"Lion Carvings, Our Company's Mascot"

Very cool Dennis. Thanks for sharing.

-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.

Very well done. Very good attention to detail. What type of wood did you use, and how long did they take?

-- christopheralan http://www.projectwoodworks.com http://www.ProjectWoodworks.etsy.com My Stuff for Sale! http://www.zazzle.com/christopheralan PWW Shirts and Gear!

Beaut work Dennis. What size are they?.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

Thanks Christopheralan, thank you.
The eyes are out of yellow heart, and the “Z” & center eye are out of ebony. The “Z” is mortised into the sheild 3/8” The rest of the lions are carved out of bass wood.

-- Dennis Zongker

Thanks Grumpy, they are 17” tall x 12” deep x 9” wide

-- Dennis Zongker

Very nice Dennis! But why do they look so sad :-(

-- ~ Inspiring those who inspire me ~

Dennis those are excellent! My first thought upon seeing them was “bookends”...I guess they’re a little big for that. Any idea how many hours it took you per lion?

Thanks for posting them.

-- Martin, Kansas

Hi Dennis;

Great job carving these.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Dennis, my question is about finish and smoothing. How do you get them smooth after all the detail has been carved, while keeping the crispness? And what finish do you use?

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Dennis – You can’t see me, but I’m on my knees, I’m not worthy. You did super work on these.

-- Dan Wiggins

Great carvings as always! You do some beautiful work. Thanks for posting.

God Bless
tom

-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa

yah, “I just did these up for fun”... very impressive!!

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Hi Kolwdwrkr Thank you,
Yea they do look kind of sad. I was trying to make them mean.

-- Dennis Zongker

Hi Woodhacker, thank you.
I always keep track of how lone it takes me. It took me 160 hours to carve them. Then 24 more hours to sand, bleech, tone, stain, & finish them.

-- Dennis Zongker

Hey Douglas, How’s it going?
After I’m done carving I use small files to clean up the whole carving. Then I use a sanding wheel in a hand drill and sand as smooth as I can. On these two monsters, I Bleached them with wood bleach part “A” &”B”. After that I Toned them with a aniline dye a very light brown, to try to show wood grain and give them contrast. Then I stained them & let them dry for 24 hours then I fininshed them with a precatalyzed lacquer.

-- Dennis Zongker

These are great, Dennis.

I think learning and practice are a large part of carving, but I also think you have to have a certain natural talent to be really good at it. You’ve got it.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Thanks for the answers, Dennis! Need that box of scraps emptied again? I’m trying to draw down from the last batch…but it’s slow going! :^D

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Great Work! Very smooth finish.

-- Michael, Fort Worth, TX. "I wood if I could!"

Hey Douglas, The box of wood is full, & ready for pick up. A couple of my craftsman in the shop were going to take it home for fire wood. That crazy burning up all that beautiful wood! Just let me know. Thank’s

-- Dennis Zongker

11th and 12th projects? You obviously have a lot of talent and a deeper background in art and other mediums to pull this off so quickly. You also have more patience than I can imagine. I like the expressions; I see it more of a feline “You are not amusing – just bothering me” look. It is always cool to see your projects. Thanks for sharing your talent with us. When I see your carvings, I tell myself one of these days I am going to find a chunk of basswood and try to carve something.

-- A thing of beauty is a joy forever...

Thanks you JM82435,

If you ever need any help getting started carving. Just let me know and I will try to help you.

-- Dennis Zongker

Sweet!

-- Les, Wichita, Ks. (I'd rather be covered in saw dust!)

Dennis. A another great set of carvings. A beautiful job.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Dennis,

Your work is absolutely fabulous. Do you use pictures or models for your carving, or is all that creativity in your mind?

That’s bigger than the last bass I caught—oh, but mine was a fish, not a piece of wood!

Keep sharing your work. We really enjoy seeing it.

-- "But godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6

Hi Arianna,
Before I start any carving. I like to draw out all details, to the exact scale. If I can’t see it in my head then I make a clay model first. On these two lion’s I made a clay model.

-- Dennis Zongker

very beautiful work the lion is proudly standing over our front door as a symbol of our house KING’S Hut we got it there when we bought the house and keep it til this day. yours looks really well done and finished.Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

Beautiful cravings, Well done.

Woody.

-- Woody, UK

As usual…..WOW.

-- Michael A. Brailsford