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Evolution of a stump: From natures sculpture to mine.

10K views 27 replies 12 participants last post by  jaykaypur 
#1 ·
From Tree to stump

My uncle was needing to expand his horse pasture, and thankfully I just happened to be there the day he was going to push this old tree down with a tractor and throw it in a slash pile. Just an ugly old rotten tree to him, but I saw it different. "HOLD ON Uncle Joe, let me get my chainsaw and take this tree out for you."

Cloud Sky Larch Plant Wood


Cloud Sky Plant community Plant Wood


"What are you going to do with that"? he says…..well, just wait and see.

Tire Wood Wheel Automotive tire Trunk


Natural material Plant Wood Trunk Grass


Plant Wood Trunk Automotive tire Natural material


A couple of hours later, using a chainsaw and a grinder, he got to see my first project idea take a little shape in his driveway.

Wood Trunk Plant Fender Grass


Wood Sculpture Tree Art Trunk


Jaw Wood Working animal Bone Fawn


Human body Jaw Bone Wood Trunk


Good start with the rough shaping, lots and lots…...and lots of sanding to go!!! Check back for progress soon!!!
 

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#2 ·
From Tree to stump

My uncle was needing to expand his horse pasture, and thankfully I just happened to be there the day he was going to push this old tree down with a tractor and throw it in a slash pile. Just an ugly old rotten tree to him, but I saw it different. "HOLD ON Uncle Joe, let me get my chainsaw and take this tree out for you."

Cloud Sky Larch Plant Wood


Cloud Sky Plant community Plant Wood


"What are you going to do with that"? he says…..well, just wait and see.

Tire Wood Wheel Automotive tire Trunk


Natural material Plant Wood Trunk Grass


Plant Wood Trunk Automotive tire Natural material


A couple of hours later, using a chainsaw and a grinder, he got to see my first project idea take a little shape in his driveway.

Wood Trunk Plant Fender Grass


Wood Sculpture Tree Art Trunk


Jaw Wood Working animal Bone Fawn


Human body Jaw Bone Wood Trunk


Good start with the rough shaping, lots and lots…...and lots of sanding to go!!! Check back for progress soon!!!
interesting.
 

Attachments

#3 ·
From Tree to stump

My uncle was needing to expand his horse pasture, and thankfully I just happened to be there the day he was going to push this old tree down with a tractor and throw it in a slash pile. Just an ugly old rotten tree to him, but I saw it different. "HOLD ON Uncle Joe, let me get my chainsaw and take this tree out for you."

Cloud Sky Larch Plant Wood


Cloud Sky Plant community Plant Wood


"What are you going to do with that"? he says…..well, just wait and see.

Tire Wood Wheel Automotive tire Trunk


Natural material Plant Wood Trunk Grass


Plant Wood Trunk Automotive tire Natural material


A couple of hours later, using a chainsaw and a grinder, he got to see my first project idea take a little shape in his driveway.

Wood Trunk Plant Fender Grass


Wood Sculpture Tree Art Trunk


Jaw Wood Working animal Bone Fawn


Human body Jaw Bone Wood Trunk


Good start with the rough shaping, lots and lots…...and lots of sanding to go!!! Check back for progress soon!!!
As with all the things we work with, it's the imagination of the person looking at it.

It will be interesting to see what it becomes.
 

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#4 ·
From Tree to stump

My uncle was needing to expand his horse pasture, and thankfully I just happened to be there the day he was going to push this old tree down with a tractor and throw it in a slash pile. Just an ugly old rotten tree to him, but I saw it different. "HOLD ON Uncle Joe, let me get my chainsaw and take this tree out for you."

Cloud Sky Larch Plant Wood


Cloud Sky Plant community Plant Wood


"What are you going to do with that"? he says…..well, just wait and see.

Tire Wood Wheel Automotive tire Trunk


Natural material Plant Wood Trunk Grass


Plant Wood Trunk Automotive tire Natural material


A couple of hours later, using a chainsaw and a grinder, he got to see my first project idea take a little shape in his driveway.

Wood Trunk Plant Fender Grass


Wood Sculpture Tree Art Trunk


Jaw Wood Working animal Bone Fawn


Human body Jaw Bone Wood Trunk


Good start with the rough shaping, lots and lots…...and lots of sanding to go!!! Check back for progress soon!!!
I will check on the progress of this one. Can't wait to see the finished project. I just finished turning a rustic lamp from a branch my cousin gave me when she was living in Alaska. I like it, so I bet this one is going to turn out really nice.
 

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#5 ·
From Tree to stump

My uncle was needing to expand his horse pasture, and thankfully I just happened to be there the day he was going to push this old tree down with a tractor and throw it in a slash pile. Just an ugly old rotten tree to him, but I saw it different. "HOLD ON Uncle Joe, let me get my chainsaw and take this tree out for you."

Cloud Sky Larch Plant Wood


Cloud Sky Plant community Plant Wood


"What are you going to do with that"? he says…..well, just wait and see.

Tire Wood Wheel Automotive tire Trunk


Natural material Plant Wood Trunk Grass


Plant Wood Trunk Automotive tire Natural material


A couple of hours later, using a chainsaw and a grinder, he got to see my first project idea take a little shape in his driveway.

Wood Trunk Plant Fender Grass


Wood Sculpture Tree Art Trunk


Jaw Wood Working animal Bone Fawn


Human body Jaw Bone Wood Trunk


Good start with the rough shaping, lots and lots…...and lots of sanding to go!!! Check back for progress soon!!!
Must have been a pretty great tree to begin with. What did he think? LOL!
 

Attachments

#6 ·
From Tree to stump

My uncle was needing to expand his horse pasture, and thankfully I just happened to be there the day he was going to push this old tree down with a tractor and throw it in a slash pile. Just an ugly old rotten tree to him, but I saw it different. "HOLD ON Uncle Joe, let me get my chainsaw and take this tree out for you."

Cloud Sky Larch Plant Wood


Cloud Sky Plant community Plant Wood


"What are you going to do with that"? he says…..well, just wait and see.

Tire Wood Wheel Automotive tire Trunk


Natural material Plant Wood Trunk Grass


Plant Wood Trunk Automotive tire Natural material


A couple of hours later, using a chainsaw and a grinder, he got to see my first project idea take a little shape in his driveway.

Wood Trunk Plant Fender Grass


Wood Sculpture Tree Art Trunk


Jaw Wood Working animal Bone Fawn


Human body Jaw Bone Wood Trunk


Good start with the rough shaping, lots and lots…...and lots of sanding to go!!! Check back for progress soon!!!
What a treasure you have to work with. I am sure your interpretation will be stunningly beautiful.
 

Attachments

#7 ·
From Tree to stump

My uncle was needing to expand his horse pasture, and thankfully I just happened to be there the day he was going to push this old tree down with a tractor and throw it in a slash pile. Just an ugly old rotten tree to him, but I saw it different. "HOLD ON Uncle Joe, let me get my chainsaw and take this tree out for you."

Cloud Sky Larch Plant Wood


Cloud Sky Plant community Plant Wood


"What are you going to do with that"? he says…..well, just wait and see.

Tire Wood Wheel Automotive tire Trunk


Natural material Plant Wood Trunk Grass


Plant Wood Trunk Automotive tire Natural material


A couple of hours later, using a chainsaw and a grinder, he got to see my first project idea take a little shape in his driveway.

Wood Trunk Plant Fender Grass


Wood Sculpture Tree Art Trunk


Jaw Wood Working animal Bone Fawn


Human body Jaw Bone Wood Trunk


Good start with the rough shaping, lots and lots…...and lots of sanding to go!!! Check back for progress soon!!!
Wonderful gnarly old tree, with that sharp taper, some would say this tree has bad form, but to me it was
just tough enough to keep growing until someone could see something in it that they had to take the time
and work to bring it out. Will be patiently waiting for your version of this trees form. Thank you for sharing.
 

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#8 ·
Sanding, burning, more sanding.....and more sanding!!

Wood Sculpture Statue Art Artifact


Working through the grits of sandpaper is important. I feel like I could utilize some advantage if I included a couple more "in between grits" from my typical strategy, but sandpaper costs a lot!!! I started this piece with my chainsaw, roughing out the size and shape, cutting a "flat" top and bottom….then moving to my angle grinder with my favorite shaping tool attached, the Holey Galahad carbide disk. After the shaping is mostly complete, I move on to the orbital sander with some 60grit and 80grit to take down all the high spots. Now the piece is ready to start paying attention to the grain. I compare it too painting in reverse…taking away a little bit at a time, watching the way the grain moves as I take layer by layer of "dust" away. It makes a huge difference in the way the final piece looks if you watch the grain rather than just trying to sand away aimlessly. I typically start with 120grit, and concentrate on blending in the scratches, nics, dings, and working the movement of the wood grain so it flows. Then bump to 220grit, watching as the scratches start to disappear and trying to avoid leaving the "swirly" marks that start to become very apparent when the wood starts to shine all by itself. For my final use of the obital sander, I finish with 320grit. I can see my blurry reflection in the wood at this point, and the "swirly" marks start to jump out everywhere so this step takes a while. I finish up with hand sanding 400grit before the first coat of oil. I am going to come back and do some turquoise inlays, and between coats of oil I'll be hand sanding with 600grit and buffing with steel wool.

Tire Wood Wheel Automotive tire Trunk


Wood Trunk Plant Fender Grass


Wood Natural material Trunk Fawn Plant


Table Wood Automotive design Natural material Hardwood


Wood Natural material Creative arts Table Wood stain


Extinction Wood Fawn Natural material Trunk


Wood Working animal Fawn Trunk Sculpture


Wood Fawn Hide Sleeve Natural material


Head Wood Sculpture Natural material Fawn


Plant Wood Fawn Art Trunk


Wood Painting Art Trunk Pattern
 

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#9 ·
Sanding, burning, more sanding.....and more sanding!!

Wood Sculpture Statue Art Artifact


Working through the grits of sandpaper is important. I feel like I could utilize some advantage if I included a couple more "in between grits" from my typical strategy, but sandpaper costs a lot!!! I started this piece with my chainsaw, roughing out the size and shape, cutting a "flat" top and bottom….then moving to my angle grinder with my favorite shaping tool attached, the Holey Galahad carbide disk. After the shaping is mostly complete, I move on to the orbital sander with some 60grit and 80grit to take down all the high spots. Now the piece is ready to start paying attention to the grain. I compare it too painting in reverse…taking away a little bit at a time, watching the way the grain moves as I take layer by layer of "dust" away. It makes a huge difference in the way the final piece looks if you watch the grain rather than just trying to sand away aimlessly. I typically start with 120grit, and concentrate on blending in the scratches, nics, dings, and working the movement of the wood grain so it flows. Then bump to 220grit, watching as the scratches start to disappear and trying to avoid leaving the "swirly" marks that start to become very apparent when the wood starts to shine all by itself. For my final use of the obital sander, I finish with 320grit. I can see my blurry reflection in the wood at this point, and the "swirly" marks start to jump out everywhere so this step takes a while. I finish up with hand sanding 400grit before the first coat of oil. I am going to come back and do some turquoise inlays, and between coats of oil I'll be hand sanding with 600grit and buffing with steel wool.

Tire Wood Wheel Automotive tire Trunk


Wood Trunk Plant Fender Grass


Wood Natural material Trunk Fawn Plant


Table Wood Automotive design Natural material Hardwood


Wood Natural material Creative arts Table Wood stain


Extinction Wood Fawn Natural material Trunk


Wood Working animal Fawn Trunk Sculpture


Wood Fawn Hide Sleeve Natural material


Head Wood Sculpture Natural material Fawn


Plant Wood Fawn Art Trunk


Wood Painting Art Trunk Pattern
Nice. A lot of effort goes into this kind of project and it shows. Very cool.
 

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#20 ·
Turquoise and Copper inlays

Progress on the stump is going well. For the past week, every evening rather than working out in the cold shop, I have had a comfortable seat on the couch inlaying turquoise and copper. At first I only planned on doing a few inlays, but as the cold weather continued, so did my inlays. This project should be pretty awesome when I'm all done!!

My uncle made me a really handy stone crushing tool that takes the mess out of smashing up turquoise into small pieces and dust.

Wood Architecture Floor Art Flooring


Wood Gas Machine tool Machine Cylinder


Hair Textile Wood Wood stain Material property


Hand Human body Wood Tints and shades Electric blue


Hair Body jewelry Natural material Wood Jewellery


Hair Wood Liver Natural material Fawn


Brown Water Azure Wood Orange


Once I sand these all down, I will have to go back and fill a few holes that will happen when the sander pulls out a few stones. Then another round of sanding and I will be ready for the oil finish.
 

Attachments

#21 ·
Turquoise and Copper inlays

Progress on the stump is going well. For the past week, every evening rather than working out in the cold shop, I have had a comfortable seat on the couch inlaying turquoise and copper. At first I only planned on doing a few inlays, but as the cold weather continued, so did my inlays. This project should be pretty awesome when I'm all done!!

My uncle made me a really handy stone crushing tool that takes the mess out of smashing up turquoise into small pieces and dust.

Wood Architecture Floor Art Flooring


Wood Gas Machine tool Machine Cylinder


Hair Textile Wood Wood stain Material property


Hand Human body Wood Tints and shades Electric blue


Hair Body jewelry Natural material Wood Jewellery


Hair Wood Liver Natural material Fawn


Brown Water Azure Wood Orange


Once I sand these all down, I will have to go back and fill a few holes that will happen when the sander pulls out a few stones. Then another round of sanding and I will be ready for the oil finish.
This is gonna really look nice when finished.
 

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