 1/8” lip for screw to grip.
  1. 22 shows the keyhole finished. The large part of the hole is the actual size of bit…. the part of the shank above the bit is also a cutter, allowing you to push the bit under the surface of the wood however far you care to, (to allow enough under surface to hold project) going no less than slightly more than the screw head diameter…..... which will probably be the diameter of the large hole.

    Then I take a pen knife and remove all sharp edges around the perimeters and sharpen the deep corners of my “N’s” and “M’s” and anywhere else that needs to be cleared.

    NOTE:
    Before finishing, I run the whole cross (ever so slightly) over the contour sander (or flapper) to remove any (straggler fuzzies), or properly called deburring. I also mix up a mixture of about 1 to 1 elmers white glue and water….. ( a little bit thicker is fine if you want the color of the wood to show through) In this case I wanted to just lighten the surface of the letters somewhat. I paint this mixture on the face of the letters and the rings….. so they stand out and are more readable.

    Another view.

    ANOTHER NOTE:
    I was urged by a couple of L J people to do a video, so not having the equipment nor the personel to do this I decided to do it in still life….. It also gives you a chance to look at some back ground and etceteras.
    I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED THIS SERIES!!! Thanks for your time!!! Dave
    PS. For some odd ball reason the first layout picture would not come out the size of the others….(I tried about 25 times) the pics are not like the originals….. I have not perfected that yet. Resizing does not seem to make the difference. Perhaps someone knows????
    Please notice that I use my no slip sandpaper trick for this whole project…. That I speak of in another blog.
]]> Sat, 17 May 2008 16:02:59 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog/4681 dlcarver This is amazing, a one man wrecking crew ! http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog/4208 I don’t know if any of you guys got this yet in your emails, but you just have to see this. You can clear the whole forest in minutes. I COULDN’T BELIEVE MY EYES!!!
DAVE

Subject: John Deere Model 1270 A Woodsman’s Machine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei9LlLLZwAU

]]> Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:29:01 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog/4208 dlcarver pics for routing tip (REVISED) http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog/4112 Here is a tip for some jocks who have to do a lot of routing on smaller and quick projects, especially if they are making small signs. This tip can be used on larger projects as well with a little adaptation. I learned of this from a little old sign maker about 30 years ago. I met him at a craft show…. I was carving and he was making signs. He was routing signs on the table top without using any clamps. I thought, “Boy is that cool or what? ” What he did was take two strips of sand paper and glue them back to back, then lay the sign on them…. placing the sand paper at each end, just a few inches in ….... the pressure down, or the weight of the router kept the signs from sliding while routing. You can see in pictures #4 and #5 that I am doing projects as small as 2” x 3”. You can also use this tip for routing molding around plaques as long as the bits don’t go below the thickness of the wood you are routing. Although I am due to change sand paper, I have been using the same one for about 30 years now. I improvised some what, by taking a 6” x 48” medium grit sanding belt and clamping it to my work bench at each end. This set up could slide easily without the clamps…. BUT THE WORK WILL NOT SLIDE. I use this system every other day, so it is probably one of the most useful tips I have ever picked up from anyone. I made a 1/4” clear plastic face plate for my router so I could see more clearly the small projects and the lines I have to follow. I never bought a router with out a light after the first one without the light. I’m sure there are jocks out there that know this little trick….... but I bet there are a lot more that don’t know of it. ENJOY




]]> Sat, 05 Apr 2008 10:47:36 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog/4112 dlcarver ROUTING TIP http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog/4108 Here is a tip for some jocks who have to do a lot of routing on smaller and quick projects, especially if they are making small signs. This tip can be used on larger projects as well with a little adaptation. I learned of this from a little old sign maker about 30 years ago. I met him at a craft show…. I was carving and he was making signs. He was routing signs on the table top without using any clamps. I thought, “Boy is that cool or what? ” What he did was take two strips of sand paper and glue them back to back, then lay the sign on them…. placing the sand paper at each end, just a few inches in ….... the pressure down, or the weight of the router kept the signs from sliding while routing. You can see in pictures #4 and #5 that I am doing projects as small as 2” x 3”. You can also use this tip for routing molding around plaques as long as the bits don’t go below the thickness of the wood you are routing. Although I am due to change sand paper, I have been using the same one for about 30 years now. I improvised some what, by taking a 6” x 48” medium grit sanding belt and clamping it to my work bench at each end. This set up could slide easily without the clamps…. BUT THE WORK WILL NOT SLIDE. I use this system every other day, so it is probably one of the most useful tips I have ever picked up from anyone. I made a 1/4” clear plastic face plate for my router so I could see more clearly the small projects and the lines I have to follow. I never bought a router with out a light after the first one without the light. I’m sure there are jocks out there that know this little trick….... but I bet there are a lot more that don’t know of it. ENJOY!

]]> Sat, 05 Apr 2008 00:57:40 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog/4108 dlcarver My postings http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog/3973 I just wanted to clear up the fact that I have been posting items, or projects that I have done in the past…. recently as well as the passed 40 years. Some of them are my own personal collection…. probably never to be replicated. A comment was made to me that “I have really been producing.” I do ok for an “old foggie ”, but there is no way I can be putting it out as fast as I am listing it. ... even if I am retired and don’t have anything to do…..a…ummm….. yeah… right. I’m so busy now I don’t know when I ever found time to work. I have been just trickling projects into my gallery a little at a time….... rather than over powering the site. Don’t know if that makes any sense or not. I want everyone in the world to appreciate my work. I wish I had pictures of the altars that I carved back in the early ‘60s’ . So I urge you to be anxious with me as I will be showing some of my earliest carvings, as well as the first. The first one needs a little repair work.
THANK YOU ALL YOU GUYS FOR ALL OF THE FINE COMMENTS YOU GIVE ME AS I APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU GOING OUT OF YOUR WAY TO TELL ME ABOUT IT. MOOCHO GRATIAS!
(I know that’s probably spelled wrong, sorry!)

DAVE

]]> Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:50:35 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog/3973 dlcarver Tip for paint or varnish cans http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog/3957

I am trying out my photobucket to see how this thing works, and at the same time make it something useful. Most of you older foggies probably already know this tip. To keep paint or varnish from collecting in the chanel around the top of the can where the lid fits in….. take a nail and make holes around the chanel about an inch or so apart and the paint or varnish will drain back into the can….. instead of drying in the chanel and making the can unsealable with the lid.
NOTE: The bigger the can the bigger the nail
Click on the link above…. if it works…..Dave
PS. YEA IT WORKED. !!!

]]> Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:55:47 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog/3957 dlcarver CORECTION, my web site http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog/3890 I’m sorry folks. I know a lot of people have been trying to bring up my web site, and couldn’t. The only thing I can say is that , because I am not computer salvey, I wrote it as an email address rather than a web site, in other words the (http://) was not included. That has been corected and it now works great now. Thanks for your patience!!! PLEASE DO TRY IT FOR YOUR SELF. ........Dave

]]> Wed, 19 Mar 2008 11:03:54 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog/3890 dlcarver Panda Bear http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog/3874 Sorry Folks, I will have to retake these pics of the panda…. I wanted to try to keep feeding you with some of my past projects.

]]> Mon, 17 Mar 2008 21:47:55 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog/3874 dlcarver FOR SALE http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog/3821 HI EVERYONE !!!

PS. I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT EVERYTHING I LIST IN MY GALLERY IS FOR SALE (OR ONE SIMILAR).... UNLESS IT IS MARKED NFS. (NOT FOR SALE) IN THE TITLE DISCRIPTION. IF INTERESTED, EMAIL ME. I AM NOT EXPENSIVE FOR THE QUALITY OF WORK I DO, BUT I DO HAVE SOME RATHER EXPENSIVE ITEMS…. AS SOME MAY THINK. I ONLY ACCEPT PAYPAL…. WHO IN TURN WILL ACCEPT ALMOST ANY CREDIT CARD. THANKS DAVE!

]]> Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:23:16 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog/3821 dlcarver How I do it http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog/3819 Actually Ron, I use whatever tool will do the job… especially if it’s faster. Time is my enemy. Yes I do use a foredom (flexible shaft)grinder for an awful lot of my work….. but I still do hand work too to a great degree. I refuse to give up the hand work entirely. As I have gotten older, it has become more and more dificult physically. I do some roughing out on the band saw, and belt sander as well. I may just put this in my blog, as others probably are also wondering. Thanks. Dave

]]> Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:10:09 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/dlcarver/blog/3819 dlcarver