[cobalt]

Dont know why just the result of doodling thought i would carve out a giraffe hiking pole topper so after cutting up a load of wood ready for the blank and making a template went fot it .Not a great deal done but here is where i am at

 

[CV3]

Nice start cobalt. look forward to watching the project develop.

 

[cobalt]

just got it into the round mouth needs a bit of attention , but heres where i am

 

[MJC4]

The dowels for his horns are a great idea. I tried my hand at a bison awhile back and the horns tripped me up. The dowels may be the answer.

 

[cobalt]

The bison looks a tricky subject.

there are templates in the book "carving animal canes & walking sticks with power" there is a template of the bison and grizzly bear in there along with other animals.

Also there is some useful info on carving fur and hair plus carving eyes.I dont think the drawings are that good but it does give a front view and side view.

Subject matter like this would sit better on a shank mounted with a 45 degree angle ,which allows the head to project forward and always looks better.

You could always down load the pic to something like word it will allow you to adjust the size to what you want which will give you a template, but doubt if you would get good side and front views.

Also you could use water buffalo pen blanks for the horns cut a slice of it boil it up and bend it to the shape you want, its pretty easy to manipulate. you also may be able to get rams horm its very easy to bend and cut

the book by the way is a Schiffer book for carvers by frank russel lots of hint and tips in therefor rotary carving .i got my copy from amazon

Its very american in the approach to carvingand theres 15 project in it and i am ashamed to say never tackled any of them He uses pentacryl for carving green wood soaks them for 24 hours. to stabalise the blankof a horse.

he explains how he prepares carving blocks which could be done with a jig saw.

 

[CV3]

Your giraffe is looking good cobalt. I have the book you are sharing about. It is a good book. I am not a fan of working with green treated wood my self. My experience trying it was it was more work than it was worth if I had access to ready to use seasoned sticks. But there is good information and projects as you pointed out.

 

[cobalt]

The informaion on carving eyes hair and fur is very good ,worth buying just for that

 

[cobalt]

When i cut the blank out from a block of lime wood it was to thick so trimmed of about a inch and kept the shape rather than throwing it into the recycle box .So decided to use it .My grandaughter is mad on the giraffe so turned it into a coat hook for her .She has always hung her coat up in her hanger and changed her shoes when she comes in so she will be chuffed to have her specisl hanger for the coat. the eye is the screw to fix it to the wall

 

[CV3]

The wood spirit is the carving I started out making. I saw it on a walking stick at a visitor center on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I was so impressed with them I had to learn how to carve them for myself. I still think they are one of the most fun pieces to carve as no two are ever the same ( at least mine aren't) I am making this stick for my younger sister's birthday ( I'm a cpl days late). Hope to have it done by Saturday. The hickory stick the topper is attached to is already oiled and sealed with spar urethane.

That is wonderful idea. I am sure your granddaughter will be thrilled.

 

[cobalt]

the giraffe is about complete just needs varnishing. decided noy to paint it just a bit of wood burning, although i think the eyes are a bit small

my grandaughters coat peg also done just quickly painted it

so heres the state of play

 

[CV3]

I like the way you did the spot patterns. Looked at some pictures and the eye could be bigger. But it does not look bad. I had to look at the pictures to see what the difference would be.

 

[CV3]

Like the coat rack. I known she will be thrilled.

 

[cobalt]

giraffe finished .gave it 4 coats of varinsh

time to move to the next project