A Flashback Friday Presntation from March 2020: Have little space, no time, and just a few tools? Try miniature work.When I started woodcarving, I had just a few tools and almost no wood. I carved the little box from scraps of cherry and walnut. The tool kit for making the small sloop was minimum: a …
How Much Does this Cost?
Daily writing promptWhat is one question you hate to be asked? Explain.View all responses How much does this cost? What I disliked at the shows were the people who came around and asked the costs of clearly marked items like the spoons made from cherry. There was always clearly marked signage on costs, and larger …
The Very Meaning of Custom
Marine carving is the ultimate in DIY.
GO in snow
Daily writing promptWhat book are you reading right now?View all responses Normally I am deeply buried in a sci-fi pot boiler, a book on history ( Mary Beard is a favorite) or books on gardening or woodcarving. But the prompt finds me reading a product manual. It's the manual for a GO power snow shovel. …
Chopping Out
If there is one time in carving when you think about it as a big mess, this is it. I call it chopping out.
Decline & Fall – Ships Carving
A Golden Age The gilt-edged age for the ship carver had to have been the 17th and 18th centuries. The figureheads were the least of it. There were gilded coats of arms, allegorical figures, swags, and elaborately carved moldings everywhere.Set sail, wind up in a storm, get into a dust-up with the Dread Pirate Roberts …
Eagles
I once decided to carve ten eagles from variations on the same basic pattern. The 18th and 19th-century carvers had done it with eagles and figureheads. Small and large variations kept things distinct and interesting. An old favorite pattern would become dated, and the design would get reworked. I could picture the scene in the …
Stream of Consciousness Saturday: Jokester
They were tiny hulls, hand-carved with small masts and yards—little clippers, frigates, and schooners. My father-in-law, the Cap'n, laughed and said they were toys. My first wife smiled adoringly at her father. Only my mother-in-law picked one up, held it under the light, and smiled encouragingly. But she said nothing. She never disagreed with her …
Continue reading "Stream of Consciousness Saturday: Jokester"
Dreadnaught
Carving is a dance with a partner, and partners always deserve respect.
Last on The Card- July, 2025
Being a maritime carver means you never know it all. The sea always provides surprises.
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