Carving For Pleasure

Not A Bite!!!

2005-12-07T14:47:00.000-08:00

Well I guess there's not going to be a sale on my latest carving. This is the second week that it's been listed on eBay.

OK, there's been plenty of viewings but no bids, it's probably too expensive for the type of consumer that's looking at this type of product. In essence, an on-line flea market where you sell goods for a buck. Maybe the time is getting near where a stand alone website for Welsh Lovespoons would be in order?

I can still make the smaller type of spoon for eBay and at a price that would be in keeping with the majority of what's on offer. I though I would give it a go with a more complex carving for the more appreciative collector. The unfortunate thing is, the more complex, the more time involved in making the carving. Therefore a higher price for the carving, still a bargain for the price.

Well, the latest offering ends on Sunday 11th so if it doesn't sell I'll be displaying at home. Either way it's a win, win situation!!

What do you think?

Make Way for the Dragon!!

2005-11-29T15:18:00.000-08:00

After perfecting the design for my latest Welsh Lovespoon I decided that the material to use for the carving would be Mahogany. The reason for this choice was that I wanted the detail to stand out once it was waxed and polished. I did consider the use of Maple or Walnut but thought that Maple would be too light and Walnut to be too dark. The only apprehension was the fact that Mahogany can be a little stringy with the grain and tear if the tools are not super sharp.

With this in mind I set about cutting the bulk of the excess material away with a 14" Grizzly bandsaw with a 1/4" blade. This allowed me to get into the tightest corners without the worry of snagging the material. Once this was accomplished it was a case of drilling pilot holes to accept the blade of a scroll saw. My particular saw of choice was a Delta with variable speed. I must confess that this part of the operation is the least pleasant for me as I tend to have my fair share of blade breakages which always puts me on edge.

Now the fun part begins as I start to carve the bowl of the spoon. This is always my first operation as it gives instant gratification. Next I start carving the dragon and work my way around the whole carving doing different parts to keep the interest fresh. With the detail work taking shape it suddenly goes from a flat piece of wood into an actual three dimensional work or art.

As I get to the scroll that supports the heart from the bowl of the spoon, care has to be taken as this is probably the most delicate part of the carving due to the amount of vulnerable end grain. With all the main carving out of the way I look over the completed Lovespoon and fine tune all areas before sanding to a smooth finish.

Once I am satisfied with the smoothness I apply a liberal coat of citrus wax and buff out to a nice satin finish, once again inspecting the smoothness and sanding with fine sandpaper to get any roughness out. With it finalized I can put it up for auction on eBay. Hopefully the uniqueness of the carving will prompt people to view it at least and maybe even a sale.

With each carving, even though some of them are the same design, they all end up different in some way. This is the beauty of a hand carving.

Uniqueness in Design

2005-10-29T23:55:00.000-07:00

During the course of carving the various Welsh Lovespoons that I have made to date, I find that it is extremely important to try and develop a fresh design. You may say, that's not too difficult but when you surf the web there are hundreds, if not thousands of competitors trying to do the same thing. The answer is to try and gain an edge and make sure that it is totally unique, then you have something that a person would be willing to buy. Add this to the fact that everything on the Welsh Lovespoon is totally hand carved, then you have something that is unique in every aspect.

Take for instance the carving on the page "Making use of Windfalls," that carvings inspiration came from looking at our grape vine in the garden and seeing the fallen limb of the Jacaranda tree. A dead limb and a flourishing grape vine combined together created the idea and the carving turned out to be exceptional and meaningful. The end result was a delicate carving of grape vines, hearts and lovebirds.

Now what if I were to combine a Heart with a Welsh Dragon and a Celtic Cross to make a truly Welsh theme Lovespoon. It would certainly make for an interesting design, add a flame and CYMRU (Welsh for Wales) into the mix, then join it together with lattice work. I think it could work and it would be quite substantial, twelve to fourteen inches long, four inches wide.

As you can see from all the elements, the design is formulating and no doubt there will be numerous changes along the way so I'll sign off for now and continue once the design is fixed.

BUT we still have to consider what timber to use!!!

Classic in Every Sense

2005-10-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

During the past few weeks carving has taken a back stage as my primary work takes precedent over my hobby. Such has been the urgency to complete projects that the only Welsh Lovespoon that I have produced has been a small version with a classic theme.

This carving measures 6" x 1.75" and is carved from Maple. It may be regarded as being small in comparison to the version with Hearts and Vines that I spoke about in a previous post but it does not diminish the complexity of the carving. It is still challenging to carve the surfaces in a smaller area. It means that the carving tools used would have to be of a smaller variety.

The one good thing in carving maple on a smaller scale, is that, with the grain being tight, there is less tendency of tear-out happening. When carving Mahogany, extra care has to be taken and super sharp tools used to keep the carving crisp.

To give my mind a break from my primary job, lunch break provides a pleasant respite so that I can immerse myself into the carving and then return refreshed. The actual carving takes approximately 6-10 hours on and off and once placed on eBay it is really up to the mercy of the bidders. Nevertheless it is always rewarding to sell the carving regardless of the final price.

Carving with Passion

2005-10-04T21:37:00.000-07:00

"With every carving there has to be an image in your mind of the desired end result, this is the driving force that will create your masterpiece."

With each Lovespoon that I create, it always starts off with a sketch to depict the elements that I want to convey to the prospective buyer. For instance, if it is approaching St Patrick's Day then the carving will incorporate clovers with the leaves in the shape of hearts.

This will then appeal to the romantic and the religious. Obviously each carving will have a different appeal to different people, a motorcycle enthusiast might like a Lovespoon to have a motorcycle theme, a baseball fan, a baseball theme and so on. You will find that most of my carvings will follow in the traditional sense, to keep with the ancient history and the overall meaning of a Welsh Lovespoon.

This Celtic tradition stems back almost 500 years and I'm sure that many of the carvers these days still use old carving tools. It would be interesting to know what brand is favored by most carvers. Would it be Marples, Buck, Pfeil, Sorby or Henry Taylor just to name a few. I have a mixture of several of these brands, each dealing with a specific task, so I guess it's a case of what you get use to.

Providing the tool is sharp and the carver is confident, the carving will come alive!!!

Dogs and Soccer!!!

2005-09-22T15:17:00.000-07:00

Breaking News !!

Reds hold on for a 1-0 victory.

Landseer, latest soccer sensation!!

This gallery photograph of our Newfoundland Dog, "Biggles", proudly posing after his quick intervention in a game of soccer.

It wasn't an intentional game, it all started on one of our daily strolls. It was a quiet Sunday morning in the park, not many people around and with him being of good nature we decided to let him off leash. No problem, he sticks to your side like butter eyeing your every movement. Well, as you can imagine we walked pass the local soccer field where a friendly game of soccer was in progress, blue stripped jerseys were attacking from the left towards the solid reds on the right. A long through ball was placed towards the forward on the right edge of the field. The attacker controlled the ball and easily side stepped the defender to head towards the goal. Clearly this was a very serious situation for the red team with only the goalie standing there to defend their precarious 1-0 lead.

Before we new it, "Biggles" our Newfie was away. A mighty fine slide tackle ensued and up he pops, game ball. Of course there was a mighty whistle from the referee, with the game coming to a halt. "Biggles" stopped in his tracks gazing at the referee with the soccer ball hanging from his mouth. The referee walks sternly up to him and does no more than to show him the red card, the game's over for him.

Disappointed, he walks slowly towards us with his head hung low, but in his mind we know what he's thinking, the reds still retain their 1-0 lead.

Jacaranda Blues!!

2005-09-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

Living here in Southern California gives you the option of being able to surf in the morning and ski in the afternoon making it one of the most unique places to live within the USA.

I find that my favorite season is during the spring time where the streets and avenues take on a whole new look with the blossoms of Cherry and Jacaranda filling the once dormant trees. One would never know that the Jacaranda is an import and native of Brazil, Northwestern Argentina and Bolivia. It has established itself in courtyards and landscaping making for a spectacular display in spring and early summer of beautiful clusters of lavender blue flower.

I use to have a couple of Jacaranda trees in my yard but I found that the clay soil was not to their liking. Inadequate drainage caused the roots to rot, leaving me with dead ten foot tall trees. They tend to like well drained soil so if I were to grow them again there would have to be extensive soil amendment done.

Removing the trees was not a problem, after all there were no roots! I thought that maybe I could use the timber for making a couple of chisel handles. Most of the moisture had already been purged from the tree so I turned up a couple of handles and was pleasantly surprised by the vivid grain.

Maybe this would make an interesting Welsh Lovespoon, I was a little apprehensive at first so I decided to make only a small example. I decided to make a classic design that incorporated Celtic Knotwork and Hearts. This would be intricate enough to see how suitable the timber would be and quite different.

I cut a section out of the four inch trunk leaving the bark on for added interest, penciled in the design and went to work. I found the timber hard to carve, so sharp carving tools were essential but progress was reasonably quick. Once carved the timber sanded to a very smooth finish and after applying a wax paste finish the grain of the Jacaranda jumped out making the spoon come alive.

My Jacaranda trees were dead but by utilizing the timber they have been brought back to life in a unique fashion, be it as a chisel handle or a Welsh Lovespoon.

Senior Citizens in Dog Years

2005-09-08T16:38:00.000-07:00

Just to keep the topics fresh on this blog I thought I would talk a little about our Newfoundland Dogs.

Our two Newfoundland Dogs are both well over the age of ten and as dog people well know, the bigger the breed the shorter the life span. We have been fortunate in having a couple of animals that have truly amazed us in their longevity. We have always provided them with the best food available on the market such as WELLNESS. This is a human grade product and it is obvious that they have thrived on it. It is made up of de-boned chicken, Atlantic whitefish, fruit and vegetables, healthy grains and vitamins and minerals.

During their early years we spent quite a considerable amount of money in training them to become obedient and it paid off but sometimes I think it would have been more fun for us in doing the training with some guidance. There are numerous good quality products on the market now such as Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer. This is a product that you can use numerous times during your pet ownership years. It is an easy step by step guide that you can follow and make adjustments that suit your own circumstances in the setting of your own backyard.

Having said that, our animals have done their tour of duty in their early years at the Pet Expo in Southern California with first class conduct. Needless to say they had to disregard the rules and lay out in the isle where the visitors were instead of the cubicle. Here they had maximum exposure and PETTING from all children at hand causing a major bottleneck!!!

Mahogany isn't Just for Furniture?

2005-09-07T22:50:00.000-07:00

As in all fine furnishings you will find that Mahogany is somewhere near the top of the tree for beauty and finish.

Why not use it for Welsh Lovespoons I ask myself, is this not a fine furnishing in its own right?

The timber carves easily with sharp chisels and carving tools although it will leave a purple residue on your hands if you are one of those people who tends to perspire. The grain for the most part runs straight but you will find that it can reverse and tearing out may occur.

Care must be taken when carving, don't get carried away and over zealous or before you know it the wood has split further than you like. Even though this is a hardwood the grain is a little open compared to let's say Maple. Sanding to a smooth finish is a breeze using various grades of sandpaper and it buff up nicely to a silky finish using a paste wax.

With all my Welsh Lovespoons the utmost care is taken to ensure the best possible results but even so it doesn't always come out as planned. This particular spoon had its own set of problems, the loose balls in the cage were particularly challenging. With the openness of the grain it was difficult to carve within a confined space therefore taking longer than expected.

At the end of the day the carving was unique and pleasing to the eye, but along the way new lessons were learnt.

Making Use of Windfalls

2005-09-05T21:33:00.000-07:00

During last winters record rainfalls and high winds a few of our trees in the yard sustained damage through broken limbs. One of our multi trunked Melaleuca trees took a turn for the worst and a whole trunk ended up separating from the rest and came crashing down.

The Melaleuca tree is easily recognized by the papery bark and the white bottle brush flowers that it displays. This tree is often found here in Southern California as an accent to a courtyard or landscaped garden.

Residents of Florida would probably look upon it in a different light as it is regarded as an aggressive invader. This tree which originates from Australia, New Guinea and New Caledonia prefers wettish conditions and poses its greatest threat to the Florida Everglades ecosystem where one paperbark tree can produce a dense island hammock nearly 600 feet in diameter in one year.

The trunk that had toppled over in our yard was approximately ten inches in diameter and twelve feet tall. With these ideal conditions the trunk was immensely heavy for its size due mainly to the amount of water that had been absorbed. To actually shift the limb it had to be cut into manageable pieces.

Eventually I was able to salvage about eight feet of usable timber from the trunk, after removing the bark, which was as much as two inches thick in places, the trunk ended up at a nominal thickness of six inches. This trunk was allowed to dry for six to eight month in the garage before I attempted to saw any material from it.

I decided to remove a twelve inch length from the trunk and cut it into slices of one half an inch in thickness. This was allowed to dry again for another month and during that time the timber did curl and crack a little due to moisture evaporation.

With these slices reasonably dry I took an outside slice that still had a ghosting of bark left and decided to design a Welsh Lovespoon that would incorporate Lovebirds, Hearts and Vines. I thought it would be a unique design and yet challenging because of the intricacy of the vine design.

I was hoping that the moisture content was now stabilized as I didn't want any additional cracking once the carving was in progress. I found carving this timber that it tended to feel a little spongy and yet hard. Maybe I was a little anxious as the vines were delicate and always apt to breaking.

Finalizing the Welsh Lovespoon is always a relief as the most difficult part is done but care still has to be taken when sanding with fine sandpaper. Several coats of paste wax follow and a good buffing brings the best out of the wood grain.

The end result, a satisfactory and unique Welsh Lovespoon.

Padauk, Hard, Brittle but Beautiful

2005-09-03T23:46:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate to be given some off-cuts of Padauk from a colleague who was designing and building a cradle for his first child. It was a beautiful orange color.

After it started to oxidize, the color then turned to a deep red chestnut.

The first thing I noticed when I began carving with my small palm held carving chisels and gouges is that it splintered quite considerably when going with the grain. With this in mind, care had to be taken when removing the waste material from the spoon bowl to reduce the amount of splintering. This was to avoid any deep rips in this highly visible surface.

The initial carving was designed to have a double ended spoon with a central link. The idea was to mirror the design then have both spoons hanging from the one loose link. I had removed the material away from the link part of the carving and decided to start carving the bowls of the spoon before totally separating the body from the link. I know from previous experience that this process is the most critical.

During the process of removing the excess material I was distracted by my three year old son who of course wanted to play. Instead of placing the spoon safely out of harms way it was placed precariously on the bench and before I could do anything it topples to the floor and shatters into two pieces. My first reaction was to pick up the pieces and throw them into the scrap bin, after all a Welsh Lovespoon is carved from a single piece of wood. This designed piece was supposed to be linked together.

Several hours had already been put into the carving and now I new that it wasn't one of the easiest woods to carve. It was hard, brittle and produced very fine orange dust when sanded. This would leave your hands with an orange residue and stain your clothes.

Fortunately it DOES come out in the wash. Needless to say the design ended up as a single sided Welsh Lovespoon!!!

Exotic or Domestic Woods.

2005-09-01T17:44:00.000-07:00

On the previous post I spoke about my latest hobby in carving Welsh Lovespoons. During the initial thought process I mulled over whether to use a domestic timber such as Maple, Poplar or Red Oak which are all readily available from your local Home Depot or Lowes. This was always an easy decision, drive down, select the board and come away with the material.

I also thought that a more exotic timber such as Padauk, Mahogany, Cocobolo and Rosewood would also make a very desirable carving. The trade off would be, visit a specialist lumber supplier or order on-line without first seeing the material. These suppliers of exotic timbers are not as common as say, your Home Depot! Nevertheless it would be nice to use something a little out of the ordinary.

Several other questions I had were, how would these timbers carve?
Did they have a tight straight grain or was it very open?

The answer to these questions would effect the overall finish as I wanted to use a natural paste wax to seal the finished Lovespoon. The look that I wanted for the Lovespoon should be as close to the natural color of the timber as possible.

Thinking back over the years I've used a lot of the more common timbers such as Maple, Oak and Mahogany but I wasn't too sure of exotics such as Padauk and Cocobolo.

This I decided would have to be worked out during the carving process.

On my next blog I'll talk about my findings on carving the more exotic timbers so far.

A Spoon Full of Love

2005-08-30T21:42:00.000-07:00

During the early part of this year a good friend of mine returned from Wales, UK, with a unique gift, a Welsh Lovespoon. I didn't pay much attention at first but having an open mind and a chance to explore new avenues of income I thought that I would be able to produce unique designs and carve them myself.

What you have to realize is, this would never be a big money venture purely because it takes too long to produce each individual spoon, especially when it is totally hand produced. My reasoning and difference to the commercially made Lovespoons is, I do hand carve every Lovespoon and it is not machined from a program and then hand finished as in some of the mass market products that are available.

To give you a better example of what I am talking about, I have two examples of one of my designs made from two different kinds of wood. If they were first machined from a program they would be identical except for the material, look at my versions. The first impression screams, they are the same, until you look closely and then you can see the bullrushes are different, so are the storks. The little nuance between the two guarantees that no two Lovespoons are the same.

Armed with a sense of purpose I delve into the designs and start carving away to produce my first Lovespoon. I must say coming from a Patternmaking and Model Making back ground I found it quite therapeutic and a nice sense of achievement once the first spoon was finished.

What should I do now?
Would anyone be interested in this type of carving?

I instinctly go to eBay first to see if these sort of items sell. Yes! There is a section that deals with Welsh Lovespoons, be it's a small section but they do sell.
With this new found knowledge I list my first Lovespoon for $4.99, as you can imagine, the time taken to carve this piece equates to 30 cents an hour!! Not exactly millionaire status but the way I look at it, it's a hobby and pays for the timber.

I have persevered with the carvings and still get great satisfaction from carving them and I occasionally get a commission piece to do which is very satisfying. My Me Page on eBay reflects the carvings that I have done in the past and when I view them it always brings a smile to my face as each carving has its own story to tell.

Why do Newfies Drool?

2005-08-28T15:19:00.000-07:00

It appears that summer has finally surfaced with the "high" right above us. The temperatures are soaring into the high 90's and low 100's. Flies are abundant and our dogs are drooling up a storm.

It's not as though we're not familiar to the occasional slobber from the dogs but man this is something else. Newfoundlands are re-known for drooling when they get hot, first they will make a beeline for the nearest bucket or water bowl and immerse their whole muzzle into the bowl slurping away at the water. We're not talking about small water bowls, these are the biggest you can buy. I would just use a bucket all the time, but what happens with the constant dunking? Their chest starts smelling like an OLD DISH CLOTH.

After five minutes of drinking, look out, drool is hanging from their jowls. SHAKE, you'll better duck because it's coming your way and it's by no means small. SPLAT, it lands inches from your feet. You may have missed the "BIG ONE" but you can't escape the small stuff.

OK this is getting out of hand, they're panting like a locomotive. "It's time for a trim!" I exclaim. If the excess fur is removed, maybe that will ease their discomfort from the heat. Out come the barbers electric shears and 3" of fur is taken off, enough to fill up a garbage bag. "That's a lot of fur" you may ask. YES! And this is a lot of dog. Well, my wife is a good sport and she sheared those puppies in under an hour.

OK, now it's my turn, flip-flops and speedos are the attire of the day. Let's get them washed. One dog, one hour, that's what it takes to give him a thorough shampoo and blow dry. Drying's a breeze with our Challengair 2000 Animal Dryer by Double K Industries. It's never let us down over the past twelve years and it's still going strong. The animals are relaxed, the panting has gone, the calm has returned to the Sunday.

Now it's my time to relax, time to crack open that beer!!

"Everyone is an Employee until September 30th?"

2005-08-26T17:05:00.000-07:00

Once again General Motors has upped the anti with its "Everyone is an Employee" discount. Vehicles are being sold by the bucket load but has anyone sat back and wondered what the actual employees think?

This perk was one of the bonuses that an employee always enjoyed until recently, now they just mingle with the crowd. Is this a sign that the formidable giant is hooked on incentives or does it have a far deeper meaning?