dervishcarving

I would but Im based in Aberdeenshire so im a bit too far away. I am planing a totem pole later this year so i wonder if 3 foot is enough to bury in the ground for stability?

i would have mate but it was saturday, busiest day for me.

thats one way to earn your bacon

nice form, well doen mate

ah, yes...she was happily talking to everyone at woodfest saying 'thats my brother!' kinda sweet, especially as in the past, when i started carving, she was very dismissive of it. i think she assumed i just hacked away at a lump fo wood and created something that looked a bit like something else. Then when she arrived she was very quiet for a while was kinda touching to be honest

yes, i carved that one. who did you meet?

Ye, shame that piggie but there is always next time for woodfest i wanted to go big. not large, but big i figured i have had my 2 years of being a newbie and i needed to try to push myself and see what i could do. For this piece i needed to practice carving a human shape, not tried before, so i carved a standing male a week or so beforehand. took me about 16 hours to get it close to right and even then it was wrong at least i had practiced a bit though and it makes a decent 'advert' at my carving area. Having learnt some lessons on that piece i pushed it a bit further and came up with the idea of a shepherd and dog...well, gotta go big right? then it was a case of trying to select a lump of wood that would let me do it. i wanted one just a big longer but it was close enough. then i just had to spend some time with a pencil working out bone lengths and angles of joints etc to be honest though, once i had roughed out the top of the man i was ok, it all seemed to flow from there. just wish my 'practice' for 4 of the 6 weeks beforehand hadnt been with my arm in a sling and wires in my finger. i might have enjoyed it more if i wasnt so knackered!

Thanks mate. 2 and a half years since i started carving and i think its only now that i realise how much i have to learn.

as all have already said. i get an agreement on the price range before i start and then stick within that range. if i enjoy the carve and they are nice people then i try to be as cheep as i can (bottom of the range). If its a pain and they are a pain then it might get to the top of the range but im pretty cheep i guess. For that i would be looking at 150 - 200. hard to get a good idea of scale (im guessing 3 foot long ish? if its smaller then maybe drop a little) and you will finish off the detailing of the weeds and mount it onto a stable base before oiling? basing a price just on time is not a great way to go, try to also bring in factors such as 'how much time to design and plan before i start carving?' how much ingenuity am i going to have to use ABOVE normal? do i have to buy anything extra for this job? delivery? travel? also try to remember that you are not a mechanic. you are not fixing their car (typically 25-35 pound per hour in some garages). you are using skills that have taken years to learn and a creative mind that is unique. just my 2p worth (based on an hourly rate of...) Dave

wish i could but its a bit far from NE Scotland

thanks all. black oil problem sorted when i ground the heels of the teeth off the chain... shame i didnt think of that right away but im not always bright took about 20 hours all told i guess, maybe less. gave my poor recovering left hand a real workout and all! on saturday i was having to use the heel of my right hand on teh heal of the chainsaw to do plunge cuts 'cos my left hand was just knackered by then but was worth it. hope i get to carve again next year

Finally got round to posting a few pics of my carving at woodfest this year. Had a great time and met some great people, i even managed to get one of simons girls to giggle! maybe im not so scary after all

er... sorry Tony but if you had posted it in the chainsaw carvign section we might have noticed it!

if it was in aberdeen id probably take one or two for the right price

rustic

yes, great piece but as already said... a few years back. and yes, probably 'cos engerland are out of the world cup so they now have space for others news items bloody sport, sick of the coverage it gets and teh massive amount of money wasted on it

somethig like that Tom

turn yer own?

coming on nicely

I kinda like the idea of this piece, its somethign different but as for what Difflock says... is it a chainsaw carving? i think i would have to say it is. most of the work si done using a chainsaw but she uses other tools for finishing. thats hardly unusual, most of us use non-chain tools for finishing on a lot of our carvings. I have to say though, i dont like painted carvings. I like the colour of the wood and this looks like a nice piece of redwood, its a shame to cover it up with paint but each to their own

the 181 is a great wee saw and perfect for detailing work.

thanks for teh comments (and well doen tom) It seems the problem was solved by takign the heals off the teeth as i described. the bar was running lovely today and no black oil at all. Wish i had read that stubby, had to figure it out myself. so much for teh scientists brain, it took me all day cursing at the dam thing before i figured it out anyway, the story has a happy ending. carving finished and i will post pics when i get them sorted if you are looking for a bar with a lovely fine tip (R7 i believe) you cant go wrong with one of these. its about mid way between a standard stihl an d the samuri bar BUT as far as i can figure its MUUUUUUUCH stronger than either price wise its about the same as a cheese bar, i mean a stihl bar but remember to grind teh heels off cheers

Im using fully synthetic oil that is lovely and thin. i dont like Oregon oil etc, far too thick

Hey chaps some of you know me, been carving a couple of years now. thought i was getting better at this saw-lark BUT im having real problems with my new carving bar. Got a Sugi Hara, lovely bar. has a tip radius a bit smaller than the stihl bar and is reputably far tougher. Has a nicer profile too so I was dead keen to get one. Problem is, its just producing black oil. the tip-cut is terrible ...just disnt seem to like cutting close to the tip, feels like its blunt even when new, even when sharpened. So what have i tried? first i went slow and easy for 20 minutes or more, new bar, let it bed in. it was overheating a lot so i rested it then gave it anoter 20 minuets easy going. still black oil... i well, tried it loose, tried it v lose, tried it a bit tighter (this was an attempt to stop the dam black oil) no change when i got home I figured that MAYBE 'cos the tip radius is a little smaller than the stihl bar (and im using stihl chains) i might have to grind the heels off a bit as it MIGHT be riding the heels. this kinda makes sense as i have to do it with toonie bars using stock chains so I took a sander to the chain and dropped teh back of each tooth off. looks better but not really had a chance to try it properly. tried a few plunge cuts to see and it was overheating again but we all know that plunge cuts with a dime bar is a good way to cause heat anyway, Ill give it a try tomorrow and see if it solves the problem BUT can anyone think of anything else i can try? Woodfest is only a week and a bit away and so if i cant fix the problem soon im gonna have to buy another dam stihl bar oh..and before we get into a stihl/cannon/cheese/whoever discussion (you know who you are!) im looking for advice here on what i can try..please dont just say 'should have got a cheese bar'

In any business the trick is to add value to your product. The product comes in, you add as much value as possible with the minimum expenditure of time/money and (hopefully) sell the 'upgraded' product. The difficulties lie in balancing the cost with the value added and finding sufficient market for your product. Having said that, it sounds like a great side-line if you are already working in the industry. I have a good friend who has a wood, sells firewood and mills the larger diameter trees that we shift (windblown trees mainly) plus builds timber-framed 'things'. I would say the milling aspect is the one that does the least money but i can see a lot of potential in it. He is semi-retired though so he isn't interested in pushing too hard