splinters

very nice i like it alot.

Hi Dave there is a fantastic Stihl dealer at inverkeilor between Arbroath and Montrose called Angus chainsaws

so wish i could come up with a cocky reply to that one but any thing i could write would fall fowl of the mark. it took me about 4 days

this was my first big carving. a few years ago now.

Need i say more. i carved it for a local farm shop and is known as ..... The Big Cock:thumbup:

The top front end of your bar is known as the kick back zone. the problem is that the saw wants to transfer the point of contactwith the wood from the top edge to the bottom edge. so the best thing to do is use the bottom front edge instead when possible. this problem is intensified when you have a thicker chain like a 3/8. when working with the tip of the saw bar i hold the handles of the saw tight in to my waist and move the tip by moving my hips. this gives you a lot more control. when hollowing out i use the bottom front end of the bar working it side to side and rolling the saw from side to side a bit as the hollow gets deeper. If you are making a round hollow use this method whilst moving around your carving untill you have gone 360 round it. if needs be work round it again and again. This method prevents you having to use the top front end of the bar. if you are making a hollow into the side of a carving tip the wood on its side so that you are working from above. having to keepmoving you r log from side to side maybe a pain in the but and not look as stylish when people are watching you but then again you wont look cool if the saw kick up and takes a chunk out your masterpiece or worse still your face. safe carving and remember you are only as sharp as your chain blade:001_smile:

I use two other saws as well as my carving saw but on larger carvings i just find that struggle to reech into some parts of my carving.

Just wondering how many people out there use 8" carving bars and why? as lots of you mention them. I use a 10" and often find that it doesn't have enough reech on bigger carvings so am considering a 14".

thanks guys. i wish every day was a day off. the door way is called a fairy door they are supposed to be where the fairys come through from the magic world. or so im told.

very nice. i like the top one most what kind of wood is it?

Day off today so i knocked up a few things whilst the kids were at school.

It took me three days doing about 6 hrs a day. its 9ft high

the hares are my fave too. they took me 32hrs of work to finish. the hardest part is removing the wood between the to hares without chopping of their arms. i have some better photos some where i will have too look them out.

RE proportions. im not sure how other people work but i spend a good while marking up my log before i get the saw out to make sure that every thing will fit and look right.

thanks guys im glad you like them. i have been carving for about six years

here are a few of my old projects

Elm Piper

i finished this a few weeks ago and thought that it was about time i posted some of my work on here. hope you like it.