Scott inspired me

[scotttarnor]

I like the Bison, Good Job !

[scottp55]

Nice, Clean cut with Lots of detail on a great model Randall!!!
Its a Keeper!
Congrats Randall!
scott

[Rcnewcomb]

Squirrel in a log

[Rcnewcomb]

Owl in a log

[rtibbs]

Randall,
Watching this thread with your carvings my fist thought was “Wow he’s saving lots of wood with these small (only in size)” jobs however, by the quantity of these I’m not so sure.
Great work. I think I’m getting inspired to try some more myself. Kinda tired of my long cut times.

Ron

[Jan.vanderlinden]

Very impressive work.
Thank you for sharing.

[scottp55]

Nice Randall!
Funny, in a moment of weakness after a day of 'net searching, bought 2 "Collections"....
Only 8 out of 200+ are in a separate folder to maybe carve at a future date...Those 2 are in there
Nice to see them actually carved!
Is that still Drillman1's 4 flute 1/16'th your playing with?
scott

[Rcnewcomb]

The last two were carved using a 0.25mm radius tapered ballnose from the eBay set of 4 tiny ballnose bits.

[scottp55]

Aah...Thanks Randall.
I was wondering about the pine cones and other fine details
Those hold up well..I still use my original set from time to time.

You have that 4 flute dialed in yet(just curious:)
scott

[Rcnewcomb]

You have that 4 flute dialed in yet(just curious:)

It is close. I still get slightly more fuzzies than I do with the eBay micro ballnose bits.

I may see how it behaves on HDU, and on denser wood such as hard maple.

[scottp55]

Could just be the cut of that bit with Redwood...I bet you could really Hum on a larger,smoother model
I'm trying to remember the results when we tried a thin cut shellac when Dad wanted Cedar buttons...
(Actually or Eastern White Cedar is a Juniper) we got poor results, and easy to snap at .2" thick/1.5"D.
Alcohol may diffuse the colors though...like I've found to my dismay with Black Walnut sap/heart colors.
(D-Limonene does the same thing on Walnut branch endgrain:(
Just thinking as a 5.5 hr cut with .25mm long TBN just started(4 hours late because I was playing).
scott

[Rcnewcomb]

FYI, I've been using the water based Minwax Polycrylic Clear Matte, and I'm very pleased with the results on these small pieces. Two light coats seems to do the trick.

[mtylerfl]

Hi Randall,

I used to use that spray years ago. I had trouble with it yielding an “orange peel” texture on larger flat areas (like a box) despite my best efforts to apply carefully, lightly, more heavy, closer, farther, making sure it wasn’t applied during high humidity, etc., etc.

The only “cure” I could come up with was to spray, then use a foam brush lightly over the coating to help it level out and eliminate the “texture”.

Maybe on the small carvings this isn’t an issue, but I am curious if you “brush over” after spraying.

[Rcnewcomb]

Maybe on the small carvings this isn’t an issue, but I am curious if you “brush over” after spraying.

Years ago I tried water-based finishes and they were not good. I wonder if they have improved the formula over the years but have kept the same name.

The Matte finish is more forgiving than gloss finishes.

I spray on small items. I use a rag and wipe on the liquid in a can for the larger items.

For some projects (guitars) I'm using shellac.

I'm in the San Francisco Bay area so the relative humidity is consistently around 30%-50%

[scottp55]

And You inspired Me Randall with the "Two Bears" carving
Just bought a similar style "Sperm Whale" model from 3dwav.org

(now just to find the right branch:)

Also your earlier work in Marble and Stone, has had me looking for years for a model for
a chunk of soapstone a Micmac Lady guide gave me from her sister in Nova Scotia.
She said "I've had it 10 years..maybe you'll have a good idea for it young fella"
You can tell by the Young Fella" it's been about 40 yrs
Looks kinda like antique Inuit carvings I have...have to scope it out exactly though.

OH....and This one should be Easy to find a Walnut branch for(he said, and thereby cursing himself:)

Thanks Randall!