Hi FWW Experts:
I have recently, in the past year, begun relief carving bald eagles in patriotic motifs such as those of John Belemy. Now that I am becoming more skilled at these wood carvings, I am interested in learning techniques, methods, and the appropriate gouges required to carve realistic linen fold and detailed feathers on these eagles. I have used pine and basswood for my projects. The projects are approximately 12″ x 30″ in dimension and I have used lamination on some projects to increase depth. I have used a power carver to remove large areas of wood and I use a set of flex-tool interchangeable carving gouges to do the detailed carving. I plan to purchase a set of carving gouges but I am unsure and undecided as to which to purchase (ie, manufacturers, size, shapes, sweeps, etc.) Which gouges would you recommend for detailed feather carving and most importantly what specific techniques are used to achieve the best results? Can you recommend any publications or DVD’s that would help me build my knowledge in feather and eagle carving? Thanks, slmakuka
Replies
Hey slmakuka.
I've got two leads for you of content on our site that might help.
Check out the video we published called The Essential Carver's Tool Kit. Carver David Sabol talks about the tools he uses to carve figurines, and demonstrates how to use them. I think he's carving fur in the video but it might give you some ideas for feathers.
Here's a profile/how-to with a carver named Jacques Vesery whose shows how he creates feather carved surfaces.
- Matt
Thanks for the reply Matt. The video will help, I'm sure.
Dear Slmakuka,
David Esterly, whose carving was featured on a recent back cover of Fine Woodworking, also suggests buying a set of beginner's tools from a company like Henry Taylor (http://www.henrytaylortools.co.uk/); numerous retailers sell the tools. And he suggests taking a course or buying a DVD; Matt's suggestions can help in that regard. Best of luck. Sorry we couldn't be more help.
David Heim
Managing Editor
FineWoodworking.Com
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