---- Chris Pye: WOODCARVING - NEWSLETTER ---- February 2004 http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com "Dedicated to the teaching, learning and love of woodcarving" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please forward this newsletter to a woodcarving friend, and anyone else you think might be interested. Thanks! This is an opt-in newsletter and you should only be receiving it because you requested it from the website, or were sent it by a friend. Subscribe or Unsubscribe easily on the home page here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/ or using the link at the end of the newsletter. ****Back issues here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/intro/pastnews.html including zipfiles for 2001, 2002 & 2003 newsletters ============================================================ Hello Everyone! CONTENTS: 1. Website News 1) New Gallery Carvings 2) Auriou Tools 3) New Carving Contributor 2. Quick Carving Questions 1) 'Sawtooth' picture hangers? 2) Background Emphasis? 3) Tang Hole Puzzle? 4) Beeswax? 5) Ratio in Bases? 6) Limewood in the USA? 3. Guest Article: Parallel Lines Does It Really Matter? by Robert Taylor Website Bookmarks at the end. __________________________________________ 1. WEBSITE NEWS __________________________________________ 1) NEW GALLERY CARVINGS I've put up 2 small carvings that I made recently in Gallery 4: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/gallery/gallery4.html The first: a Cello-footplate in the form of a dragon. No, I didn't know cellists needed these either! The wooden 'plate' ties to the cellist's chair legs and the cello spike sits in any of holes, which stop the spike sliding along the floor; or even (and I could imagine one of you cello-playing woodcarvers sharpening the tip - because you can...) sticking straight through it. The challenge was to work the relief design around the 4 holes in the plate... Here are the direct links: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/gallery/cellobret1.html http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/gallery/cellobret2.html The second carving was made for a local firm acknowledging farmers who care for their milkers: the Westhope Livestock Supplies Perpetual Trophy. I just call it the 'Cow Trophy' - and I was worried that these experts might think my generic cow, cobbled from all sorts of pictures and compressed into a relief, more like a bull. Or worse. Luckily, they thought I'd carved a beautiful young Jersey cow - or was it Guernsey? - and handed over the money. Nice to get lucky... http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/gallery/cow1.html http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/gallery/cow2.html 2) AURIOU TOOLS! Some of you will have noticed the absence of the link on the website to the Auriou tools through UKToolshop. Mike Hancock has moved his enterprise to a new website: Classic Handtools http://www.classichandtools.com and as yet we haven't been able to link. Well worth a look - I do like Auriou tools very much; their rasps are second to none. If you order any tools please mention me, Chris Pye - it won't help YOU much but a small commission contributes to running this website! Thanks 3) NEW CARVING CONTRIBUTOR 'Bald Eagle World Globe' by Joe Daly. See it here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/othercarvers/othergalleryindex.html And what about YOU? Have you got a carving you'd like to share with others? Read about it here http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/othercarvers/index.html _______________________________________ 2. QUICK CARVING QUESTIONS ________________________________________ **** QUESTION 1: 'SAWTOOTH' PICTURE HANGERS? **** "I have read about 'sawtooth' picture hangers, which would be ideal for some relief carving I have done which is not centrally balanced. However I cannot find any in my searches and wondered if you could send me in the right direction." **** ANSWER **** I know what you mean but I'm afraid I have no idea where to get them. Anyone know of a source in the UK please? Actually, the problem of balancing is common in relief carvings - often one side ends up with more wood than the other. I hold a metal ruler in my bench vice and balance the panel on this. With a pencil, I then mark the two edges where the ruler appears, turn the panel over and connect these two. This line runs along the centre of gravity, so if I place my hanger anywhere along it, the carving will balance (on the wall). I normally put it about 10% from the top edge. =================================== **** QUESTION 2: BACKGROUND EMPHASIS? **** "I just completed a Heart/acanthus motif relief for my wife on our 8th anniversary. I am struggling with the finish, hoping to have the relief "stand out" from the background. Would you recommend just waxing the relief and not the background or just staining the raised portion and leaving the background unstained and then waxing the whole piece?" **** ANSWER **** One traditional way to emphasise background is to use a 'frosting' tool, which looks like a small meat tenderiser. You can make one from a bit of metal bar cross-hatched with a hacksaw to form little teeth. You stamp over the background and the bruised wood takes up stains and oils more darkly. Alternatively, for mahogany - yes, stain the background a deeper red and wax everything. Not the other way round, I think a darker background throws the carving out more than vice versa. =================================== **** QUESTION 3: TANG HOLE PUZZLE? **** "I was replacing the handle on an Addis parting tool. The handle that was on it was certainly not original, nor very well made, and it had mushroomed. However, when I split it off, I discovered that the person who had mounted it had wrapped the tang in a very thin brown paper. I've never heard of this, nor does it seem to make much sense, since it would keep the edges of the tang from doing their job as they scrape their way into the hole. What's it about?" **** ANSWER **** Actually it's more common than you think - the hole in the handle was too big and the carver simply packed it out. The other less-obvious method is to ram sawdust into the hole before pushing home the tang. Hope you are carving beautiful things with this wonderful old tool. =================================== **** QUESTION 4: BEESWAX? **** "The beeswax that you put over your pieces; is that beeswax polish or what?" **** ANSWER **** Yes - it's in 'The Book'. Grated beeswax, thinned with turpentine to yoghurt consistency. Lots of thin coats... =================================== **** QUESTION 5: Ratio in Bases? **** "I am having great trouble with finding the correct ratios for bases. For example, I have a piece roughly 8" high and 2.5" wide: how do I figure pleasing proportions for the base for this piece. Is this an opportunity for the application of the Golden Mean, or are there other rules of thumb that work better?" **** ANSWER **** I never think like that. I think something more like this: * What am I asking, wanting, and hoping, the base will do? * The base must work WITH the carving - I want to start thinking about it right at the beginning, design it in. * The base isn't something to be stuck on as an afterthought, to stop the carving falling over for example, or to represent a movable piece of tabletop. * If the base doesn't add to the carving or show the work off, enhance your point in some way, it's a wasted opportunity. * So a 'base' can look like anything. It could be a rock or a dinner plate... See what I'm getting at? =================================== **** QUESTION 6: LIMEWOOD IN THE USA? **** "I have long searched for a source for Limewood and boxwood here in the USA, with no luck. Would you happen to know where I could obtain boxwood and Limewood? **** ANSWER **** Not in the USA, I'm sorry. Anyone able to help? __________________________________________ 3. GUEST ARTICLE: Parallel Lines DOES IT REALLY MATTER? BY ROBERT TAYLOR __________________________________________ Does It Really Matter? by Robert Taylor We are all involved in this game called life and we will have our challenges and successes. One thing that will have great bearing on our attitude and lives is how we treat those challenges and successes. Have you ever had one of those days where nothing seems to go right? What was your reaction? Some of us shrug off the petty things and some react violently. But do those things really matter? There is a way of looking at those things that greatly smoothes the bumps of life you encounter. When something frustrating, aggravating, challenging, infuriating and (you can add to this list) happens, use the following thought to control it: "A few minutes, an hour, a day, a month, a few months or years from now, will this have really mattered?" Looking at things from this perspective you will often find that it really wouldn't matter, so why be upset about it right now? In other words, if it would not make a difference at a later time or date, it probably doesn't make any difference at this particular moment in time. Realizing this, you can go on to have a truly wonderful day and life. By giving this some serious thought, you can see that the majority of things that bother us are truly petty in nature. They only become major when we react wrongly to them. The next time you encounter one of these bumps in the road of life, pause and think to yourself, "Does this really matter?" You will be pleasantly surprised at the betterment of your life. Copyright 2001 by Robert Taylor ************************** About The Author There's a NEW kid on the block: Announcing the birth of a new ezine, "Key To Success And Wealth". All new subscribers receive a fantastic ebook valued at $38.50. Subscribe by mailto:subscribe@keytosuccessandwealth.com Please place first name in body of email. Thank You! You may contact me at mailto:info@incomesolved.com ************************** HOW IS THIS ARTICLE RELEVANT TO WOODCARVING? It's the 'This too shall pass' philosophy. Or as I say to students: 'It's just a piece of wood'. It's a little trick which I use myself for loosening up and not taking things too seriously - taking the serious perspective. Carving is a joy. Nevertheless it's very easy to tense up as you work away with your chisel, fearing mistakes and failure. I notice my tension in my breathing, or lack of it - I find myself holding my breath as if I were drowning! Life, carving, flows more easily as you relax into it. And, well, we all know this, don't we? Here's a good way of reminding ourselves. ============================================= That's all for this month! Joy and success in your carving! Chris Pye ------------------------- PS: One for the bench: "To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never. "In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony." - William Channing ____________________________________________________________ SOME WEBSITE BOOKMARKS ____________________________________________________________ ----------------- WOODCARVING TOOLS The FOLLOWING PAGES ARE UNAVAILABLE and being re-written: * UK TOOLSHOP: Auriou woodcarving tools and other equipment http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/toolshop/ts_uktoolshop.html * UKTOOLSHOP Direct Link (missing out introductory page): http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/toolshop/uktoolshop/index.html ----------------- SLIPSTONES WOODCARVING MANUALS Over 14,000 copies of these ebooks have been downloaded in the last 11 months. * The Accomplished V Tool 1 - Free evaluation copy http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/ * Learning to Carve - Free eBook http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/learncarving/learn_ebook.html * A Guide to Safe Woodcarving - Free eBook http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/safecarving/safecarving_index.html * Mistakes and Woodcarving - Free eBook http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/mistakes/mistakes_ebook.html * Fundamentals of Woodcarving - Free eBook http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/fundamentals/fundamentals_ebook.html *Slicing, And The Value Of The Inside Bevel With The Chris Pye #2 1/2 Finishing Gouges From Ashley Iles - Free pdf http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/toolshop/ts_iles.html ----------------- TEACHING * UK (1-TO-1 PERSONAL TUITION) Full details here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/tuition/t_custom.html Single day: £150 3 days: £360 5 days: £495 Lunch included. Local B&Bs in a very beautiful part of England... * USA (CENTER FOR FURNITURE CRAFTSMANSHIP, MAINE) http://www.woodschool.org/ Sept 20 - 24 Ornamental carving (Mouldings) Sept 27 - Oct 1 Relief Carving Oct 4 - 9 Carving Tutorial Full details to be announced. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copyright (c) Chris Pye 2004 Chris@chrispye-woodcarving.com ----------------------- -----------------------