| Project by LittlePaw | posted 456 days ago | 1214 views | 0 times favorited | 25 comments |  |
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Well Folks, It’s almost done. The carving on individual feather was slow going. Then when the carving was done, the woodburning on each feather started. That presented a completely different range of problems and challenges. The body of the goose came bonded with four blocks of basswood 2 ½” wide each running front to back. Apparently each of those four blocks had different densities, grain pattern, age or even origin. So, when I burn a feather vein, crossing over from one block to another, the burn changes to much lighter or much darker. With the dial set almost to 1 and drawing very slowly, the burn could range from no color to very dark! Looking at it, one would guess that heat setting were numbers apart or slow to fast draw! That was enough problem for me to be pulling out the little hair I have left! I ‘m not a novice woodburner, but I had the wood telling me how it’s going to burn!
Another challenge I had not encountered in all my other carvings was compound curves. There is a concave trough, if you will, that runs along the top center of the bird. When carving a feather that runs down into the trough and up the other side, the first challenge is the knife outline. When I carve each feather I’m watching out for grain run, smoothing out all the bumps with micro files and final sanding. Then comes the fun of woodburning those lines down one side and up the other! Oh, not mention having to turn the ten-pound bird upside down at times to get to those almost-impossible-to-reach places. I did run into a few of those impossible to reach places at the tail. Along the way I found all the little misses that had to be corrected too.
All of these challenges will again enter into the carving of a Bald Eagle, on even a larger scale. With that in mind, I am doing another bird, maybe a duck to be sure I am aware of and know how to overcome any problems that I haven’t run into yet. I can tell you that it was more fun carving this goose than I thought possible.
Is my Canada goose a decoy? I wouldn’t call it one. Since I started on this project, I bought several decoys – some quite expensive! – to see how they do it. I also visited a large decoy manufacturer and talked with its owner at length. I learned that mine could not be used to cast plastic decoys for the simple reason that molds cannot go around corners, therefore the carving must be much simpler. All my feathers are carved under the trailing edge from 1/16” to over ¼” deep. My goose is a detailed carving of a water fowl – not a decoy. Therefore I have no plans to paint any of mine with elaborate colors to make them look like plastic decoys.
Thank you all for looking. I do appreciate all your comments good or critical.
-- Paul - The sweetest sound in my shop, next to Mozart, is what a hand plane makes slicing a ribbon.
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25 comments so far
Alexander
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185 posts in 1276 days
#1 posted 456 days ago
Great looking bird! How many days do you think you have into this project? It’s not up my alley but sure is nice to see and would look great on any table or shelf.
-- John at Sugarloft Mountain........Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference.
patron
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12047 posts in 1506 days
#2 posted 456 days ago
or pond
-- david - only thru kindness can this world be whole . If we don't succeed we run the risk of failure. Dan Quayle
Joe Lyddon
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6376 posts in 2217 days
#3 posted 456 days ago
That Wing detail is just AWESOME!
GREAT JOB covering that… I can imagine the WORK that you spent Getting it!
I know it’s not done… I think the head & neck should be blacker… closer to the tail Black… and the bill blacker…
We have a pair in our front yard that I had to repaint not too long ago… I collected a bunch of GOOGLE Images on the Canada Goose… which was a BIG Help in getting it just right.
Beautiful Job! Love it!
Thank you!
-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Alta Loma, CA USA - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?ppuser=1389&cat=500"
LittlePaw
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1500 posts in 1243 days
#4 posted 456 days ago
Alexander: It took me, on and off, a month and a half. During the burning, I took frequent breaks because of hand fatigue. I am looking for a more flexible cord; this one is not flexible enough with a mind of its own!
You’re quite observant, Joe. Since the bill is shinier, I sanded 400 to 600 and to 1500 to get the shine. But in the process the black went to gray. So I’m going to bring the black back, apply wax and polish it to a shine, hopefully that won’t dull the black. Yes, I plan to go back and burn to darken the head and neck some more. Thanx Joe.
-- Paul - The sweetest sound in my shop, next to Mozart, is what a hand plane makes slicing a ribbon.
mpounders
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596 posts in 1060 days
#5 posted 456 days ago
Great carving! Until I carved a bird, I had never realized how difficult they can be, and mine was not as large as yours! Nice burning too! I can’t blame you for not wanting to paint it, as nice as it looks!
-- Mike P., Arkansas, http://mpounders1.blogspot.com
Tag84
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460 posts in 821 days
#6 posted 456 days ago
wow incredibly realistic paul! not at all a bald eagle ;)
-- -Thomas -
stefang
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9434 posts in 1499 days
#7 posted 456 days ago
Beautiful work and a fantastic result.
-- Mike, American in Norway
StumpyNubs
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5015 posts in 965 days
#8 posted 456 days ago
That is amazing… just amazing! Thanks for posting!
-Jim; aka “Stumpy Nubs”
” Blue Collar Woodworking? That's the best show since wood was invented! ”- The Eastern Northwest Southerner’s Journal
-- It's the best woodworking show since the invention of wood... New episodes Wednesdays at: http://www.stumpynubs.com
Roger
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9191 posts in 969 days
#9 posted 456 days ago
a beautiful and lifelike carving. very awesome!
-- Roger from KY. Work/Play/Travel Safe. Kentuk55@bellsouth.net
Moron
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4397 posts in 2058 days
#10 posted 456 days ago
Nice, really nice carving
-- "Good artists borrow, great artists steal”…..Picasso
Lidiya Blaznina
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704 posts in 704 days
#11 posted 456 days ago
Very beautiful carving,Paul,
-- Lidiya,Russia," I use wood to translate my mood".
a1Jim
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86885 posts in 1742 days
#12 posted 456 days ago
Wow Paul that’s an amazing goose ,great job.
-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/
DocSavage45
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2850 posts in 1007 days
#13 posted 456 days ago
Diligent and masterful. A definite learning experience? Thanks for taking us on your journey. With the goose under your belt how are you feeling about the eagle? Congratulations on a job well done!
-- Cau Haus Designs, Thomas J. Tieffenbacher
gfadvm
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6600 posts in 855 days
#14 posted 456 days ago
I told you it was great Paul. All of the above comments confirm my opinion. I’m with Joe, the black parts could be blacker. Hell, I’d use a magic marker! But then that would probably be cheating.
-- " I'll try to be nicer, if you'll try to be smarter" gfadvm
Woodenwizard
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844 posts in 1220 days
#15 posted 456 days ago
Outstanding tallent.
-- John, Colorado's (Wooden Wizard)
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