I was going to call it Owl on a branch in a tree in the moonlight in a tree branch but it wouldn’t fit in the subject line.
Here’s an owl model I’ve been trying to get right for a while. It was ready for a test carve just to see how it looks, I usually do those small in a piece of scrap. But since I have all these branches hanging around I decided to use one. This is carved in a branch that fell off my apple tree. Eventually I want to carve this much larger. I’m pretty happy with the layout on this.
Thanks for looking!
Oh! Almost forgot to thank scottp55 for loaning me his lucky penny for calibration purposes.
Finally found my penny the first time I stood to get in bed...it was in my lap! NOW have a stack of shinier pennies next to machine
LOVING that Apple!!
scott
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.
The first was a good test cut. The thing I didn’t like were the eyes came out too small. Even though they were proportional to the original photo that I based the model on, they were too small in the carving. So I increased the size of them, close to 40% larger. It’s one of the things you look to see in an owl, so they have to be emphasized.
Also, I think overall this was too small for this model, or for the 1mm (.5mmRad) TBN. So I looked around and found this stick of maple firewood that I pulled from the pile. It was split off a crotch. I made the model larger and cut again.
Really like how the model came out this time. Also like the effect from the wood making him look like he’s in the shadows. This only has one coat of oil on it.
I’ve been following the other threads and decided to try a “rough” finish cut then add oil, dry, and run a final finish cut, only 0.01” deep, lowered step over, increased speed. Came out great with no rough spots and no sanding at all.
Will post another pic in a few days after some more finish is applied.
Now THAT is an interesting chunk of wood Bill!
Kinda liking the back and side of it as well!!
Eyes DO look better...and glad the Oil cut worked well!
(NOT sure the oil has to be dry, but then never tried Danish Oil I don't think...just 50/50 Oils/thinner..
and then got impatient one day and cut after it had penetrated, and cut an hour later,and it cut Great)
Fun playing when you don't know the exact outcome
Keep it up!!
scott
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.
Nice arrangement of your model Bill
Does remind me of flatsawn Macassar Ebony I've seen....and reminds me I had to dig a few layers down to get 4 almost total black billets.
(First time I EVER saw a wood sold by the Board Inch!! And this was 23 yrs ago
Is that a sawed chunk of one of your Apple branches on the base?
Does it have a home yet?
Make sure to show a pic when oil is dried and it's all sanded/scraped(?) to finish please!
scott
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.
I just sanded the background through the grits to 600 and buffed the carved parts and finished off with a 000 steel wool vigorous rub down. Applied another coat of oil. Will let that soak in then rub off the excess and dry then later today another rub down with 0000 steel wool.
I have a lot more of this wood. I was told it was ebony. Funny about doing wood working as a hobby then a small business is that for the most part a lot of wood has come my way without payment by me. People who don’t work wood realize they might have a special piece of wood or two and hold it. You talk to them or help them out with something and the next thing you know they are gifting you these really nice pieces of wood.
This ebony was come by like that. My friend here in town has a house waterfront on the Hudson River that he rents out. Back when Hurricane Sandy hit us, the river rose enough to flood out half his first floor, dissolving all the Sheetrock that it touched. Many homes floated off their foundations, and had to be razed. His home was saved.
He asked me to look at the house as an Engineer to see if it had sustained any permanent structural damage. It turns out all the first floor floorboards and joists floated up, leaving all the wall on the foundation intact. The reason why is that he had discovered termites in the main girder closest to the front of the house and the river. He had cut about 16” of the girder away a few month before the hurricane, unanchoring it from the foundation. This allowed the floor to float up, but not the whole house. So in effect, termites saved the house for him. It still stands today.
He had a renter at one point who worked at a furniture manufacturer. Apparently he did some carpentry work on the side, and did some at the house to offset his rent. He fixed the front steps and railings with wood he got from the furniture shop. Turned out to be this ebony. Here’s a picture of one I didn’t disassemble yet, complete with mahogany rail. Lol, it is beautiful wood and really carved nicely into a chocolate color. The guy only put a few small finishing nails in it to hold the pieces together. The paint comes right off this oily wood.
This owl is super thin on the back. I started with a 5/8” thick piece. I ripped it down from the 2x6 sized piece first on the Table saw, then on the BANDSAW to complete the cut. (Maybe Bandsaw reference will generate a few comments, lol)
This owl is for that friend. His main house is up in the hills and woods where he has bears visits occasionally and I’m sure an owl or two.
Thanks for looking!
Attachments
One of the railing posts, double 2x6 ebony construction.
These are brilliant, thanks for sharing. Maybe one day I will be producing things like this, time will tell but first I would need to sort my z axis, 65mm under the gantry doesn't give much scope for this sort of thing
Thanks Martin! Yes, you’ll need plenty of Z room for sure. Almost didn’t make it on that chunk of maple, just cleared the carriage by 1/8” after I shaved the front top point down a bit.
What a great gift for the fellow who gave you the railing Bill!
Of course he Loves it
My surprise came that after he saw how it carved....he gave you Another 10 linear!!
STILL not positive it's Macassar Ebony, but searching more....
it really looks like appearance of a board is to up to the Sawyer.
Regardless of actual species, any wood that sinks in water and carves well...
IS a valuable addition to your Stash!!
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.
Yes, Tony seemed very happy with the owl indeed. I was surprised when he led me outside to his wood supply and had two more 2x6 cross section pieces totaling 10’ in length.
After looking at the end grain a little more I’m now leaning more to it being Ipe rather than ebony. It carved really well and I really like it for accent pieces and inlays.
It is definitely nice looking wood, no doubt about it. And a nice looking piece.
Doubt it is ebony though. Ebony has always been expensive because it takes forever to grow. Here is a tidbit I found from 2010:
"Typically for lumber, it is $60 to $80/bf; for instrument parts, it goes up to $90/bf."Oct 17, 2010"
Also this:
"It takes an ebony tree between 60 and 200 years to mature into a harvest-able commodity. Ebony trees reach a maximum height of about 30 feet with a diameter of about one foot."
With a diameter of one foot there aren't going to be a lot of 2X6 boards or even posts.
Part of the problem is marketing. It seems mahogany has been attached to all sorts of trees that look very little like what used to be real mahogany. Same thing has happened with ebony.
I have a piece of ebony that I bought in the early 90's at OWL lumber in Palatine, IL. Very reasonable prices. That piece is 3/4 X 2 X 12 and the price on it is $27.
"If you see a good fight, get in it." Dr. Vernon Johns
