An attempt at cutting some wood...

[jon]

So, I began my first carving journey this week. I can't exactly say I am aware of the duration of this venture, or how many hurdles I will have to cross along the way, but I do know that I am cautiously excited. My plan is to move slow and be patient with myself and my limited abilities, gleaning as much knowledge and enjoyment from the experience as I can. Hopefully I will make it out alive!

I have had a few cedar rounds lying around the garage for quite some time. I love the smell of this wood, and although I am sure it wouldn't be considered prime stock in the eyes of most, it is what I have decided to begin with.

The tools I had at my disposal for phase one of this project were:

1. Splitting maul, sledge hammer, wood axe
2. Table saw with a 10 inch blade (about 3.5 depth of cut capability)
3. Hand planer

I started out with a basic sketch of the lines I thought would give me the correct size block. I drew these out on the butt end of one of the rounds. I took the axe and lightly tapped it with the sledge along the centerline of the round. This would be my first cut.

With the splitting maul and sledge, I opened the sweet smelling cedar round up, creating two halves (which would yield me 2 blocks per round)

This is where the table saw came into play. There has to be a better was, but with the tools I have, it just wasn't coming to me. So I started out small, taking off the edge of the first side of the round. I was hoping this would give me my first straight edge, the cornerstone for a hopefully "square" block....

Then I flipped the round and ran it through the other side, matching the cut (but knowing there was a chance these two edges were not parallel...

Knowing along along that with the limited capabilities of the table saw, my next cut wouldn't make it the whole way through the round. So I continued trimming each side first with the table saw...

Then subsequently with the axe and sledge...

It didn't produce a perfectly flat surface, as I had expected, but I was able to make up for the imperfections a bit with the hand plane...

I slowly whittled the block down, continuing to use this method (table saw and axe) eventually getting pretty close to the width I was hoping to end up with...

Once I had made all of the cuts possible with the table saw (and was only half way through the block), I thought of a way to get to the upper portion of the "half round" and still maintain the even surfaces I was hoping to end up with. Using plywood pieces screwed to the already flat surfaces of the block would give me an even surface to run along the fence of the table saw. Here I was able to trim the top edges off of the block. By relocating the plywood pieces for every cut, I was able to really get some clean surfaces on the upper end of the block.

Slowly but surely, things started to take form, and after quite a few cuts... hahaha, I eventually was able to come up with a "square" block of cedar wood 16 X 9 X 6.

Actually.... there are six of them.

...and here I stand.....ready and eager to enter into phase two of the project.

Thanks for all of your tips so far. I have been really appreciative of the help.

-Jon


**

 

[MLBob Furia]

Now, that's determination.


Got a high school with a shop nearby? - Or even a woodworkers store that has a classroom. You're going to need a bandsaw pretty soon. Where you located? - perhaps someone on the forum can help you out.

 

[Steve Sanford]

Jon~

As Bob has said - your determination is inspiring!

Only thing I might have tried differently would have been to square up everything with the chainsaw - it's the way I got out my first-ever decoy block (circa 1976?). Tack a plywood straightedge on both sides to guide the bar. Even though you don't normally think of ripping (with the grain) with a chainsaw, I have done it.

Hope you can find a used band saw soon!

SJS

 

[jon]

I have a bandsaw... used... cheap!!

The depth of cut is limited to 7 in. How would I get this big chuck of wood cut on the bandsaw?

Also... when making a straight cut... do you fellas use a fence like I would on a table saw?

thx!

 

[Terry Desilets]

Jon:
Typically when you are cutting wood for carving, you would discard the heartwood. That is the very center of the log. That is where the most stress is when the log is drying. Your chances of getting a split or raidial crack are greater when heartwood is used.

 

[jon]

Thank you for that tip Terry. I was unaware. Something to definitely consider in my future adventures.

 

[Dave Walker]

Don't sweat it much, if you hollow the decoy much of the cracking potential will go away.
As for cutting on your 7 inch bandsaw.....worry about the top view, them tilt your table and take off a bunch of 45 degree corners. Also, you can usually get a tail/rump area into a smaller saw like that, you just might not be able to cut a full side profile.
I like your first approach.....starting with a log! That is dedication. May want to look into mills that might have 2 inch rough cut, it will make life better in the future.

 

[Chuck J]

Jon:
Typically when you are cutting wood for carving, you would discard the heartwood. That is the very center of the log. That is where the most stress is when the log is drying. Your chances of getting a split or raidial crack are greater when heartwood is used.

Jon

You also ought to have taken your axe and chipped away the bark first. The bark tends to hold a lot of dirt from the felling process which will dull your tools.

Chuck

 

[Al Hansen]

I really enjoyed this thread. Those endeavors that you encountered seemed to be handled with ease. You, sir, have some bull-dogged determination. Good luck with phase two.
Al