Shadrach's Lamps

[featherhead007]

Actually Shad, for what it's worth, I am very impressed by your talent in making such beautiful lamps.

 

[Shadrach]

Actually Shad, for what it's worth, I am very impressed by your talent in making such beautiful lamps.

Thank you. It's very kind of you to say so.

 

[Shadrach]

This lamp is called Totem.
Well....I set out to make something a bit off base and I think I've managed to do that.
I rather like it. It looks better in real life.
I think I would have done better to leave the faults in the wood at the back alone.
I may rectify this at some later date if I can. It's a constant problem with using fire wood rather than managed timber for the lamps. No piece of wood is perfect but the best furniture and artistic pieces are made from correctly cut, stored and seasoned wood. I'm trying to make silk purses from sows ears in effect.

 

[bruceha2000]

Thank you. It's very kind of you to say so.

He's just sucking up hoping you'll send him a free lamp
OK, I made that up; I agree that you have a great artistic eye and skill.

 

[Shadrach]

This is next to try and finish. I've done quite a lot of work on the back and got the base and front in a reasonable state. I've done a few tree lamps and in general they've turned out well.
Some pieces of wood just ask for a tree carved into the front and this is one of those.
I've drawn in pencil a rough semblance of what I want. I'll start carving tomorrow.

 

[Shadrach]

Having got a rough sketch of the tree drawn on the wood I go around the outline with a sharp hobby knife. Going with the grain is fairly easy, although the grain will steer the knife if one isn't careful. It's going across the grain that gives most problems. The fibers in oak are notoriously tough and cause the knife to hop and skip. It's only worth cutting the edges of the main features. The narrow bits I do with a sharpened engineering needle file once the main features are carved out.

Getting a consistent depth, or at least sufficient depth is very important. The face will be sanded a number of times and shallow points are likely to be sanded back to the wood. This is a major setback if it happens. The slate paste does not lend itself well to patching.
I've been carving this all day on and off. Oak is more tough than hard and blunts tools very quickly. It's a slow process. A bad slip and the face is ruined, not to mention what a sharp carving chisel can do to a hand that's in the way.
Another important thing is getting the cut edges square to the face. As the lamp gets sanded after each application of paste, if the edges are not close to 90 degrees to the face, the outline changes and the paste becomes very thin at the edges.

I mentioned above I had some cherry wood. This tree had been infected by a parasite (a beetle of sorts I believe) that kills the tree eventually. I was lucky. I got three large billets from the main trunk. The rest in the last picture has bore holes all over and while holes on the outer wood can be cleaned away, once they're in the heart wood the piece is scrap. All the wood in the last picture is scrap.
The billets cleaned up well.
Cherry is a favored wood for furniture makers and hand carvers. It's so easy to work compared to oak and sands to a great finish relatively easily. It's dense more than hard and tough. I'm looking forward to trying a piece out.

 

[MaryJanet]

Awesome carving Shad.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

Having got a rough sketch of the tree drawn on the wood I go around the outline with a sharp hobby knife. Going with the grain is fairly easy, although the grain will steer the knife if one isn't careful. It's going across the grain that gives most problems. The fibers in oak are notoriously tough and cause the knife to hop and skip. It's only worth cutting the edges of the main features. The narrow bits I do with a sharpened engineering needle file once the main features are carved out.

View attachment 2183991
Getting a consistent depth, or at least sufficient depth is very important. The face will be sanded a number of times and shallow points are likely to be sanded back to the wood. This is a major setback if it happens. The slate paste does not lend itself well to patching.
I've been carving this all day on and off. Oak is more tough than hard and blunts tools very quickly. It's a slow process. A bad slip and the face is ruined, not to mention what a sharp carving chisel can do to a hand that's in the way.
Another important thing is getting the cut edges square to the face. As the lamp gets sanded after each application of paste, if the edges are not close to 90 degrees to the face, the outline changes and the paste becomes very thin at the edges.
View attachment 2183994

I mentioned above I had some cherry wood. This tree had been infected by a parasite (a beetle of sorts I believe) that kills the tree eventually. I was lucky. I got three large billets from the main trunk. The rest in the last picture has bore holes all over and while holes on the outer wood can be cleaned away, once they're in the heart wood the piece is scrap. All the wood in the last picture is scrap.
The billets cleaned up well.
Cherry is a favored wood for furniture makers and hand carvers. It's so easy to work compared to oak and sands to a great finish relatively easily. It's dense more than hard and tough. I'm looking forward to trying a piece out.
View attachment 2184028

View attachment 2184029

View attachment 2184030

I'm trying my hand at whittling so I find your carving descriptions fascinating and educational.

Thanks for sharing Shad, I'm really enjoying it!

 

[bruceha2000]

I saw a video by a carver - he said it is OK to pull the knife toward yourself IF you use only the small muscles in your hand not the big ones in your arms. If you are going for big pushes - definitely away from your body.

 

[Shadrach]

Awesome carving Shad.

Thank you.